Friday, July 10, 2009

Mizzpelled

A tiny conundrum: Why would you commit time, money, brain power for plotting, planning, negotiating, organizing, hiring, developing and executing a business plan to open your own business to then at a critical juncture decide the BEST way to carry your legacy forward would be to annoint your company with name that is misspelled.

Krazy Kousins Realty


This is the business name I saw upon a sign I passed last weekend. No, it wasn't spraypainted on the back of a cardboard moving box staple-gunned to a telephone pole either. It was on a building. Rare? No. There are countless examples of this phenomenon as you already know. Guess who I don't want brokering a deal for me? The person who doesn't know how to spell COUSINS.

And during the financial crisis of our times, when Wharton grads with flawless credits can't secure financing to start their business, best not roll into the Savings and Loan with your horribly selected name. Literacy: the cornerstone of success. And spelling is as important now as it was in first grade. No one loans money to the person launching "Phoebes Phish Pharm."

19 comments:

mo.stoneskin said...

That is bizarre. I mean, if it was

Krazy Kousins K...(can't think of what that would be)

then I suppose it would make sense, but surely you wouldn't name a business KKK so really it makes no sense at all!

Alyson said...

I'm horrible at spelling, but no where near that bad.

I've never really thought about it much, but now that you mention it...it's quite irritating. I guess now I'll be catching glimpses of signs like this everywhere. Great.

sas said...

If the font of that company name was in comic sans, I may have been tempted to burn it down.

Liz Mays said...

I'm guessing it was intentional? But, unimpressive at best.

The whole cousins thing...I'm starting to suspect some inbreeding which may in fact have led to the misspelling issue. ;)

Sally-Sal said...

There's a convenience store here called "Karry Out Korner".

One of my favorite signs that is posted on their drive through window:

Please horn.
The bell no work.
KOK

Pseudo said...

What people will do to stand out, be different, and get attention, is not always a sound business idea.

Whatever happned to good old fashioned great business practices and word of mouth reputation?

thatgirlblogs said...

I don't know but you had me at cocktail. following your blog...

MJenks said...

Maybe they're Greek, and therefore they spell all /c/ sounds with a K.

AmyMusing said...

This bugs me and my kids. Ye Olde Tavern is annoying. So is the Koffee Kove. But that's the only place to get wifi in my parents' tiny little town. So we have to go to the mizzpelled eztablishmint.

Rick said...

I'm going with the assumption that it was chosen on purpose. The Klampett's (yes, spelling on purpose) have to have something to do since they left Beverly Hills.

Scrappy Girl said...

I am not a big fan of that either...the Phish Pharm is hilarious!

PinkBow said...

thanks for your comment :) love the name of your blog - it's always time for a cocktail! people do not take enough time with the small stuff!

J.J. in L.A. said...

I'm pretty sure they were trying to be cute. But, as there's no crying in baseball, there should be no cuteness in a business like realty. Scrapbooking? Maybe.

giggles said...

Alliteration, to be sure. Good judgement? Not, to be sure...

Thanks for visiting my place... I am always tickled when a new person visits.... Hope you'll continue to come back!! I like what you've got here, too!!

Meg said...

Reminds me of when I fell in love with a particular friend, reading his profile on Facebook he declared himself as "Kristian, but not the krazy kind." Nothing knocking Christians (I'm one too, go God!) but wacky alliteration a la Facebook tickles me pink. In business? Not so much.
Love your blog - love you found mine - start of something beautiful.
http://www.hotpieceofsass.com/

jadedj said...

I dunno, I thought it was kinda kute, and kooky, konsiderin'.

Loving the kocktails here and appreciate the fact that you stopped by my place. I will definitely be back

ellen abbott said...

This is one of my little rants. I can't decide if it's the cause of illiteracy in our society or the result.

Mommy, Esq. said...

Oh my goodness, I have finally found another who has the same pet peeve as myself. This cutesy misspelling grates on my last nerve. Example, I was watching a show tonight and the subject family went to get haircuts at "Kids Kuts." Yuck! Made me cringe.

UPrinting said...

Maybe they were trying to be creative. They were probably thinking, "Hey, it worked for Krispy Kreme! Maybe we should try it too."

And then, bam! Krazy Kousins was born... :D