I saw this advertisement in a glossy, ‘tourist’ brochure during a recent visit to Ocean Grove.  (Note: the right edge of the photo is missing – blame the photographer – the word SUMMER appeared correctly.)

Examples such as this one are not meant to embarrass or ridicule anyone. ‘These things happen’ as they say but a professional Copy Editor or a Verification Editor would have seen and corrected the error before it went to print. A word to the wise: ‘spellcheck’ does not recognise words in ALL CAPS.

Seeing the typo in the main headline changed my expectations. At first glance it looked like it would be a ‘professional and ‘slick’ event (and it probably was) but the typo gave it a hint of ‘amateur’ and ‘backyard’ that lowered expectations and interest.

A similar thing happened recently when I acted on a friend’s recommendation of a new local restaurant. At the table my companion pointed to the numerous spelling errors in the menu. She jokingly commented, “I hope they cook better than they spell.” The food was good – but the overall impression was lowered. I am not saying there were tears over a typo – I am not that precious – just that the lack of attention to detail in this one area cannot help but make you wonder if they are just as inattentive in other areas.

Do mistakes like this affect your expectations of what is being promoted or offered?