Before you decide to include a clock on your business’s sign, think twice. This is much more than merely a design decision. It’s a commitment to ongoing maintenance of a sometimes-finicky mechanical device that needs to remain functional — or risk tainting your brand.

Are the stakes really so high? Yes. Because, by putting a clock out there for the public to see, you’re making them an implicit promise that it will be the correct time. If that clock goes belly-up, you’re in trouble. It’s not that they can’t easily get the time another way. It’s that a stopped clock right next to your brand name sends plenty of messages — none of them good. Think of the associated concepts: broken, dysfunctional, late, abandoned. Do you want to risk these being connected with your business?

I’m constantly surprised by how many non-working clocks adorn buildings and business signs. There used to be one on the old McDonald’s down at the west end of Robson Street and after a short time it too was defunct. Additional examples are too numerous to recount.

So, bottom line, if you’re going to have a clock, also be sure to plan a budget and schedule for its care and maintenance over the long haul. Otherwise, time is not on your side.