Spelling & Grammar

[framehvac]

Most documentaries films or letters the spelling has been corrected for you.Most of the war letters one soldiers in the unit will write for all the guy because most couldn't read or write you should have learned this in history class.And as far as farmers, blacksmiths, and laborers in history most couldn't read or write at all.In the usa history I thank we can read & write better thenever as far as overseas I don't know?

[dorrmann]

I fully disagree that Americans can read and write better than ever. The illiteracy rate in this country is higher than it's been in a LONG time. Maybe in the time of the Civil War the rate of educated people was much lower, but we're doing worse today than we did in the 50's, 60's, etc.

As for the actual topic of this thread, I believe that spelling and grammar has a huge impact on the customer’s impression of us as a tech and a company. It goes hand in hand with the York ad. Assuming that all else is even, who would you rather have working in your house? The slob, or the professional? The tech who could speak and spell correctly, or the one who can’t?

There shouldn’t be any reason to use wrong form of the word. The ones I see most often is were instead of we’re, your instead of you’re, and there instead of their. Those are things that we all learned in elementary school. It’s not even a high school thing. I can’t remember even having a spelling test in high school.

With technology today, there should be even less of a reason to misspell words. Granted, not everyone carries a laptop in their van. I’m one who doesn’t. There are handheld spell checkers as low as $15 at one website I visited. I’m sure there are even cheaper models available at Wal-Mart or other retail stores. I’ll put the link at the bottom of this post.

framehvac – I did not want to bring this up, because I thought it was a typo at first, but the word you are looking for is “think,” not “thank.” Nothing personal.

http://www.franklin.com/estore/categ...type=handhelds

[framehvac]

The slob, or the professional what are you talking about slobs spell bad I don,t udder stand.This post is about
Spelling and grammar seem to have become a lost art.I am not the best speller I spell thing wrong all the time some what.What is your point i have a franklin spelling ace so if I write a letter the spelling will be right so you said I spelled think wrong I put it in the spelling ace & it said it was right I may have used it wrong I will look latter.

Think synoyms deem esteem hold opine suppose consider account reckon regard

But you are slamming someone that doesn't care if every word in this post is spelled right.Look at all the other post you can find all kinds of post with bad spelling.But in the usa history my opine is that people in the usa spell better thenever we just disagree.

[MadeinUSA]

Use peeple haff too beez poolin mie legg hear on dis thred. Wuts proefessenalizm gots to doo wiff spelin.

[troyorr]

I beleive the skill level of the technician, in grammer and spelling, is a direct reflection of the demographic of the population they serve. Rural, Middle Class and Inner-City customers only care about getting their equipment going. A good technician needs to be able to verbally communicate with the customer at hand. I have both a technicial as well as management degree and I can communicate with the homeowner that dropped out of school in the forth grade as well as the college professor holding their PhD. I understand Norms' point and agree that scribbles and chicken tracks randomly moving across a service order send a non-verbal message to the customer.

[icemeister]

I found this article which directly addresses the spelling issues that we are all discussing here. This is a short excerpt:

"But what is the answer? How do we correct the spelling problems of our children? How do we restore language in a way which enables users to speak it and write it consistently?

The answer is that we must stop being ambivalent about language, and especially about our own language. Either there are correct answers in language, or there are none. Either we allow ourselves to choose a "fixed" form of the language we speak, and teach that variations are incorrect, or we permit the language to change in every direction it will and cease to teach that there are any rules at all. And either way, we must understand the consequences of our decision."

This ambivalence toward proper use of language shows itself in responses throughout this thread, so one might infer that we, as contractors and employers are indeed part of the problem rather than part of the solution.

Here's a link to the entire piece if you care enough to read it.

http://www.mjyoung.net/misc/spelling.htm

[hi-tork]

Originally posted by lmtd

Originally posted by NormChris


I supplied dictionaries in the vans plus put together a 4 page list of the most commonly misspelled words occuring on service work orders.

occurring
occurring
occurring
occurring
occurring

Type it five times correctly in a row and you reduce your error rate.

I agree it is professional. I also agree it is important. I usually will ignore it, but the irony of finding it in a thread dedicated to the subject just flips the switch.

Poor speeeeelin is a hurdle one should try and overcome; however, it is the core reason an industry of proof-readers are employed.

I had a student as me if I was going to be teaching the "psychosematic class" this phase. It is a border line call to correct or just respond. I opted to respond and then told him how to say it in private later.

I think most folks see corrections like that as using them as a scapegoat and it is unpopular.

Hey LMTD, didn't you have to tell him how to spell technician on another website as well (technition - or something like that)? And now we'll add occurring...

[simpleman]

I surely hold no ill will towards the teacher.I would expect nothing less from Norm,that his job he's a teacher.

I have about ten customer that are teacher and everyone
of them gets on my case,and some of them now that we have
know one another for years will let me have it.

I got one customer whos been a teacher for over 50 years,last time I was at her house she pulled my ear and
set me down at the table.

After that she gets billed with a type invoices in the mail.

Too bad she was not younger,I would have let her give me a spanking.

[icemeister]

Do they even teach penmanship in schools today?

When I was in grammar school some fifty years ago, we were taught the Reinhart system starting with printing and then longhand writing styles.

Beautiful handwriting skills like my grandmother had is surely a lost art never to be seen again.

[Shophound]

Two extremes of service ticket writing styles:

1) A catastrophic failure of the inductive coil in the multiple pole power switching apparatus for the refrigeration circuit's hermetic compressor inductive alternating current motor led to a circumvention of the established parameters of specified interior climate control expected as reported by the building occupant.

After substituting the ailing component with another of identical configuration, proper functioning of the climate control system was reestablished after a thorough performance analysis was conducted in strict accordance with the most exacting standards held consistent by the HVAC industry.

2) Noa cooleeng. Cawntakter coyle blowd uhp. Stuk en noo cawntakter. Sistum run grate.


Somwhere inbetween there's a happy medium.

[NormChris]

Originally posted by lmtd

Originally posted by hi-tork

Hey LMTD, didn't you have to tell him how to spell technician on another website as well (technition - or something like that)? And now we'll add occurring...

LOL, yeah, seems whenever this issue comes alive he paints a target on his back so I pull the trigger!

You don't get a lot of shots at Norm, but I take em when I can get them. IMHO he is on target, but not unlike myself, lacks tact upon delivery.

I like you LMTD and am as open to correction as everyone one of us should be. Have at it! I am correctable. Attitude has a great deal to do with self-improvement.

Norm

[frozensolid]

A company must put forth a professional image, especially in its communication with Customers. Service tickets are a very small part of that image. Well-detailed tickets even misspelled ones put forth a positive company image. Having a mechanic who quickly, and effectively, finds and solves problems. Puts a very powerful positive company image in the minds of your customer. This guy is not invoicing and writing letters, he is turning wrenches.

It is the Ego of we perfectionist’s that is the real source of the pain here. We want it perfect all the time, more so even if we have put our name to it. We think this mechanic reflects negatively on our professional image. He does, but only a miniscule amount in comparison to the positive effect he has on your company image. Professional images are only a part of company image.

I believe education is an empowering, and important thing. I will always encourage a man to better himself. I do however live, and work, in the real world. I would never pass on a great mechanic with less than perfect word skills, they are very hard to find. Professional image means a lot, company image means much more.

[flowcheck]

I can slpell jsut fine msot guys can raed waht im takling aobut wehn they raed the tciket. lol.