There's a sign in our office bathroom that drives me nuts every time I go in there. It's stupid, and not a huge deal, but I read it every day, multiple times a day, and I can't stand it any longer.
Attention:
Please be considerate of your fellow employees and leave the stall area clean.
Everyone can help by making sure you utilize the provided seat covers as well as thoroughly wrapping feminine products and disposing of them properly in the container.
Thank you.
On first glance, this might not seem so bad. But look closer. The tenses don't really agree in the second sentence, and it's awkward at best. I wish there was someone I could complain to, but in an organization that spans the country and employs more than 20,000 people, who knows who wrote it. I'm sure it's part of some toolkit that was provided to our operations personnel on a national basis. Luckily, I have people I can rant to!
So, here's my revision:
Attention:
Please be considerate of your fellow employees and leave the stall area clean.
Everyone can help by using the provided seat covers, thoroughly wrapping feminine products, and disposing of them properly in the container.
Thank you.
Or another version:
Attention:
Please be considerate of your fellow employees and leave the stall area clean.
Please use the provided seat covers, thoroughly wrap feminine products and dispose of them properly in the container.
Thank you.
Or a funny version:
Attention:
People work here besides you. Don't be gross and mess the place up.
Thanks!Anyone else have a version they'd like to share?
http://www.someecards.com/2011/03/01/whiny-bathroom-note-called-out-for-bad-grammar
ReplyDeletethought this was relevant. :-)
Hi FerminaD! Thanks for the link. I particularly enjoyed the grammatical debate in the comments, about whether or not to use two spaces after a period. I use two spaces after a period. I'm 28, so I wasn't raised in the dark ages, and that's what I was taught in my high school classes. No one ever corrected me in my college English classes, either. But it was interesting to hear other people getting so upset over spaces! :)
ReplyDeleteFunny...now that I'm reading my comment after I posted, it looks like blogger took out my two spaces after each period!
ReplyDelete