Complementary or Complimentary?
I don’t get much exercise during the week. Sure, there’s a treadmill in the exercise room of my condo building, but spending an hour on a treadmill is my idea of exercise hell because I get bored. So, most weekend mornings, after I have coffee and read the paper, I head out for an hour’s walk through my Studio City neighborhood. I try to focus and keep a strong, steady pace that will get my heart rate going.
Staying focused is a challenge, however, when I notice a sign like this one in front of the Sterling Salon and Spa on Ventura Boulevard:
Complementary valet parking
Complementary? With an “e?”
If the good folks at Sterling offer free valet parking to their customers, and I assume that ’s what the sign is meant to convey, then someone made a Spelling 101 mistake. When something is given free as a courtesy or favor, the correct word is complimentary, with an “i.” (Complimentary can also mean flattering, as in “After a visit to Sterling Salon, I received many complimentary comments about my hair style.”)
Complementary, with the “e,” has several different meanings, none of which mean free. A common usage of complementary is to describe things that fit together to form a whole or that fill out or complete something:
The Internet hasn’t killed the television–yet. In fact, according to a new study from Nielsen’s newly-formed TV/Internet Panel, television viewing and using the Internet are complementary activities. (from BizReport)
Come on, Sterling Salon and Spa. Keep your verbiage as well-groomed as your customers’ hair. You got it right on your Web site where you suggest we book a “complimentary consultation.” Fix that valet parking sign. Use nail polish or lipstick if necessary, but change that “e” to an “i.”
Better yet, keep things simpler–change complementary to free.
November 24th, 2008 at 9:31 am
Yeah, one syllable “free” is best. No confusion. You need to have a consulting service Steve. You’d save them time, paint, polish, or lipstick.