NWMR: "KKK" or coincidence?

SunAndRain · December 2012

I have to ask...

I came across a business on Etsy called "Kute Kustom Kreations". Are the "KKK" initials merely a misfortunate coincidence or is it purposeful?

I probably wouldn't think twice but when I lived in Texas there was a small restaurant called "Kountry Kitchen Kafe" that was known by reputation to not serve non-whites. I never went there to check it out myself. I believe they received a good deal of pressure to change there name and eventually did so.

I'm tempted to write to the owner, ask the question, and tell her that as a customer I find her store name off-putting. Truely I wouldn't order from her because I wouldn't feel comfortable giving a gift with her store name attached to it.

But before I jump off this cliff I thought it best to get some other perspectives.

groovygrl · December 2012

If it is not intentional, it's a pretty bad oversight. I wonder if she wanted to do it w/ C's and that was taken already so she changed it? I'm not sure about emailing her, I would think if this is truly a business, she already has some legal things set up using that name and I find it hard to believe that it hasn't been mentioned or crossed her mind. It is offputting for sure but ehhhh I don't know, I'm on the fence about saying something to her.

SunAndRain · December 2012

Well, I showed it to DH and he immediately saw the KKK. So I emailed her. At least I said my peace. She can choose her next steps.

Here is what I wrote:

Hi Sonia,

I hope you will accept this heartfelt feedback regarding your store name.

I'm not sure if you are aware of this but your store initials are KKK, which is of course synonymous with the Ku Klux Klan. I suspect you didn't realize this and intended only to market your store in a catchy way. However, I know as a potential customer that I could never feel comfortable sending a gift from a store with those initials. I try to support small businesses, and would hate to see you lose other customers because of this oversight.

Regards,

SnR

meheron80 · December 2012

I think your letter was very professional and appropriate.

preggersin2011 · December 2012

If it was named that way on purpose I wouldn't support their business. If it was a mistake, I still wouldn't support the business since clearly they deserve a Darwin Award.

jallascalla · December 2012

preggersin2011:
If it was named that way on purpose I wouldn't support their business. If it was a mistake, I still wouldn't support the business since clearly they deserve a Darwin Award.

ditto.

Meery82 · December 2012

I bet the owner of the business never even thought of it.

SunAndRain · December 2012

Here is her reply. I guess she missed the concept of marketing entirely. I considered whether I'm over-reacting but I truly don't think I am. While I understand her intentions, sometimes we have to look at how our actions can be perceived and not just how they were intended.

Hi SnR,

I appreciate your concern for my business. I had not thought of this name as being in any way related to the Ku Klux Klan and I certainly had no intention of tying the company name with it. Until you pointed it out, I had no idea that this connection could be made. I feel that having the same initials as an institution like that does not and should not be seen as having some kind of connection. Someone with the initials A.H. is not seen as synonymous with Hitler and I'm sure that my customers will understand that Kute Kustom Kreations is just a catchy name and not a relation to the Ku Klux Klan.

Thank you for your continuing support of small businesses and I truly appreciate your feedback.

Sonia

ss+el · December 2012

I don't know about you, but I've never heard of Hitler being referred to as simply "A.H."

At least her reply was professional and courteous.

preggersin2011 · December 2012

I can't help but to find her response ignorant, slightly anti-Semitic, and well honestly nothing she said made me change my mind about wanting to business with the store or her at all. As the owner she should have offered you a free sampling or a discount to bring you into the store and welcome you.

I envision her as an Opera watcher that completely misunderstood a point. When I was working nights I would often watch Opera and I remember this episode where the inventor of "Spanx" was on and talked about how she noticed dominant companies had an "X" or "K" in the name, ie Kodak, Kellogs, Kraft, Zerox etc. I just don't see how you take three words that regularly begin with the letter "C" and change them to "K" and say the "KKK" never crossed ones mind. She seems more defensive of her choice than to accept a mistake and be a smart business person.

Iblamethebeer · December 2012

Maybe it's because I'm not in a region where the KKK is active, but this really wouldn't have occurred to me.

I think the K-for-C thing is annoying, but I would have assumed her last name started with a K or her kids had K names or she was from Kansas, or something.

And as far as her response -- if she's had a decent amount of business and no one has asked before, maybe she really thinks no one else will assume a connection, and she doesn't want to rebrand her whole store (logo, packaging, business cards) based on one email.

Does that make her an idiot?

Iblamethebeer · December 2012

Estwd2:
Iblamethebeer:
Does that make her an idiot?
Yes. She never noticed the initials? She's an idiot. Now she knows about the initials and says "Meh"? Still an idiot.

I think that every time a person with a J last name gives their kid a B first name. But I know lots of people with the initials BJ, so clearly lots of people don't think in terms of initials when they choose names.

Strunella · December 2012

Iblamethebeer:

Maybe it's because I'm not in a region where the KKK is active, but this really wouldn't have occurred to me.

I think the K-for-C thing is annoying, but I would have assumed her last name started with a K or her kids had K names or she was from Kansas, or something.

And as far as her response -- if she's had a decent amount of business and no one has asked before, maybe she really thinks no one else will assume a connection, and she doesn't want to rebrand her whole store (logo, packaging, business cards) based on one email.

Does that make her an idiot?

Agreed. I would never draw this conclusion and I think it is a really far stretch of the imagination. I looked at her site, and did not see one place where the business name is abbreviated as KKK. So yes, I think you completely over-reacted and I think it is ridiculous to insinuate that she should change the name of her business.

Meery82 · December 2012

Strunella:
Iblamethebeer:

Maybe it's because I'm not in a region where the KKK is active, but this really wouldn't have occurred to me.

I think the K-for-C thing is annoying, but I would have assumed her last name started with a K or her kids had K names or she was from Kansas, or something.

And as far as her response -- if she's had a decent amount of business and no one has asked before, maybe she really thinks no one else will assume a connection, and she doesn't want to rebrand her whole store (logo, packaging, business cards) based on one email.

Does that make her an idiot?

Agreed. I would never draw this conclusion and I think it is a really far stretch of the imagination. I looked at her site, and did not see one place where the business name is abbreviated as KKK. So yes, I think you completely over-reacted and I think it is ridiculous to insinuate that she should change the name of her business.

all this. I knew she would have no idea. You're overreacting.

jallascalla · December 2012

You don't have to be from a region where the KKK is active to know it's long and terrible history in the US. I'm not from the south and I think it shows some serious cultural ignorance (in the best case scenario, I'm assuming she did not do it on purpose) to name your business with these initials. It is also really, really bad marketing.

Netty_3 · December 2012

preggersin2011:
If it was named that way on purpose I wouldn't support their business. If it was a mistake, I still wouldn't support the business since clearly they deserve a Darwin Award.

Exactly!

Netty_3 · December 2012

SunAndRain:

Here is her reply. I guess she missed the concept of marketing entirely. I considered whether I'm over-reacting but I truly don't think I am. While I understand her intentions, sometimes we have to look at how our actions can be perceived and not just how they were intended.

Hi SnR,

I appreciate your concern for my business. I had not thought of this name as being in any way related to the Ku Klux Klan and I certainly had no intention of tying the company name with it. Until you pointed it out, I had no idea that this connection could be made. I feel that having the same initials as an institution like that does not and should not be seen as having some kind of connection. Someone with the initials A.H. is not seen as synonymous with Hitler and I'm sure that my customers will understand that Kute Kustom Kreations is just a catchy name and not a relation to the Ku Klux Klan.

Thank you for your continuing support of small businesses and I truly appreciate your feedback.

Sonia

Seeing as I have never heard Hitler addressed as AH...I don't think that's a valid argument. I think you're right, I would be hesitant as well. Why didn't she go for the CCC and spell things correctly?

TabClark · December 2012

I think just her response was enough to say that I wouldn't ever support her company. KKK is a serious. And I never heard of AH before either... If it was a honest mistake I think her response would have been different.

Stuckinthemiddle · December 2012

Lurker here. Funny, my initials now that I am married are A.H. Never once thought of Hitler, and never once had it brought up to me. But the KKK thing - yeah, that's completely different!