Instant Karma: Guy Learns The Hard Way Never To Be Rude To Strangers
Matt Buckland's Monday morning began like that of many others.
His train to work was crowded and delayed, so not everyone was in the best of moods.
One commuter became enraged when Buckland made a polite gesture as he arrived at his stop.
At Monument station, I stood to one side to let someone else off the train first and I think he thought I was just standing in his way. He pushed and I turned, I explained I was getting off too but he pushed past and then looked back and suggested I might like to f*ck myself… which might have been true but not before a few cups of coffee.
Buckland is the head of talent at a British venture capital firm called Forward Partners.
He was scheduled to conduct a job interview later that day, and as the Lords of Karma would have it, his candidate wasn't exactly a stranger.
Karma -- the guy who pushed past me on the tube and then suggested I go F myself just arrived for his interview... with me... — Matt Buckland (@ElSatanico) February 16, 2015
The interviewee didn't recognize Buckland at first, which is understandable considering the interview took place at 5:30 pm.
Then Buckland asked the man about his morning commute.
He probably thought he had ruined his chances for the job, but his interviewer instead sympathized with him and revealed he also loathes commuting.
Buckland forgave the prospective employee and didn't take the confrontation into account when making his assessment.
Buckland said,
When you interview you are looking for a read of skills but also to know if that person is a real human being, it's about that connection. By the end of the interview we laughed it off and were both happy.
The candidate didn't get the job, though, and maybe now he'll maintain a better attitude in the morning since he just might need some help from a fellow commuter one day.
Citations: Heres Why You Should Never Be Rude To Strangers On Public Transport (Buzzfeed)
