MemberI contacted a limo company the other day asking for some info and stating that the best way to reach me is by email. They responded in a timely manner, but the email was full of grammatical errors/incomplete sentences. Should this matter when deciding if I should hire them or do I overlook it and base my decision on their pricing/quality of limo? It’s kind of unprofessional, right? Thanks!
MemberUgh, I have a vendor that has had some weirdly phrased emails, but I think I am overly critical when it comes to grammar because of my degree (in PR, lots of technical writing). It is kind of unprofessional, but if you can, I’d try and give them a call/visit their place of business and see if it carries over.
MemberOh man, I hate that! I’m such a stickler for grammar and spelling that it would really bother me if a vendor sent me an email like that. It’s just so unprofessional!!
I would definitely have a problem with it, but I do think that you should try to talk with them in person (or on the phone) and see if they still seem unprofessional. But, I would definitely take something like that into consideration when making the final decision!
MemberIt would really bother me too and its very unprofessional. But the limo driver that you would be using probably isn’t the same person that is answering the emails. I’ll talk to them to see if you can get a better read on the situation.
MemberThat’s a potential dealbreaker for me, personally- if their grammar is consistently bad, I’m not sure if I can trust them to be on top of other things. I agree with texasmeredith- call them and see if they’re a little more focused then.
MemberFor some reason a lot of vendors (and people in general) seem to have this problem. If there is not a problem when you speak to them, I wouldn’t worry about it. I mean, I would worry about it–it would make me crazy!–but it’s AMAZING to me how many people I come across with no ability to construct coherent sentences in writing.
MemberUh oh! Which limo company?? 
I already hired one and I hope it’s not them!
MemberI wonder if they were emailing from their cell phone or something like that, my grammar doesn’t tend to be the best if I am rushed and emailing from my blackberry. I’d say cut them some slack, but if it continues, eww!
MemberIt would bother me a little but I wouldn’t base their ability to perform with just that. I think it’s more important for them to be polite and professional in manner. It also depends on what the vendor does, i.e. I wouldn’t want to hire a calligrapher or printing company who does a lot of typos or make grammatical errors. I think it’d bother me more if they don’t write in “internet speak” than regular typos/grammatical errors. I actually rejected a photographer recently because of her email address me as “J” (WTH?!) , and wrote out Friday as “Fri” and “night” as “nite”. UGH Could not stand that. Turned her down quickly.
MemberOne of my biggest pet peeves!!!!!!!! agh! However, a nurse that works at our hospital emailed a coworker of mine today and said “it was nice to meat you today”…but I do know that she’s a good nurse! So I guess as long as people are still good at their job, we will just have to deal LOL.
MemberOk, at least I know I’m not crazy for thinking that it’s a bit unprofessional. I’ll email them back and once I get some more pricing info go from there. Thanks girls!
MemberI think it’s awfully unprofessional (I have a bachelors degree in English) and it would be very irritating, but remember they are driving your limo, not writing our your invitations. If they speak well on the phone and have a good reputation, then I’d overlook it and not write them off right off the bat.
MemberUGH I HATE this. My photographer has a hundred misspellings on her blog. Makes them look really stupid! However..,.he is just a limo driver so it’s not a big deal; i doubt you’ll have tons and tons of correspondence with him. That being said, it still drives me up a flippin wall
MemberAlthough many grammatical errors are annoying, keep in mind that English might be his or her second language. My fiance is from Sweden and most people can hardly tell he has an accent anymore because he speaks perfect English. He still makes many grammatical errors in writing though.
For me it would depend on what the vendor is for… if it were someone making my invitations, I would probably be scared that everything would be spelled wrong… if it were a limo driver, I probably wouldn’t mind… although I understand it looks unprofessional.
MemberLOL
this made me laugh because I am a total spaz about grammar and spelling and copy-editing! I definitely stick up my nose when something is riddled with errors. If the price is great, try googling reviews to make sure they’re legit. Good luck!
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