With the last sign we featured, it was the wording that created the confusion. This time, the wording is crystal clear - no dogs allowed. But what kind of animal is depicted on the sign? What exactly is it? A duckbill platypus? Wow.
What do you think…did the owner/manager who purchased this sign really look at it closely? How about the sign manufacturer? Were they unable to create a silhouette that accurately portrayed a dog? This is just another example of how unobservant people can be…
**We took this picture in a campground not far from the Sawtooth National Recreation Area in Idaho.
Just because all of the information is out there for potential customers to read doesn’t mean the message is being communicated clearly to them. This picture is an excellent example. I saw this sign board in South Dakota and had to read it a couple of times to decipher and digest the information properly. Initially, it looked like a jumbled mess of words to me. While the owner or manager of the hotel may have known exactly what all of those words meant, their potential customers were having a hard time figuring it out.
Am I being picky here? I don’t think so. Honestly, the first line was the only line on the entire sign that was clear in its message. When I first read the remaining lines, these are the questions that immediately came to my mind:
1. Is that a price listed there? There isn’t a dollar sign or a decimal point.
2. “Pets Kids Stay Free” — So, if my dog had puppies or my cat had kittens, they were able to stay for free?
3. I’ve never seen or experienced an indoor pool spa.
4. “Meal Deals” — Does this mean I could play ‘deal or no deal’ with my waiter or waitress regarding the price of my meal?
Yes, I may be stretching it on a couple of these items. However, the larger issue here lies in poor communication. While this is a simple sign, it represents this hotel. Unfortunately, it was doing a very poor job for them.
As a business owner or manager, are you communicating with your customers properly? Do your marketing materials, letters, newsletters, email campaigns accurately reflect the professionalism you desire to project to your customers?
