I took a family member into a local outpatient surgery center this week. As we stepped out of the elevator, the first thing that jumped out at me was the amateurish-looking lettering on the wall signage welcoming visitors to the surgery center. The wording was composed of the kind of letters you buy from a home improvement warehouse for your mailbox. The same was true of the lettering on the recovery room door. Not only was the lettering unprofessional, a couple of the letters were a hair out of alignment and others had a hint of glue peeking out around the edges.
Although this surgery center has been in business for a while, and located in a neighborhood where you take it for granted that the doctors will know what they are doing, the signage gave me pause concerning the quality of the doctors and the care.
The person I was with didn’t notice anything amiss, and maybe as a marketer I’m more sensitive to things like this. It was a good reminder about the difference small details can make in a first impression you create. Even seemingly minor things can make a huge difference between appearing to be merely good and looking like the best!