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A Bad Marketing Day

I had a laugh regarding a web inquiry one of my customers received recently.  The inquiry was the first one the company had received “in 8 months.”  When the salesperson emailed the contact to set up a call, the contact said he was a victim of identity theft and had not submitted the inquiry.

You know, some days just go that way.

Spelling Does NOT Matter

Here is a new title from a sales employment ad:

Accont Exceutive

Honestly, if I could spike my coffee right now I would.  Whatever price this medical company paid for the ad has been wasted before a single click.

Writing Gone Bad

A sentence I just read in a laptop battery warranty statement:

We are happy to send a replacement when you receive a defective item from us.

“when”!?!

Communicate They Do Not

One of my favorite anecdotal websites is Killian Advertising’s Cover Letters From Hell.  I promise you will laugh so check it out.  In the meantime, here is a sample of the some “unique” writing:

“It is my desire to develop and generate the revolving scheme to filter to the consuming public in.”

“I’m looking for work because even though my company was profitable last year, this year they are expecting a large defecate.”

“A flaw that I must point out because it even bothers me is that I am impatient. I hate waiting, but then again who does?”

Heart Attack Hiring

The company name listed in a sales ad I read this morning:

Type A personalities wanted

Spam Sourcing

How is this for a spam approach to applicants?

You have been accepted for a high paying work from home job.

Click the link below to get all the information:

Click Here

Sincerely,

Hiring Manager

p.s. Please claim your position today or it will be given to the next applicant.

The “p.s.” line is fantastic.

Quality Is Overrated

I picked up a business card this week from a business associate that had this tagline on it:

Were Quality Is #1

Absolutely not kidding.

Geography Matters

I just read an ad for a mid-level sales position.  Interesting part was the location listed in the ad:

Milwaukie, WI

The hiring company is based in Fresno, CA which is, I suppose, in relative proximity to Milwaukie, OR.  However, the Wisconsin town of the same name is spelled “Milwaukee.”

In hiring, details matter.

(And wouldn’t you think Monster would have a checker of some form for these errors?)

Rudeness At Work

From Shine on Yahoo comes one of those surveys that makes me think we are over-surveying (emphasis mine):

…96% of Americans report experiencing rudeness at work, and 48% say they are treated uncivilly at least once a week.

This kind of manners meltdown can have a direct effect on the bottom line. According to surveys conducted by Pearson and her colleagues, 48% of poorly treated employees have intentionally decreased their productivity and 12% say the boorish behavior compelled them to quit. Workplace rudeness costs employers an average of $50,000 per worker. “There are very high costs associated with even seemingly inconsequential inconsiderate words and actions,” adds Pearson.

Insert yawn here (maybe that was “boorish behavior” on my part).  $50K per worker due to rudeness?  Where does that number come from?  I have a hard time believing that one.

Tone Deaf Management

Remember back a few years ago when Radio Shack fired employees via email?  Well, here comes another tone-deaf approach by retail management.  I think the title of the Inc.com article explains it well – PetSmart Fires Employee Who Brought Dog to Work.

Here it is:

Eric Favetta, a 31-year-old PetSmart employee, was fired for "theft of services" after bringing his dog to work during an overnight shift he’d picked up as a favor to his manager, according to the Newark Star-Ledger.

Favetta – a former military dog handler who’d worked at PetSmart for 18 months – didn’t want his 3-year-old Belgian Malinois, Gizmo, to be home alone all day and night. So he put Gizmo in the Secaucus, New Jersey store’s doggie day care facility. The store was empty, and Favetta checked in on his pet every 15 minutes.

Two weeks later, store and district managers requested a written report of his overnight shift. He complied – and promptly was fired for "theft of service."

“I was shocked,” Favetta told the Star Ledger. “It makes me sick that because I brought my dog to work with me when the store was closed to do the company a favor, I was called a thief and terminated.” "Theft of service" was just a convenient excuse to axe him because he didn’t get along with his manager, he argues, noting that he opened the store and handled money without incident.

Astounding.  In all fairness to PetSmart, they did change course and offer Mr. Favetta his job back and a transfer to another store.  I am still amazed that the corporate people did not see the irony and idiocy of this situation.

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