‘Tis the season… and for the majority of people, this evokes a festive spirit that manifests in decorations and celebrations. But for a select few, the lead up to Christmas leads to an eye twitch.
For Murray Bridge Branch Manager Linc Ramsey, nothing gets his goat more than a Christmas decoration. Known for having a bit of an OCD streak, Linc’s set off by the hap-hazard nature of the festive season.
“I have a bit of an issue with mess in general, but Christmas is next level. Even more than the decorations, it’s the application that grates me — people just throwing stuff up here there and everywhere — sticky tape every couple of metres — and don’t get me started on tinsel.”
Lucky for us, guru of admin in the Ramsey Bros Riverton branch, Brooklyn Allen recognised this in her early days of working with Linc, as she fondly recalls.
“A few years ago, Linc was running the dealership in the mid-north at Riverton. I’d been working with him for just over a year and friends for longer than that so I knew his personality. Any kind of crumbs on the floor, the little circles of paper that come out of a holepunch — they’re the things that really bug him.
“I’d heard he wasn’t fond of Christmas decorations, but once I saw how much it irritated him in real life, I decided to really embrace it,” Brooklyn says cheekily.
“I got a few others on board and we set about decorating the dealership as badly as possible, purposely making things uneven and sporadic in their placement. The whole dealership was covered in tinsel and baubles and anything shiny that could shed glitter with the lightest touch.
“Linc had mentioned he really didn’t want a tree up, so while he was out on a sales job, we made a tree out of old oil drums. Then, for the little show stopper, I took a great shot of Linc and photoshopped his face onto a cut-out of The Grinch, which took pride of place right on top of the tree,” Brooklyn laughs.
“When he returned to see our decorating efforts, his face was priceless. I don’t think it surprised him that we’d done it to get under his skin, but he definitely didn’t expect anything to that level,” says Brooklyn.
And while Linc has moved on and now manages the Murray Bridge branch, rumours of his decorating dislike are still rife and his stance on the matter remains steadfast.
But his biggest challenge is no longer the staff at Ramsey Bros… now a father of two little youngsters, it’s only a matter of time before his tolerance for uneven and superfluous festive decorations it put to the ultimate test. Happy rattling, kiddos!
