Recently, I went for a lunchtime bite at an establishment in St. James. This particular store sells both bakery items and cuisine. I had no idea that they also had linguistic delights.
I purchased a slice of lasagne then moved to the cashier from whom I would get the drink. I looked at the “fridge” behind her to select from the array. Instead of the usual fizzy stuff, I felt for something healthy. I asked the lady, “What flavour juices do you have?” She looked at the “fridge” while speaking to me.
“We have Mauby, Orange and Mar…Mar…” Her fumbling surprised me for a moment.
“Mandarin”
“Mmmm” I thought, because I loooooove that flavour. I however looked at the juice on display in the “fridge” and understood her momentary dismay. There on the label, instead of “Jeff’s Mandarin” was “Jeff’s Margarine”.
I was compelled to share this ‘find’ with my colleagues at the office. The laughter was instantaneous for every one, along with the disbelief as they saw the bottle. So inconceivable was this error that it could not have been a case of wrong spelling at all. It must obviously have been the Russian immigrant working at Jeff’s plant who speaks little English that got the labels mixed up. This is of course assuming that Jeff also manufactures margarine. Let’s hope.
So, how was the juice? Honestly, I can’t recall really. Whenever I look back, it’s almost as though my brain simulates the texture and taste of butter in my memory. Though this was not the case, certainly that error on the label has affected my opinion of Jeff’s juice in a negative way. Jeff’s brand image has been compromised, for me at least. It just goes to show, product is one thing, communication is everything.
