Recently my co-workers were giving a demo at a very large company, a fortune 500 company actually, and right in the middle of the demo the entire room heard a very audible very distinct ::FLUSH:: from someone who had dialed in on the conference line.

Obviously you try to be professional and not crack up during a demo, but seriously?? At a respectable place of business you can’t just wait until the demo is over, or at least figure out how to mute your phone? And, let’s be honest, as cool as our product is I think you can stand to miss the demo if you have some sort of bathroom emergency!

That reminds me of a funny story actually. When I lived in the dorms at college, we had a shared bathroom obviously. One time I was minding my own business in my stall when the guy sitting in the stall next to me says, “Hey!” I paused for a little bit marveling over this ridiculous breach of bathroom protocol and I say, “Hey.” I didn’t think I knew him but I wasn’t sure if maybe he was a guy from down the hall or something. Then he says, “What’s going on?” and I reply, “Uhh…nothing.” Given the story above, you can probably see where this is going, but I quickly realize he is not talking to me at all, he is actually on the phone. I felt pretty foolish so I decided to get out of there fast so he wouldn’t see who I was. And I got a little bit of revenge too when I flushed my toilet and I heard him say, “No, no I’m not in the bathroom!  I’m in my room!”

But still, at least he wasn’t attending a software demo. I wonder if it could have been the same guy, all grown up?