Proofreading every word that gets put to a page may seem excessive, but it’s essential. A typo may only lead to a comical misunderstanding with a coworker, but it could also lead to a detrimental gap in communication with your subscribers. Why does everything need to be proofread? Let’s look to the Stanley Cup winning Boston Bruins and their rookie Brad Marchand.
In the aftermath of the Stanley Cup, Marchand and several of his Bruins teammates got tattoos to celebrate their achievement. What did Marchand decide to have permanently emblazoned on his body? “Starley Cup Champians” (Marchand refutes that the tattoo ever said Starley) with the team name and date of their clinching victory.
With the date and team name on there, it’s hard to claim that Marchand had won some other similarly named trophy, the Starley Cup (on the exact same date as the Stanley Cup no less). It would be even harder for him to try and sell a spelling change for championship. Thankfully, the only one affected by this lack of proofreading was Marchand. He was made a bit of an internet laughingstock when this story broke. It could be much worse for your business.
A typo at its very least will make you look less than professional. It could be an extra number or misplaced decimal point on a sale item that can affect your company financially. It could even be as bad as the memorable disaster of a typo from Curb Your Enthusiasm that memorialized Larry David’s beloved aunt (<-that word had the typo) in an unfortunate light.
Dealing with it as quickly as possible is your first step. Be honest and, most importantly, apologetic. If you have to offer alternate compensation that’s closer to what you can afford, do it. Humor is always a solid approach. I’m sure Marchand was the laughingstock amongst his teammates. People make mistakes. Just don’t make a failure to proofread one of them.
