What has value?
I may be stepping on my own toes here – I’ve got a fun video blog entry planned on a similar topic, but I felt compelled to write this after reading of News of the Weird this morning. NotW always has some gems that lift spirits and remind us that there are folk out there making worse decisions than we!
The article in question here is about Colorado’s Mesa University having to reprint diplomas over a six-year span at a potential cost of nearly $46,000!!! You can read the original article here: https://www.gjsentinel.com/news/colorado/colorado-university-re-printing-diplomas-due-to-typo/article_8558b1fe-44ed-5ebd-8f4c-3cec3279d471.html Or see the NotW brief (along with some other fun articles) here: https://www.uexpress.com/news-of-the-weird/2018/8/17
When I think about proofreading, I always think back to some of my school papers that got points deducted for grammar, punctuation and the like. From eighth grade on through college (although I’m proud to say I was much better in grad school!), I always felt harshly judged by my instructors.
I am happy to say that some of those instructional critiques have given me a greater desire to be careful in my own writing and to pay attention to others. It would be the height of arrogance to say that I don’t make mistakes, but I do try to achieve accuracy.
So, how does this relate to value?
Your AZ Swagman hopes that everyone reading this has had nothing but good experiences with the AZ Promo division (heck, with all of AZOR, but let’s face it, Promo is my baby!) But even if you’re getting your promotional products through another source, please take a moment to appreciate the value of a good proofing.
Your promo distributor (hopefully your AZ Swagman), begins with direction from you, the client. This can be in the form of completed art, or a sketch on a napkin. Once the order is placed, at some point you get a final proof. At this stage it’s critical that you take on the mantle of proofreader and carefully check every word, logo, phone number, etc.
So what’s the value in proofing carefully? Well, as Mesa University is discovering, it could be as high as $46,000 for a simple typo! Errors that rise to the level of libel, or errors that send your clients to a different website or phone number can cause that cost to rise much, much higher!
The long and short of the matter: whomever you use for your promotional products, please value the proofing effort that goes into your products.