Spelling Impacts Perception of Quality

As of July 1st those of us in California will no longer be able to use cell phones without a hands free device, so I joined the throngs throwing money at companies lucky enough to have hands free products.  I did my research to determine what would work best with my iPhone and what would fit best in my car.  I then took the time to research the products that met my criteria, read numerous reviews, and even went down to Best Buy, Staples, and Circuit City to try out my top choices. 

After all that I settled on the Jabra SP5050 bluetooth speakerphone and of course I ordered it via Amazon to save the sales tax and since it's under their Prime program two-day shipping was free.  When it arrived I was immediately impressed with how sleek it looked and the build quality.  Then I opened up the "Quick Start Guide."  I'll quote directly from the guide:

1) Charge your Jabra SP5050: Incert charger and remove when fully charged.

"Incert"?  And how do I know it's fully charged?

2) Turn on your Jabra SP5050: Press the answer/end button to turn the speakephone on.  The Jabra SP5050 will automatically turn off 15 min. after it lost the connection to your phone.

"Speakephone"?  "...after it lost"?

3) Pairing the Jabra SP5050 with our phone: Press the answer/end button to turn the speakephone on.

"... our phone"... hey wait a minute!  What if I want to pair with MY phone?  And what's this "speakephone" gizmo?

4) Place the Jabra SP500 in your vehicle: The SP5050 sits discretely and conveniently on the sun vizor.

"SP500"... I thought I ordered the SP5050.  And where's my "vizor"?

5) Engage Night Driving Mode: In this mode the LEDs will be shut o, thereby reducing distraction during driving in dark conditions.

"shut o"... "during driving."

Five quick steps, nine mistakes.  The product looks and works great, but you'd think a company with 1,900 employees and a bevy of award-winning products could afford a decent translator.  Or at least a phone call to someone's American cousin.  Simple mistakes, big impression.

Comments

[Karen Wilhelm]

Companies spend little time on how instructions are written - why spend money on an editor? Or have someone who has never used the product read it? It's under the radar.

Likewise, copy on packages - even from big companies like General Mills. The ad copy is the weakest you'll see anywhere.

I really have to hold back from getting out my red pen and editing the stuff.

[Mark Graban]

It's a badly designed consumer product if it even requires instructions.

[Martin B]

[You missed 4) "discreetly" i.e. out of sight.]

I have a rule never to buy something from a company with mistakes in its advertising. It shows a lack of attention to detail.

I broke this rule when I joined my previous company. I needed a job and I ignored the mistakes in its Help Wanted ad and its promotional material.

What a mistake! It proved to be totally slapdash in its approach to everything. Correcting obvious mistakes was too much effort. Hey, as long as we're making money, why bother?

I lasted a year then left in frustration, as did most of the staff.

They had a good market niche, that's how they kept going, but they'd be vulnerable to any halfway decent competitor with a kaizen mindset.

Maybe mistakes in the advertising are a pointer to business opportunities?