flyboy_fox: (It's come to this)
[personal profile] flyboy_fox
Ahahaha, it's amazing what a little snark can do for one's mood (:

Just before my phone interview, the door buzzer startled the crap out of me (I was on edge waiting for the call). Jei answered it and it was someone wanting to be let in to deliver 'a parcel'. She buzzed them in, and lo and behold a minute or so later a flyer comes through our letter flap instead! Hmm~ sneaky sneaky.

So, what is this flyer? It turned out to be a 'letter' (if you could call it that) from Palmer Snell Estate Agents claiming that a "Mr M" is looking for property in the Meyrick Park area and asking if we're planning on selling. Obviously the same letter was slipped through everyone in the block's doors. Nothing much of interest about that, except that the letter itself was appallingly written. The first sentence did not even remotely make sense. It was basically a conglomeration of two completely different sentences, starting out as one and somehow merging into the other midway. The third sentence was a fragment and should have been connected to the second sentence with a comma rather than as an isolated segment. So on and so on. Grammatical errors were abound, also, with words missing and inappropriate punctuation/capitalization. The whole thing was such a mess that I was quite honestly sickened. It's one thing to spam residents with your crap (we get them all the time), but somehow it's unfathomably worse when the 'letter' supposedly came from an "Associate Director" with the writing skills of a ten-year-old (if that!).

Now, I'm not a 'Grammar Nazi' the way I used to be. My own journal is a mess of sentence fragments and 'creative' grammar, with the occasional typo I'm sure. But when professional publications come along looking like no thought went into them whatsoever, it irks me big time. I'm exactly the sort of person that 'Eats Shoots and Leaves' was written for. So what did I do?

I proofed that bugger. I took my editing pen to it, corrected it, and added a small addendum telling them that if they intend to spam us with flyers then they should at least hire staff who can write coherently and correctly. I also added that their delivery person had illegally gained entry to our block of flats by impersonating a parcel delivery person. I didn't supply contact details; I don't need my response validated. I just wanted them to read my snark and hopefully rage. I can imagine it's more likely that they'll just 'wtf' and chuck it right in the trash but eh. I enjoy being petty and anal-retentive sometimes. ♥

Date: 2010-09-15 04:22 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sletia.livejournal.com
xD I do that at work. I'm horrible. I take a pen and correct spelling mistakes because it drives me nuts. I get the urge to then give it a grade but I'm not that evil. xD No one knows who did it, so.. :3

Date: 2010-09-15 04:25 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] flyboy-fox.livejournal.com
I totally get that. I'm the kind of person who subtly 'corrects' any forms I get before sending them back and who fires off emails to professional websites with friendly nudges about typographical/grammatical errors that I've spotted XD I'm such a pedantic jerk.

Date: 2010-09-15 06:16 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sletia.livejournal.com
I find in this day and age people have gotten lazy due to automatic spell-checkers.

Date: 2010-09-15 06:19 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] flyboy-fox.livejournal.com
I guess they forget that spell-checkers really only check exactly that - spelling. If the wrong version of a word is used, or if the grammar is erroneous, the checker won't pick up on that. Even 'advanced' checkers that are programmed to pick out grammatical errors only work from a basic database and won't notice everything. A spell-checker is certainly no replacement for actually proofreading one's work :\

Date: 2010-09-15 07:04 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sletia.livejournal.com
Preach on, sistah!

Date: 2010-09-15 07:06 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] inkedfeathers.livejournal.com
Sounds like the wonders of Twilight. The grammar in that monster is terrifying.

Of course, the terrible language is the only terrifying thing about it. Rather sad, considering its "plot" supposedly revolves around vampires and werewolves.

Date: 2010-09-15 07:10 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] flyboy-fox.livejournal.com
I haven't touched those books (or the movies!) with a 10-foot pole, and don't intend to any time soon ever. I like my brain intact, thankyouverymuch. And yes, I know they're supposed to be vampires, not zombies, but from what I've seen of the effect the series has on people's brains...

Date: 2010-09-15 07:16 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sletia.livejournal.com
Honest to God, my friend bought it for me for Christmas several years ago, and I refuse to touch it. XD

Date: 2010-09-15 07:28 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] shadowdingo.livejournal.com
I haven't dared touch that book either. My friend went off it because of the fandom. x-x

Date: 2010-09-15 10:56 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rblake77.livejournal.com
I am sad to say that my Ray Bradbury and F. Scott Fitzgerald loving brain has been tainted with the abomination that is "Twilight".

Ya see, I recently tried reading the first "Twilight" book, to see why it's such a big deal. I only got about a quarter way through before the poor writing and bad grammar overloaded my brain and I couldn't take anymore.

I've since returned that thing to the library and read some Richard Matheson and Bram Stoker to fix my broken brain.

And would you look at that. I've managed to use the word "brain" in every paragraph. And I'm not even talking about zombies.

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