So, I am getting a pedicure..

My first job out of college was in the Macy’s training program.  The first day they lay out a couple of rules, one that I still live by today.  Never gossip in the elevator because you never know who is in it. 

The Executives running our program told a story of 2 Executive Trainees who were in the executive elevator with Ed Finkelstein, who at that time was the Chairman of Macy’s.  They were talking about their checks.  They saw that they were signed by some guy and had no idea who he was.  That signature was Ed Finkelstein and either he was humored by the whole thing or pissed off that the young recruits didn’t know who he was but the story was told and the lesson stuck. 

So, today I am getting a manicure and the two women (one I recognized) next to me are tossing out the dirt on people.  They were trashing schools downtown, rumors that they had heard, people leaving this one and that one, a woman who’s husband had a vasectomy but wanted more kids, etc.  You get the gist. 

It is a small world downtown and their information was priceless and should not be aired in manicure salons.  It is no different than talking loudly on a cellphone about personal info.  Keep it to yourself or whisper in a more intimate place.