Of course it does!
While I have always been a stickler for accurate spelling I can appreciate the use of shortcuts in this age of texting and tweeting. For that reason I have, somewhat begrudgingly, come to accept the occasional “lol”, or 4 for “four”, or “are you” represented by “RU” in electronic communications as the inevitable result. But I still expect businesses to communicate in a proper, “professional” manner.
So you can imagine my reaction on receiving the following email message in response to a query about a pair of prescription sunglasses for which a new lens was being provided under warranty.
Hello This is (name deleted) im the optician that made your glasses unfortunately i can not just send you lense Du to my safty conserns i must install all lenses in our frames we would be liable if you injured a eye if the lense wasent installed properly.
Please send your glasses to
The message then continued with a misspelled business name and street name to which I was to send my glasses for repair.
This email was all the explanation I needed as to why my sunglasses were incorrectly made in the first place. Clearly this person takes no pride in his workmanship if he’s prepared to attach his name to such a poorly written and sloppy communication. And if it wasn’t for the fact that this is a warranty repair I would be looking for a new supplier.
Such carelessness in written communications is becoming more and more common (although this is the worst example I have seen personally) and reflect directly, and poorly, on both the author and the business he/she represents. If a business can’t or won’t make the effort to represent itself professionally in writing, why would you think they will take any better care with the product or service you are contemplating purchasing?
1 comment:
I do think that there are different levels in the usage of English.
txt-englsh is fine 4 txting. i do it myslf wen txt with my old numeric keypad.
When conducting business, I do expect proper English from both parties doing business.
When writing blogs, I do expect one's best English. Exceptions can be made for creativity.
When commenting in other people's blogs, I do try to spell properly. Yes, sometimes I do make mistakes. That happens to many of us. I am forgiving.
I generally do not comment on someone's spelling, grammar, or syntax mistakes unless these mistakes interfere with one's message. For example, I might make a comment if someone writes the following: "I condone anti-semitism" if one means "I condemn anti-semitism."
I am forgiving with people whose first language is not English depending on the situation.
I am not picky about someone using Canadian, American, or British English.
I do look at my grammar books once in a while to refresh my knowledge. I, too, do make mistakes.
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