At the recent RICS Facilities Faculty conference a bizarre lexocological trend was unearthed. Eagle-eyed Howard Bibby of Arlington Business Services noted a number of facilities companies with an X in their name. They include Citex, Coflex, Sodexho, Axima (formally known as CBX), Cardax, Kardex, Axiom Group, Burmatax, Caxton, Comax, Dexion, Hays DX, Nedap XS. Anyone we missed? All suggestions from trainspotting types will be welcome.
What's in a name, part two
John Peel aficionados may recall his long running radio item concerning the alarmingly large number of people in the UK called Paul Thompson. It seems he is not the only man in the country to be cloned. Diary rang Carillion the other day to speak to Nigel Jones (the company's new PFI chief). The call went a little like this: 'Hello is that Nigel Jones?' 'Yes it is, but not the Nigel Jones you want to speak to.' What? The voice continued: 'I am getting his phone-calls and he's getting my dodgy emails'. Mmm.
Ex service men
You have to feel for the aristocracy. Apparently J Sainbury has been recruiting butlers like there's no tomorrow for its new headquarters in London. Ex-Jeeves types make great welcoming staff by all accounts. Stately homes nationwide are, Diary hears, a tad bare.
Write proper
Here are some little gems from property journalist Alan Bailey's new book All Write! Effective Writing for Professional People, which has just scooted across our desks. Bailey is arguing for clarity of language rather than ambiguity and gives examples of howlers taken from insurance claims. These include: 'I drove into the wrong house and collided with a tree I don't have,' and 'The guy was all over the road and I had to swerve a number of times before I hit him.' Bailey also tells the story of a 'gymnastic linguist' who didn't want to say a straightforward no — instead he said: 'I am moderately unwilling to be totally responsive to your question'. Diary expects facilities managers to repeat that when next asked if it is their round.
Source
The Facilities Business
