Speak Better English Than Us? You’re Hired!

This afternoon, during my normal afternoon routine of shark fighting and ostrich racing (both of which are national sports, here in Canada), I happened upon a rather amusing little job posting on Craigslist.

My curiosity was piqued when Alexander Blom, on Twitter, wrote, “Wow… This job ad came from a Toronto Councillor candidate?” Hook, line and sinker. I had to see what he was talking about, especially given my affinity for Craigslist ads.

I could tell from the tone of Alexander’s tweet that I was in for a treat, but when I started reading the ad placed by Victor Lucero, candidate for the position of City Councillor of Toronto Ward 7, I was appalled. Click the thumbnail to the right to read the original post.

You’re kidding, right?

Don’t misunderstand me. This blog post isn’t meant to be malicious in any way towards Mr. Lucero. But, well, just read that (if you can). You have to wonder if he wrote it himself, and if he didn’t, how hard would it have been to find someone even modestly proficient with the English language to write it for him?

Given the position this man is running for, one would assume that he would prefer to project an image of intelligence and professionalism. Yet, how easily you can ruin someone’s first impression of you with just a single block of spelling and grammatical errors. Don’t even get me started on the punctuation.

I couldn’t resist…

Out of the goodness of my heart (or, maybe, just my burning need to correct people’s grammar), I responded to Mr. Lucero’s ad on Craigslist with an offer of assistance. It was really more for my own sake than for his. And yes, I’m aware that makes me something of an ass.

I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that Victor would take my suggestions under advisement. I mean, I don’t claim to be a master of the English language, but I do know I could do a lot better than that.

I took a quick look a few hours later, to see if the listing was the same, and to my surprise, all of its contents had been dumped, and replaced with my words, verbatim.

I was pleased and disappointed at the same time. Pleased, of course, that someone actually read my email. Disappointed, however, that I saw no message in my inbox thanking me for my help.

A simple “thank you.” Is that too much to ask?

I hadn’t heard about Victor Lucero until today, and I bear no ill will towards him. After all, it’s just a little Craiglist ad. But something like this does tend to make me think less of a person.

First impressions are king. More specifically, the way you interact with and treat others, in whatever capacity, right from the start. Who cares if you’re embarrassed? You’d be surprised what a difference a simple “thank you,” or a short, courteous message, can make.

A little dramatic? Maybe. But sometimes it’s the little things that count, and if I was going to vote for you before, Victor, I wouldn’t now. Oh, and by the way… You’re welcome.

EDIT: I received an email from Mr. Lucero thanking me for my message a few hours after posting this, which is satisfying. However, I feel that the idea behind this post, regarding first impressions and saying thank you, still applies.