The Importance Of Details

When someone sends me an email, the first thing I look for is how they spell my name. My married surname is difficult for newbie's, but if the writer took the time to double check, it automatically puts me in a better frame of mind and more open to whatever I'm about to read. The second piece is the name of the magazine. This isn't difficult for most people. The magazine has been Automatic Merchandiser for decades. Those words were in the title even when the magazine began. So when I received an email for an article submission and the name of the magazine was incorrect, I was a bit dismayed. 

There were other problems as well, but I kept coming back to the name of the magazine. I couldn't help but think, if this were truly important to the writer, than he would have at least gotten the magazine name correct.

I know I'm not alone in this issue. The importance of proper punctuation is hammered into resume writers the world over -- and the proper spelling of potential employer's names. But what about after you get a job? In writing, changing a mere comma can completely change a sentence. There's a book with a great example: The Panda eats, shoots and leaves. Do you want another, more vending specific example? Cash and cashless. When writing about the decline of cash in the coming years, if "less" is added, it completely changes the statement.

My point in all this is that we correspond with others each day. We ask others to consider using our business and services. To those operators who know the importance of error-free proposals and who double check the spelling of location manager names, I salute you. You are ahead of the game. For anyone who doesn't reread an email before they hit send, I'd reconsider. A person's favorite thing to read is their name in print, and if he or she is a business owner, there will be a great deal of pride in the company name. Or maybe they are like me, and the first few words set my mind open or closed against what I'm about to read. Either way, small things are important in this world, and an extra minute in proofreading or double-checking can win big in the end.