We all have bad days.  Sometimes things don’t go as planned.  Sometimes people tick us off.  Sometimes we get so agitated we want to tell the cable company representative where to stick his DVR remote.  It’s human nature.  Sometimes we just feel it is necessary to tell people how it is and scream our frustrations to the world.  But, we are not all running for office.

Let’s be honest, when campaigning for a political office, most of the voters have never met you.  You may have painted the town red and blue with your yard signs and delivered the county your exquisite biography with your postcards. But the fact is most of these folks have never had a personal encounter with you.  There is a good chance they never will.  But, if they do, it is absolutely crucial that they like you.  As obvious as it may seem, most people do not like crass, angry lunatics.

My friend Jeff works in the catering business and is a darn nice guy.   His company was selected to provide appetizers for a local candidate’s fundraiser.  The candidate, a four-term city council incumbent was facing stiff competition for the first time in her career.  This fundraiser was intended to thank her loyal voters and raise money to run a few radio ads.  Everything was going fine.  The candidate wore her happy-face throughout the evening and every attendee left the event ready to elect her to another term.

However, the evening did not go without crisis.  Unbeknownst to the guests, Jeff’s company had the audacity to run out of Swedish meatballs half-way through the evening.  While typically prepared for such an event, he was simply unable to predict the crowd’s passion for meatballs.

While she kept her cool in front of her voters, the candidate was fuming about the oversight.  She could not fathom how a company that specializes in appetizers could possibly underestimate the guests’ meatball consumption.  Whether it was the stress of her campaign, a lack of sleep or simply an unsatisfied meatball pallet, she had a few choice words for Jeff.  Once the room cleared and it was time to write out the check to the food providers, she could contain her frustration no more.  Words such as “unacceptable,” “incompetent” and “infuriated” flew off her tongue as she scolded her caterer.  In short, she greatly over-reacted and made it her mission to make Jeff feel like a failure.  After all, he was just some random chicken wing slinger, right?  Why not let him have it?  She certainly did.

While Jeff was a stranger to the candidate, she was not a stranger to him.  What she didn’t know is that Jeff lived a block away and had voted for her in every previous election.  Conveniently for Jeff, he also shared the same neighborhood with his mother-in-law, sister, two best friends and of course all of their spouses.  Still distraught from the tongue-lashing he received on that fall evening, he shared his tale with all of his acquaintances in that ward. Unfortunately for the candidate, all were active supporters and voters—ten votes in all including Jeff and his wife and not including any other neighbors who may have heard the story.  Since Jeff was a real swell guy, he gained sympathy from all who heard the tale. The candidate, meanwhile, gained a small reputation as being an insensitive, demanding hothead.  Maybe she was, maybe she wasn’t.  But she sure presented herself that way on one evening.  Jeff’s best friend actually removed the yard sign he proudly displayed in his yard.

Election night came, and the beloved incumbent candidate lost by 9 votes.  I think we can do the math.  Did her 60-seconds of catering frustration cost her the election?  Well, frankly, yes!

As stated earlier, we all have bad days and probably some moments of frustration we are not proud of.  But, we are not all running for office.  As a candidate, you must find the inner-strength to present yourself as the nicest, most sympathetic and compassionate individual at all times.  Even if you want to shred someone to little pieces, your outward perception must always be that of Santa Claus, because…..you never know who they know.