Dwiddle-Dee and Twiddle-Dum

I love hearing about numpty decisions.
Not the bad decisions that effect a company, or decisions that are dangerous or incompetent.

I’m talking about the daft decision that some manager makes in the heat of a moment, without thinking it through, probably wishing that he hadn’t made it, but will now defend it until death.

I’ll give you an example. One of the projects that I’m currently juggling is in a company located at Triton Square.

Trinton Square Plaza. What can I say? It’s a plaza with office buildings, a Starbucks and a Pret.
For lunch we buy a cardboard sandwich and then go back to the office.
I know …Really exciting stuff .

Lately it has become interesting.
In the middle of the square there is a raised concrete slab with four trees on top. Basically it’s a raised pot-plant, but I’m sure there is an “acclaimed contemporary artist” that thinks he is god’s gift to the world of art.

For some strange reason tourists pass by and take a picture of the raised pot-plant.
As it happens, Santander, one of the major banks, has its main UK office behind the pot-plant.

Someone has decided that tourists should be prevented from taking photos of the pot-plant with the Santander building in the background.
People may take a photo… as long as the Santander building is not in it.

Wait.. it gets better.

They have recruited a security guard to prevent people from taking the picture.
His job is to politely ask people to take the photo from the area of the bus stop, so that the building will not be in the background.

To Santander’s horror, they found that the tourists didn’t pay attention to the security guard’s request. They just moved aside and took the picture. What’s the big deal?
Anyone can take a photo of the the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) building so what’s special about Santander.

So the next day they drafted another security guard to help.
This has turned our lunch break into a great performance.
Employees from the buildings sit around the square watching the security guards, kindly nicknamed twiddle-dee and tweedle-dum chase away the pesky tourists.

If you are ever in London. Visit Trinton Square. It’s the greatest performance in town.

Santander’s Revenue: €39.38 billion
Santander’s Operating income €22.96 billion
One decision made by one numpty. Priceless