The Beautician's Careless Mistake

Years ago, while I was walking in my neighborhood, I noticed a sign in the window of a local beauty parlor. The owner wished to advertise the parlor’s ability to provide hot manicuring services to its customers. The sign, as I recollect, read as follows:

HOT MANCURE

Although this story is funny to recall, it can also teach us some important lessons in proper messaging. This beauty parlor may have had skilled cosmeticians working for it, providing fine service to its customers. However, those fine skills may have been compromised in some way by the bad messaging.

First, a careless mistake like the above, in signage or in print, can leave a negative impression on the reader and potential customer: “If this person is careless in wording or spelling, is she (or he) also going to prove careless in providing me personal beauty care?” Is that the type of message you want to convey to your public? They may laugh at your mistake, but, depending on the seriousness of the error, may also turn off the chance of doing business with you.

Secondly, the person reading the sign may also sense that the person running the shop has an English-language deficit problem: “Maybe she or he is not fluent in English and will not understand how I want my hair (or nails) done?” That is not a good message to send out to potential customers either.

Let’s face it. We all make mistakes or errors. It’s important to catch those mistakes—the earlier, the better. Having a second pair of eyes review your sign or your message can catch these mistakes early, with less damage to your business’ image.

Messaging matters. Clear, accurate messages make the best impression on your potential customers. A good proofreader can provide that second pair of eyes you need to make sure your message gets sent out in the proper way.