Bad Shop And Business Names

[joko]

what do you think when you see names like -

klassy kuts,
luvly ladeez lingerie,
kidz cutz

and

cuts 4 u
hair 4u
floor 2 ceiling

etc

i realise i'm being judgmental but it really puts me off using them - it makes me think the person is not a professional and is some teenager trying to start up (which is good if they're serious of course) but i just cant take them seriously.

and i see a lot this klassy cuts, klassy clothes, classy ladiezwear etc and usually they are anything but classy.

do you think these are rash decisions? or have they really thought them through?

i don't hate this, i don't lose sleep over it, i don't get angry over it - it just puts me off using them and as a business anything that puts customers off - rightly or wrongly - is not good.

what do you think? do you subconsciously avoid them?

thanks

[joko]

i notice it a lot on ebay too, and some are just ridiculous, it kind of makes me less trusting of the seller too...

[vulcan42]

I don't like it either but when you hear the BBC, for example, referring to Children as Kids then I fear the battle is already lost. It's just a short step from Kids to Kidz. No doubt others on this site will say language is constantly evolving but personally I don't see why it has to be on a downward spiral.

[Canary42]

The dreaded Toysᴙus is one of the worst, now supported by Babysᴙus of course. I tend to agree that it degrades the language, but of course it's been around for years in advertising (remember Beanz Meanz Heinz) and I don't think for a moment it will change.

[douglas9401]

I've heard that you can't get quicker than a Kwik Fit fitter. :)

[bibblebub]

The ones that i find most irritating are those that include the word Center i.e. the American spelling.

[heathfield]

My wife flatly refuses to give her custom to any shop or outlet whose owners cannot spell.

[jake-the-peg]

The whole point of such names is to attract the attention - the eye is attracted to such uses and that is what it's about - standing out and attracting the attention.

Clearly this jars with the self image of certain people who associate 'correctness' of language with their self image

You know people who wouldn't dream of speaking 'badly'

Of course with time variations of usage just become natural.

Once the use of 'OK' would have been thought of in just the same way and is now universal

Douglas' reference to Kwik Fit is a good one - Iimagine most people are now so completly familliar with it now they don't even notice.

What about Vodafone? 'fone'? really?

Would you avoid one of the world's biggest telecommunications giants because they can't spell?

[AB Editor]

There's some people that wouldn't go to

"Johan's Artisan Bouffants and Quiffs Studio"

But would go to

"Ezee Snips"

Because culturally they associate the first with effeminate and expensive "nonsense" and the second with "no-nonsense haircuts for the working man".

Whereas you might want Johan to do your highlights...

(Or, more likely, somewhere in between!)

[joko]

i wasn't actually talking about the denigration of our language per se - i meant the impression it gives about the company.


my point was exactly that about kwik fit and vodafone - despite them being big successful companies, if they weren't, if they were new, would you judge them on their name?

the point being that even though you are a genuine professional - as they are -they risked losing customer - at least at first.