You're speling may be costing you busines!

Wow...a lot of terrific responses here!!  

Lisa,  

Your wish is my command. This is a picture of me with my daughter Madalinn...I think she was 2-3 years old when it was taken. She turns 10 at the end of this month...but needless to say, I look exactly <cough> the same. LOL!! Thanks for posting!

 

Lorinda and Mike,  

Several on that particular post had suggested the same thing. Since I was brand new here, I wasn't sure what was "politically correct"...and what was "off-limits". I had certainly read many, many blogs where the comments were dissenting viewpoints from the original poster's perspective, so it seemed completely reasonable to point out a simple spelling mistake.  

I actually thought the 40+ comments which preceded mine were the ill-mannered, less-thoughtful ones....for NOT pointing it out. The graphic which accompanied the post showed the error as plain as day. They all had taken the time to write "You go girl. You're the best!"....but not a single one of them pointed out the obvious. Too nice perhaps?? But if too nice means letting her send that pre-listing package to a dozen prospects with the word "personnel" instead of "personal", I'll be the bad guy any time.  

Then again, I've always been the one to tell the teacher his fly was down, while everyone else snickered and jeered.  

I'm opinionated...that's for sure. Ask any of my customers! If I'm creating a new branding package for them...a totally new "look and feel" for their marketing, I explain that they HAVE to be honest with me. If there's something they don't like, they need to say "Dave, I don't like it." It's the only way we'll get anything done. And you, as a professional real estate agent....HAVE to tell a seller when their pricing expectation is too high. You can't slip them a note under the table. You just tell them. Straightforward. To the point. You show them why...because that's part of being a reputable, professional and yes, caring agent. It may take them a while to understand that (like 6 months later when the house doesn't sell)...but you sure wouldn't keep it a secret.  

In any case...I now have taken some of the comments I want to make...into more private settings. Example: Recently, I was helping a fellow AR'er with a new custom blog header. I wound up using a photo of him from his website instead of the one he used on his profile. He asked why...and I told him the photo with the sunglasses wasn't "right". In fact, I remember when I first saw it...I thought to myself, "OMG...he's blind and he sells real estate???" LOL!! In any case...that was all handled privately. And then...three days ago, he posts a blog talking about his decision to change his profile pic because a professional marketing person didn't like his other photo. YIKES!!!

It turned out to be somewhat reassuring to read others post things like "Yeah, I hated your other photo. This one is so much nicer." I guess I always wonder why no one speaks up.  

I really appreciate your input...and for taking the time to read my post!  

Tony,  

Thoughs were my thawts exacvlyt!  

Richard,  

Obviously mine too. I've actually had agents tell me it's no big deal because it's only other agents who see them. Oh??? Ever hear of IDX and/or Realtor.com? LOL!

Kathleen,  

I know all about the "Mind your own business" syndrome!! LOL! Thanks for posting!  

Above All,  

LOL...Horse for sale with 2-car garbage!! Priceless! Oh, and yes...it was intentional. :P  

Bob,  

Here's my take on what I read from you. You are spelling challenged....but one would never know from reading your comment. It is thoughtful, articulate, relevant, etc. I DO understand where you're coming from, however. A friend of mine recently shared a story about being estranged from his Dad at an early age (divorce). At age 10, he mustered up the courage to write his Dad a letter...and share his thoughts....and to tell him he loved and missed him.  

The Dad was a professor at a University.  

The letter was sent back with a thank you...along with the original letter with red circles showing where the misspelled words were.  

That broke my heart.  

Not a single person here is pointing a finger at anyone. This post was not intended to look down our noses at anyone. It was intended to have people seek out...as YOU have, ways to work within their challenges. The same way the rest of us do with whatever OUR challenges are! I'm a 50-year old single Dad of the little girl whose photo is shown above. I also run one of the top real estate marketing firms in the country. Guess what? It's a struggle to do all my Daddy things...and hold the reigns to a company like ours. But I do it. And I wouldn't trade it for the world. Some people might look down their noses at me for taking on so much responsibility. Perhaps I'm letting my daughter down somehow in the process. The answer to that is "Nope. No way." We all do what we gotta do to make things work. It's a real thing too....and it looks like you and I both are up to the challenge!  

Thank you for writing..it's VERY much appreciated!  

Katerina,  

Don't worry honey (I can call her that cuz we're friends)...on the marketing stuff we're working on together...."I got your back!"

Hmmm....isn't that supposed to be "I HAVE your back?":P  

Jimmy,  

Aymen bruther!  

Dave

Elizabeth!!!!

I almost fell out of my chair when I read that!!!!! You're soooo right!!!

"This home will be open to the 'public' this weekend from 1:00-5:00...and includes a free lesson with one of the pros at the 'public' golf course."

(Needless to say, I opted for the correct spelling in the sentence above!! LOL)

Great post!

Dave 

Mike,

LOL....so true!

Jesse,

You win the free blog header!!!!!!! In my original post....there was a line that said "Sure, we all make typos, but I'm talking about that". Obviously, it was supposed to say "but I'm NOT talking about that."

I was curious as to whether anyone was going to point it out, much less notice it. It actually WAS an error when I typed the original post...but in my proofreading back...I caught it...and thought "Hmm, should I change this...or leave it to see if a.) anyone notices...or b.) will they say anything?" since it seemed so topical given the gist of the post itself. I decided to leave it.

Jesse found it!! (By the way, I really hope it was the only one, because it's the only one I found too!)

In any case Jesse...congratulations! If you're interested in the free blog header, check out one of my other blogs regarding the headers for information I'll need from you to create yours ok?

Good job!

Dave

P.S. I guess I should let everyone know that the original post has been re-edited to show the corrected version.

P.S. #2

I don't want to embarrass Jesse...but...um....I did notice in his response that he said it should be "Sure, we all make "types" instead of typos...but I forgive him for that. ::: smile :::

Roland,

LOL...I love that sign, don't you? I almost actually want to put some in front yards across the country just to see if anyone notices!!

Bob,

I looked for something to correct...and couldn't find anything. But if I do, I'll let you know, ok?? LOL!

Kathy,

My dumb left SHIFT key doesn't work half the time! It causes me to have to cursor back and replace "i" with "I", etc. But I'm picky about spelling....so I do it. And unfortunately, I LOVE this dumb keyboard...and don't want to replace it! LOL! I'm attached to my keyboard in more ways than one!

Jason,

Well...I've only been here about two months. I hadn't read all of those prior posts, but I DID get beaten up pretty well by some agents who thought it inappropriate to correct someone's spelling. I appreciate your comment...and even your ever-so-slight sarcasm. I'm also pretty sure the word in your last sentence is supposed to be "awfully" (not "awful"). I won't go anywhere near the obvious punctuation errors..because I do that too. Heck...look at my overuse of "dot, dot, dots."

Thank, for comentimg............

(I crack myself up)

Dave

Jason,

You opened your comment with:

"David my pet peeve is posts about spelling being a pet peeve."

That seemed like an unnecessary way to start a comment about another person's post. There are many of us here who are new to ActiveRain. We don't know what was blogged about a year and half ago. We don't know what's a beaten horse...and what's not. Seems like it would have been kinda' nice for you to have started your comment by mentioning that there have been many posts already written about the topic...and stating your opinion (without injecting that it's a pet peeve of yours.) What exactly was the point of that? It seemed slightly combative as a way to start a response. If I misunderstood, and your opening comment was indeed intended as a relevant contribution, then I guess I took it wrong. But it definitely came across as sarcasm.

Then you continued with...

"You took the high road and intentionally put spelling errors in yours, smart thinking because had you had a mistake in your post, you would have looked awful dumb. "

The implication is that you don't believe I intentionally put it there...and you couldn't resist making a comment about the possibilities of me being "awful dumb".

I guess the point is....I don't understand why you felt compelled to even comment at all?? If it was a topic you were tired of, you should have moved on. If it was a post you didn't believe in, or agree with....I absolutely would've welcomed your commentary. But to start it the way you did...and imply an awful dumbness on my part was, in my mind, unnecessary. So I couldn't resist poking a little fun back. I even mentioned that I wouldn't go near the puntuation errors because I do that too. The ONLY thing I wrote in response to your sarcasm, was that "awful" should have been "awfully".

And then....within two minutes, I sent you a private email indicating that I had poked fun...and apologized. I thought you were the type of agent who was out to stir up trouble...and I had simply given you a dose of your own medicine. Then, I read another blog...where I got an entirely different impression of you...and immmediately sent you an apology. I also asked whether you wanted me to delete my poking fun response. Hey, I don't have any problems acknowledging when I may have been wrong. But it was difficult to tell whether you were a trouble maker or actually well-intended.

I also appreciate your compliments on the work we do. It's a shame that personalities don't come through when reading a blog...(or comments). I have fun at what I do...and we're an extremely successful company. Some of our top customers...agents who are incredibly successful in their real estate careers...can't spell worth a damn. They rely on us to ensure everything that goes out is correct....because they know the importance of making good and professional impressions. You may choose to believe that none of your customers care much about the spelling or grammatical mistakes made on your marketing materials. But that's because you're only doing business with the ones who didn't care. The ones who DID care about it...and believed it to be a reflection of who you are, what your intellect is, what your negotiating prowess is and what your professionalism levels are...never called you. They chose someone else. You just don't know about it, that's all.

Meanwhile, my customers and I enjoy a very casual, friendly, and good natured rapport. I can absolutely tease them about spelling Dining Room "Dinning"...and they ask me what drugs I was one when I chose THAT color! I can call them anytime and laugh at the fact that I can't read their handwriting. And they can call and poke fun at the fact that I chose the wrong photo in their layout. We love doing business together. They're exceptionally great at what they do...and we're pretty good at what we do. It's a perfect combination.

It's a shame you were offended. I also can't help but wonder if you, too....could have possibly made better use of your time in promoting your business, instead of coming in to offer up what your pet peeves are or are not. Yes, I once again am poking fun! But for crying out loud...it's a lot easier to find the humor in that kind of poking fun...than to storm off feeling offended.

In your private email response, you wrote, "Unfortunately, your comments and judgement of me earn you an automatic checkmark in my book.  We spend way to much money on our auction marketing to do business with a person that would not treat others with respect."

I accept that. It's your opinion. But I assure you I have the UTMOST respect for my customers. For that matter, for virtually everyone I come into contact with. However, there will always be those who come into a blog to harrass and dish it out a little...but who can't take a little poking fun in return. As it turns out...it seems you weren't harrassing...or dishing it out....and I drew the wrong conclusion.

For that...I'm sorry. I think we probably could have helped you take your auctioneering business to many higher levels. And you'd have been able to grow your business in a big way...without ever having to worry whether your marketing materials were the most professional out there. They would have been.

They still can be if you're ever in the mood. But you'll HAVE to allow me to poke fun at you saying "dagnabbit" while you poke fun at me for having a Southern California accent.

Those are my terms...and I won't budge.

Dave

Kevin

LOL....in my original post, THAT LAST LINE WAS ABSOLUTELY intentionally misspelled in order to add a final point to the blog (mistakes was spelled "misstakes"....and too was spelled "to").

And please don't get mad at this....but

In your second post above....it says "In you original post on the last line"....instead of "your".

::: sorry, I couldn't resist :::

You owe me a beer. LOL!!

Dave

Jason,

LOL...you're right!! I just tried that and sure enough, "blog" was underlined as misspelled!! Too funny!

Reminds me of the web design program I use.

It underlines "website" constantly as being unrecognizable or spelled incorrectly!! I actually went to Dictionary.com to check it out...and found that the preferred way of spelling it is "Web site" or "Web-site". Unbelievable!!! I've been spelling it wrong the whole time??? LOL!!

Fortunately (and yes, I'm hanging my hat on this)...it DID mention that the term "website" was becoming more prominent in practical use...and is now considered an acceptable version.

Whew!  :: wiping sweat off brow now ::

By the way...nice to see you back!

Dave