What if a chalkboard sign was all a retail business needed to bring people in? What if your horrible service and crappy food could become a selling point of your restaurant or coffee bar?
Seems there’s no limit to what businesses are saying on sidewalk chalkboard signs to bring in business and hopefully Instagram posts.
These days, humorous chalkboard signs either poke fun at bad reviews of the business themselves, at customers, or even at the government. Or they might just say something outrageous they hope will make you smile.
Sure, you might not get a lot of repeat business if your service and food really does suck. But you will certainly set expectations…and hopefully debunk any bad reviews.
Wired Coffee Roasters in New York seems to have mastered the art of snarky sandwich-board marketing.
No one can complain about your mediocre service when you use it as a selling point. Better yet, if your service doesn’t suck you might even make people happy.
And the most over-done meme…
And then there are memes that transcend business types…
Funny chalkboard signs are not new — here are some more from 2015 — but the idea of taking bad reviews or some other personal topic and making it funny is a twist that can get people talking (hopefully in a good way).
Want more? See Gothamist’s 2005 report about “Chalkboards Now Being Used As Advertising On City Sidewalks.”
