After the giddy heights of being a Telefax Operator in the city, I moved to a Tour Operator that specialised in hotels in London and around the UK.

I worked my way up through various roles there (learning a lot about customer service along the way).  At one point I was put in charge of brochure copy.  It is here that I was to learn a very big lesson.

It was only after the British Isles brochure was printed (and distributed to the large database) that my two faux pas became apparent.

The first was reasonably mild.  A quaint little hotel down on the coast in Devon proudly stated their summer special offer as “A free scenic bus tour of Brixton”.  As lovely as Brixton is, it was actually supposed to read ‘Brixham’ (a charming fishing village – and not the inner London area that at the time was in the midst of heavy riots).

The second was rather more embarrassing.  With the slip of just one letter, I had managed to alert would-be guests of a particular Cornish hotel that “During April/May guests could expect some disruption due to extensive refurbishment in the PUBIC areas”.  Needless to say, bookings were somewhat down that year.

LESSON: NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE IMPORTANCE OF PROOF READING.

Click here for more Life Lessons from Sleeping Lion