My power cord died last week and it has been hellish trying to do anything on my computer with a universal cord (it once took me five minutes to type out a one-paragraph message on Facebook!). I ordered a new one.
And this is what Dell had to say:
Not totally egregious…
Not the worst thing I’ve seen in the last few days…
But…it wouldn’t kill Dell to invest in a big of punctuation.
Also, I headed to Whole Foods after work yesterday (I absolutely LOVE that it’s so easy that Whole Foods in Charles River Plaza is a short walk from my new office and right on the way home!), not expecting anything but a few bagfuls of organic fruit and some of that FANTASTIC fresh mozzarella that they have on display in the produce section.
And there came the grammar.
I saw a sign near the register that mentioned how Whole Foods does work EACH DAY to help people living with HIV/AIDS. The sign, however, said EVERY DAY.
I was so surprised and happy. It seems like everyone just says EVERYDAY lately. It’s gotten to the point that when I see EVERY DAY instead of EVERYDAY, when meaning EACH DAY, I become giddy.
That shouldn’t happen! I shouldn’t be expecting the worst!!
It was correct. After all, it was Whole Foods. This is the grocery store featuring more expensive and healthful food, and therefore likely attracts a highly educated clientele.
It made me happy.
And then I saw the sign on the back of the register, facing the customer:
MAY WE VALIDATE YOUR PARKING TICKET
No question mark.
Aw, and to think it was so good…
I would love to see a business free of grammatical errors. It would be even better if it were a chain. And who knows? Maybe that’s one of Whole Foods’s goals. These signs were handmade and exclusive to the Charles River Plaza store.
I’ll let you know if I find anything else.
The Grammar Vandal 
Maybe, just maybe they were uncertain about the punctuation, because “May we validate your parking ticket” isn’t a true question. It is a polite request that equals “Please show your parking ticket, so we can validate it.” Period? Exclamation mark?
Just saying.
Most people don’t get it between ‘everyday’ and ‘every day.’ I usually get that I’m being too picky. I’m glad you’re around to pick up on the same things!!
Has Whole Foods been listed yet in the Stuff White (Liberal) People Like blog?
JA, I think I would be okay with the sign if it said “Please show us your parking ticket for validation” without punctuation. You can get away without using periods in circumstances; you can’t get away with omitting question marks.
Sawxfan, WORD.
Alexa, Whole Foods is most definitely on SWPL. I swear to you, that blog tells the story of my life.
With regards to the Dell website, don’t you think it would’ve been better if they had left out the last period, too? Then it would have just been punctuation-free.
I’m with you. I cringe when I see the word “everyday” used as an adverb. In fact, I’m offended and smothered by the laziness of those who would watch their favorite television show everyweek and celebrate their birthday everyyear.
“A big of punctuation,” eh? 😉 I realize it’s a typo though.