The Importance of Pink Tools: Why No One Will Steal Them
My husband works outdoors in construction and anyone that does so will completely understand a shared dilemma: unless it’s nailed down, someone will come along and take your tools. This goes for standard tools, tool boxes, extension cords, and anything else that might be left unchecked. If you are like us, you also have a garage filled with tools that also mysteriously disappear. This could be from a neighbor, a son or daughter or just ‘tool elves’.
My husband was getting tired of constantly replacing tools and extension cords, both at home and on the job site. While his company paid for the ones on the site, it was a waste of money and frankly, just wrong. Since my husband carries most of his equipment in the company truck, the items belong to the company, but are a permanent part of the truck itself.
Being the genius that he is and always seeking the path-of-least-resistance, my husband made a brilliant move in deterring the ‘elves’ from taking his things. He decided to buy everything in ‘pink’. It started with an outdoor extension cord (which are always in demand). They use these for the power tools that aren’t battery operated and other extension cords for the generators. When he bought a brilliant pink cord he did an experiment and left it on the job site, exposed for anyone to take. What happened? No one touched it and it stayed on every job site that he went to.
He took the idea even further and bought a pink tool bag and, as he replaced tools, he painted the handles pink. This might seem like a drastic measure, but, again, no one touched any of them. You see, there is a stigma assigned to the color of ‘pink’; it relates to the feminine, to girls and no guy wants to be seen walking around with a pink hammer or wrench, let alone carrying a bright pink extension cord.
The same thing happened in our garage. No one took any of the items that were pink and my husband had no problem with the pink tools or extension cords. For him, it is a small price to pay to ensure that his investments stayed put.