Details, Details, Details.

I have a slight obsession with paying attention to details.

I think that the extra seriousness I take to paying attention to how someone spells their name came from an interaction with one of my sorority sisters during our senior year of college. I made the mistake of misspelling her name (not on purpose, I honestly believed I was spelling it correctly) and she emailed me to update it on our mailing list. In her email she wrote, “it’s not a big deal or anything, but it’s just important to me”.

Are you kidding me?! If it’s important to you, then it is a big deal to me! (Especially because it was her last name I had misspelled and I know how important family is… especially to that person in particular.)

I think this is a very important lesson for all businesses and anyone who EVER interacts in the business community. Scratch that… I’d hate to see the same mistake I’m about to highlight on a wedding invitation or a thank you note just the same.

Either way, I won’t be rude and point out the business that made the following mistake today, but just to set the tone for anyone reading this… they were asking me to make a significant financial investment in their print advertising services:

“Ms. Lisa Jefferies
Jeffries & Sons Inc
1515 Lake Wheeler Rd
Raleigh, NC 27603

Dear Ms. Jefferies:”

This individual had managed to spell my company name correctly but 1) failed to recognize the connection between my last name and my company and, 2) put the mistake in print. The kicker is that the representative called me back after our initial conversation to double check the spelling.

How am I supposed to feel confident in the print advertising services offered by this agency if they make mistakes of this magnitude in their initial pitch?

Please note: I’m don’t walk on water. I do make mistakes and I’m not better than anyone else. But one thing I do ALWAYS do… is proofread.

• Category: Communication, Marketing