OddThinking

Not too far from where I live is a mall containing a branded pasticceria café.

They have several prominent framed poster-boards, several of which display the following quote, attributed to the owner:

“The quality of our cakes linger long after the value of the price is gone.”

For some reason, these advertisements scrape particular hard against my pedanticus majorus nerve. I am hoping ranting about it will offer some form of temporary relief.

My first quibble is the term “the value of the price”. Does that mean anything? You can say “the value of the cake” (what it is worth to you), “the price of the cake” (what they are charging), or “at that price, the cake is good value” (what they are charging is less than what it is worth to you). I’ll even accept “Check out our value-pack of cakes” as an abbreviation of “Check out our low-priced-and-hence-good-value-pack of cakes.” But “the value of the price”? Bah!

If you think the meaning is clear anyway, you might accuse me of niggling. Yeah, so what’s your point? All right, I will move on anyway, before you start picking my own grammar to pieces…

Wait, no, one last point before I do. I argue the meaning isn’t clear. Which of the following claims is the writer trying to imply?

1. Their prices are low, for cakes. They should have said “low price”
2. Their prices are high, for cakes, but the quality is also high, so it is still good value. They should have said “good value”.
3. Neither of the above. There is no claim about the relative prices here. They should have said “price”.

I suspect it is 2 or 3, but my opinion keeps shifting; I think it is ambiguous.

In order to move on, as I promised, let’s assume they meant 3, and drop in the word “price”: “The quality of our cakes linger long after the price is gone.”

That still leaves the “is gone” part. The price or the good value don’t “go” anywhere. Currency is fungible. Every dollar you spend means for the rest of your life, you are one dollar poorer. The cost maybe forgotten, but it isn’t gone. Let’s substitute that in. “The quality of our cakes linger long after the price is forgotten.”

Now let me focus on the first part of this sentence. I would accept any of “The quality of our [jewellery/furniture/limb-saving surgery] lingers long after the price is forgotten.”

But we are talking cakes here – generally, cakes that are eaten within a few minutes of purchase. By the time your credit card bill arrives recording the cost of the cake, you will have probably forgotten the cake.

It is all arse-about here. Let me fix it: “The cost of our cakes linger long after the quality is forgotten.”

Now, I understand this is about advertising, not about honesty, so what I am offering is little use to the copy-editor. But given this sign is going to be erected in several places in several cafes, and left up for several years, I think they could have manufactured a far better quote to put in the mouth of the owner.