Apologies in advance for what can only be described as a rant I really try not to be negative, but this really bothers me. Thanks for reading!

I've been noticing these AWFUL press releases and articles submitted and published by the VA "service centers" - they're usually in India, the Phillipines, etc. This particular company has an address in Florida - not hard to get to make it appear it's a U.S. company, but clearly whoever is in charge of their marketing does not have even a rudimentary command of the English language.

Do I sound harsh? Take a look at this and you'll see where I'm coming from.

The title alone "Best Services of Virtual Assistants" is enough to give it away, but read into the content and it just gets worse.
Here's a portion of the release in question:
"We can say that today’s world is rounding with the force of scientific technologies. One of the innovations from that science is Email (Electronic Mail Service). In the ancient history, we came to know that communication is made with the help of dove. Now email makes it simple with in the minutes. Any data may be transferred from one corner to another corner of the world with high speed net facility. Virtual assistant services are supporting you by sending immediate response to your email customers. A good response fulfils the customer satisfaction. It is the way of rectifying the problems arise from the usage of telephones."

HUH???

How many grammatical errors can you find? How many bizarrely unreadable turns of phrase can you find?
Imagine what a business owner who's thinking of working with a virtual assistant must think when reading this kind of thing.

What can we do about this? Other than to continue to put out well-written material, getting the point across that VAs are professionals with high standards I am at a loss... Thoughts?

One quick addition: This kind of material would NEVER make it past the editors at a press release site that cares about the content it publishes. Perhaps one direction would be to take issue with the sites that publish this kind of thing to the net.

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Tess, I absolutely agree with you. If we are to be taken seriously as an industry, we must demand higher standards. And not just from our foreign counterparts - unfortunately, there are many native-English speakers who could also use a remedial writing course. Or lessons in phone etiquette...

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~Andrea~
Social Media Marketing and Creative Presentation

Fair enough, that's absolutely true (that it's not just an offshore issue) - I think because the lack of quality coming from those types of VA companies is so appalling and blatant it's just more obvious.

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Personally, I think that most potential clients would take one look at that article and RUN. That is, if they care about quality over rock-bottom prices.

I also agree with AuthenticallyVirtual, that poor standards of English are not limited to VAs overseas. None of us are perfect but some clearly have a long way to go when writing professionally.

I'm not sure that we can stop it from happening, but we can set ourselves apart and represent the best of our industry through articles, forums and on our websites. If we lead by example some will step up to the plate, and those that don't will attract clients who are only interested in "cheap labor". Quite frankly, they are welcome to them.

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Linda
Clockwise Virtual Assistance

Linda, I agree that most clients who read this will run the other way - and I like and agree with your point about the clients who are after cheap labor.

I think I just needed to let myself vent a bit on the issue. It's annoying to see this kind of thing land in my feed. But ultimately, I think it does come down to the responsibility of the sites that approve publication. It reflects poorly on them as well as they obviously don't care about the quality of their content.

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I totally understand Tess.

By the way, if anyone here would like to learn how to communicate clearly and concisely online, I highly recommend reading "The Yahoo Style Guide".

I recently started reading this book to refresh myself with the basics of writing, and learn how to improve my online copy. It includes "before" and "after" examples, and is filled with really useful information geared towards writing content for the digital world.

If we are going to lead by example, we need to set a good example.

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Linda
Clockwise Virtual Assistance

Tess having read this so-called Press Release, and having been educated in England where writing, spelling and grammar were drummed into us with a 2x4, it makes me furious. Every time I see this sort of thing (and it abounds) steam comes out of my ears!

Lynne

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The Wordpro Wizard
www.wordprowizard.com

I'm in agreement with everyone here! It is very frustrating and painful to read.

~A taste of their own medicine written tongue in cheek...

The editor in charge of this press release website is just way too busy in 'today’s world [that] is rounding with the force of scientific technologies', to proofread any press release submissions.

This website editor is terribly worried that if he takes the time to proofread press release submissions, his site will not 'fulfils the customer satisfaction'.

For expediency sake, the site owner has decided not to implement quality standards thus permitting releases to 'make[s] it simple with in the minutes'. Lack of editing standards allows for any type of submissions including those with bad grammar and gibberish-English to be released on his site as quickly as possible. In fact, those with spelling errors take priority on the site owner's submission list.

The editor of this press release site states that he cannot call his authors using the phone to make corrections due to 'the [many] problems [that] arise from the usage of telephones'. As a result, when the authors submit a terribly written press release, the editor does not care about submissions to his site because he will not be able to use his phone to rectify the problems. The website owner simply wants to send anything on the net using keywords 'virtual assistant' to 'another corner of the world with high speed net facility' to annoy respectable VAs through their news feeds.

Complaints about the terrible press release submissions have come in via 'dove'; an ancient but reliable means of communication. The website editor believes that if he switches back to the use of doves; a bird also capable of proofreading press releases, he will not 'fufils the customer satisfaction' from 'one corner to another corner' of the world because these birds are not as fast as Electronic Mail Service.


Janine

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WRITE FAB RFP PROPOSALS & land THE VA job. WinningRFP unveils soon! SignUp www.WinningRFP.com

I agree too! The problem is things like this give the whole industry a bad name... we can only do as Linda suggested and set ourselves apart.

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Bridie's Typing Services - specialising in transcription services
The professional's choice

You've definitely hit on a major issue that I have! More and more I read typos and poor grammar on websites and blogs of those in the VA business. I know we're not perfect, but when you're in this business I believe it's so much more important to make sure what you put out there is correct and makes sense.

Tess, I have seen some bad things out there obviously written by those who do not know English, but this one is by far the most unbelievable. I understand your rant and join you!

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Pam Deyerle - Transcriptionist in the Richmond, Virginia area
The Perfect Word Transcription Services