Marco was podcast famous for one thing. At the end of each show, he would say, “I don’t know what kind of person you are, but be a kind person.”
Listeners loved it. Marcos started making shirts, mugs and phone cases with the phrase.
In a magazine writeup, the headline asked, “What kind of person is Marco?”
Everyone agreed. Marco was kind. He bought into it. Marco’s podcast became a place where people would ask for advice, and Marco would devise the simplest way to deal with the issue kindly.
The trouble started when people discovered that the Kind Person Dry Cleaners was closing. This dry cleaner in Marco’s hometown used the slogan, “I don’t know what kind of person you are, but be a kind person.”
Marco stole the phrase from the dry cleaner. However, instead of crediting the dry cleaner, Marco tried to pay the owner off. The owner refused to yield the phrase. Marco told people falsely that the dry cleaner stole the phrase and ripped him off. Marco even threatened to sue the dry cleaner.
The phrase isn’t even good and doesn’t seem worth a fight. However, it got even worse.
The dry cleaner ruined thousands of dollars of clothes and had to close the shop. A chemical used by the dry cleaner was flawed when delivered.
People contacted Marco to help the dry cleaner, but he ignored them.
The dry cleaner investigated the issue and concluded that Marco was behind the chemical screw-up. He committed sabotage over a catchphrase. The dry cleaner’s friends urged him to go to the press and unmask Marco publicly.
Instead, the dry cleaner sent Marco a card with the evidence he’d gathered and a note, “I don’t know what kind of person you are, but be a kind person.”