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Why you should spell it right!

I recently received a letter from my bank in which they told me they had decided to limit the number of card purchaces but that I would be please to know that there would be no other changes to the pricing on the account.

I went on to the website of a major South African insurance company, looking for life insurance quotes. On one page they advised me to save money for my retrement and that it was a good idea to investor now.

A well-known fireplace manufacturer warns that in traditional fireplaces, you loose 90% of the heat up the chimney. On Sunday I saw a notice stating that The owner, it’s agents and it’s employees would not take responsibility for the safety of vehicles on the premises. Parked next door was a bumper sticker telling me that Hout Bay Rocks! With it’s own radio station. Does no-one know the difference between it’s and its?

I’m sure it’s not just me. There must be other people out there irritated beyond measure at this sloppy and unprofessional disregard for basic spelling and grammar. Even a computer’s spell checker will pick up most of these mistakes. And yet a major bank, for example, sends out thousands of letters to all their business customers with two glaring errors! For me this shows a lack of respect for their clients and a worrying inattention to detail. If you can’t even get someone else to check a letter or at the very least, run it through the spell checker before hitting “send”, you don’t seem to care very much about your clients at all.

2 Comments

  1. Samantha

    I couldn’t agree more. I work in Local Government and keep a journal of misspelled words and grammatical errors. I have also become the local proof-reader, and correct everything from minutes to policies before I will allow them to be approved. I saw a fabulous one the other day: I hirely appreciate it!
    Keep up the good fight. There are many of us who are fighting it with you.

  2. admin

    Thanks for the comment Samantha – I enjoyed your example! It must be very difficult for people whose home language is not English, but who have to speak – and write – in English at work.

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