When parents name their children, it’s often a good idea to think the name through really well and pick a name that they not only like but also a name that won’t be offensive or get made fun of.

That includes thinking about nicknames and initials.

This is also true in business. You need to think carefully about what you name your business so that it’s not offensive and also so that the initials aren’t offensive.

The business owner in this story didn’t do that, and he also didn’t care. Let’s see what happens when he’s told his business’s name is a problem.

Change the business name? Okay…

Sometimes just the threat of malicious compliance is all you need.

Years ago, a gentleman owned a chain of auto parts stores. He always named each store “(Name of Town) Auto Parts” and put the initials on the building.

One of the stores was in a town that started with a “W”; inadvertently placing an, at the time, racial slur on the building. (I’ll let you go down the rabbit hole.)

The initials were on the building for a long time before anyone complained.

After being up there for many years, the City Fathers (think City Hall today) came down and told him he needed to take that down because it’s offensive.

The owner said “It’s the initials of the business, how is it offensive?”

The City says “We don’t care; take it down or else.”

The owner was pretty clever.

At that point, the owner looks them dead in the eye and says “Okay. I’ll change the business name to ‘Frank’s United Chicken Kitchen’ and put those initials up there.”

It took the Fathers all of a minute to say “Nevermind, keep it like it is.”

They left and never had any other issues with them about the sign.

Wow! That was not a business owner you would want to mess with!

Let’s see how Reddit reacted to this story.

This person can think of a song but not a racial slur.

Another person thinks the owner was clueless.

This person doesn’t think the story makes sense.

Another person comments on why the elected officials talked to the business owner.

If the sign was there for years with no problem, it must not have been that offensive.

Just saying.

If you liked that post, check out this post about a woman who tracked down a contractor who tried to vanish without a trace.