April Fool’s Day is a day you shouldn’t forget about. If you do, you might get got.
I found that out the hard way a few years ago when some co-workers at Ralph’s pulled a classic April Fool’s gag on me.
It wasn’t planned. It just came about because local Black Creek police officers made an innocent mistake.
Ralph’s was in the process of expanding and remodeling our facility in Black Creek , and an area that used to be a parking lot was now muddy ground waiting to become a pretty lawn. While turning around, the officers pulled into this area and quickly realized it wasn’t a parking lot anymore.
The next day they honorably returned to apologize for the ruts they left and to see if they needed to compensate Ralph’s for damages. But before they reached me, they were intercepted by some of my devious colleagues, who realized very well that it was April Fool’s Day.
When the officers did find me, I wasn’t at all prepared for what they had to say:
“Are you the son of Ralph Lorenz?”
“Yes.” (Is Dad alright? What has happened?)
“Well then, Mr. Lorenz, we have a warrant for your arrest.” (Warrant?)
“For what?” I stammered out. (Huh?)
They started explaining how this was a special warrant that didn’t require them to tell me the charge, which didn’t make sense to me. I kept asking questions, getting a bit upset. Then I noticed the giggles from Shirley and Tracy.
Oh, yeah, it’s April Fool’s Day!
It only lasted about a minute, but I was fooled. They got me!
And someday I will find a way to repay their “kindness.”
I love this kind of playfulness among the Ralph’s team. It reassures me that we are a real team. We enjoy working together—and our customers see that. Genuine teamwork results in stress-free, better-than-expected experiences.
When sports teams play well together, they call it “chemistry.” The Ralph’s team has that.
