You know how I feel about lazy spelling mistakes. But do I perhaps go a little far? You tell me.
I spotted this mistake at a homewares store last weekend. Taking the black section literally, rather than offering a discount of 15%, it’s adding 15% to the price of the basket. The red section tells me I’ll receive a discount of 85%, as I’m only paying 15% of the recommended retail.
From a distance, it looks like a discount of 15%.
You could almost argue that the sign is doing its job: it’s instantly told you that the basket is on special with a discount of 15%.
So if it doesn’t stop you from buying the basket, does a spelling mistake – and one that changes the entire meaning of the message (and twice, in this example) – even matter?
If I really wanted the basket, I’d buy it.
Mr Untangle and I argue about this all the time. I reckon lazy mistakes are a no-no because it shows just that – laziness. If you can’t be bothered getting this right, how do I know what other shortcuts you’re taking with your products/services?
It can also lead to ambiguity and confusion; a perfect combination to not go ahead with a purchase.
On the other hand, Mr Untangle feels if the meaning is still loud and clear – despite the spelling mistakes, then it doesn’t matter.
So do you think spelling mistakes matter as much as we say? Share your thoughts here.
I am with you Amanda on this. I personally hate spelling mistakes it says to me:
- they are lazy
- they have no attention to detail
- they can’t be bothered to check it
- if they can’t get this simple thing right then what else is going on
- they look unprofessional
It also really detracts from the message that they are trying to get across….
Let’s create our own Spelling police!
I guess it really depends on the product and the vendor. If I’m buying cheap baskets at the $2 shop, then I’m probably not going to get bent out of shape over a typo (mildly amused, more like it).
If it was a Mercedes dealership, however, then I may have my reservations.
It may not be fair – but fair or not, it still reflects on your business and attention to detail.
Still, as long as the product didn’t appear as shoddy as the sign, then I’d probably take my chances (sniggering all the way home… until my product fell apart 3 days later. D’oh!)
Thanks, Lara.
It does make me stop and ponder: Did they sell fewer baskets because of it? If it didn’t reduce the number of sales, then do mistakes matter as much as we think?
Thanks for your insights, Anna. Agreed; it certainly makes me stop and think twice.
But are people who live and breathe words in the minority?
I think audience is a key factor here. Not that I’m saying you should ever neglect copy and that careless mistakes are OK, but that some audiences are going to be more forgiving than others.
Hi Amanda
Yes, I hate seeing spelling and punctuation mistakes, as I feel they send a less than desirable message about professionalism.
I’ve sometimes spoken to the ‘writer’ – some are very ready to change the sign, but others take a so what? attitude. I think that response is more likely to cause me not to trade with that organisation.
I guess the bottom line for many is simply whether they get the message across – and the success of that is judged by the number of sales or other positive responses. But they fail to take into account the sales they lose.
I hope we continue to care about such things and not slide into mediocrity … but then we word-ophiles are probably a bit strange.
Desolie
I must admit bad spelling annoys me and as you and others say it speaks of lazyness and a couldn’t-care-less attitude. I was reminded however of the old TV comedy with Ronny Barker where he played the part of Arkwright and ran a corner store.
He would put out a sign that said ‘SPECIOLS’ in order to entice people into the shop to inform him of his mistake and invariably they would come out loaded up with shopping. I don’t think this would work in the case of the baskets but I’m not sure how it would affect others. Spelling doesn’t appear to be a priority these days.
If I may digress – have you noticed that it has become commonplace to use the word bought when brought is meant and vice versa? This has also morphed into cutting ‘r’ out of a lot of words such as Pobably, Poperty etc. This is my biggest annoyance at the moment. It is almost impossible to watch any TV show or News commentary and not hear it and I mostly watch ABC and SBS.
Thanks Amanda, great post.
The mentioned advertisment conveys a slap happy attitude and if this is how they portray their company what is their service going to be like.
If a simple advertsiment has these mistakes it doesnt fill you with confidence that their service or products are going to be much better.
Kind Regards: Ken Casey
I’m so glad I’m not alone. I absolutely hate typos like this – to me it’s very lazy.
I also hate how people use the wrong word when they’re speaking.
Desolie: Well done for making the effort to bring it to their attention. It does get tiresome when they still don’t fix it, doesn’t it?
Joan: Yes! It’s incredibly frustrating. I also find stationery spelt as being on the spot particularly annoying. Ridiculous, but I can’t help it.
Bridie: I think you and I are going to get along just famously.
Interesting post Amanda… and reading through the comments I am truly torn.
I also hate spelling mistakes – and having (what I think is) a keen eye for detail, I notice them when many might not. I suspect that many of the comments above have also come from people with a similar eye for detail.
Having spent many years in sales and also adult education, I have learnt that we are all different… duh. I have also learnt that the tolerance I was ‘forced’ to allow to my customers and those in my classrooms is an extremely good thing. Our diversity makes things better (and more interesting). Now I’m not talking about diversity of ethnicity, religion, etc. I mean diversity of personality, thinking and behaviour.
What does that have to do with a spelling mistake? A lot – I think. It might not necessarily come from laziness. It might be that the trader of the wicker basket has the ability to come up with an intricate design, the compassion to support someone who has lost a loved one or is a natural at being the life of the party – but cannot spell to save herself.
I need to remember that when I do spot the mistake (and I most probably will), I also look for the positives in the sign and stop being such a cynic… and that is a real challenge for me.
John
PS – After all this, I still find spelling mistakes annoying.