enum to friendly string extension method

We use enums quite extensively in our application as they are great for representing integral values in a strongly typed way using symbolic names eg.

if (Status == UserStatus.NotLoggedInAYear)
    ArchiveRecord();

is a lot more clearer and meaningful making it easier to maintain than

if (Status == 3)
    ArchiveRecord()

The enum names are not very friendly to the user here's a solution creating friendly strings for enum values without using reflection which can be costly.

public enum RemovalType
{
    None,
    ManAndVan,
    FullRemoval,
    FullRemovalsAndPacking
}

public static class RemovalTypeEnum
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Returns a friendly enum name
    /// </summary>
    public static string ToFriendlyString(this RemovalType removalType)
    {
        switch (removalType)
        {
            case RemovalType.ManAndVan:
                return "Man & Van Service";
            case RemovalType.FullRemoval:
                return "Standerd removals service";
            case RemovalType.FullRemovalsAndPacking:
                return "Full removals and packing service";
            default:
                return removalType.ToString();
        }
    }
}

Usage:

RemovalType removalType = RemovalType.ManAndVan;
removalType.ToFriendlyString()

This implementation creates an extension method on the actual enum "RemovalType" which then allows you to call a ToFriendlyString() on the instance of all enums of that type I think this a more fluid implementation and also means better performance compared to the other implementations as it doesn't need to use reflection.

You will notive i've decided to leave the default return value to call ToString() on the enum value which means you only need to implement the values that need to be made friendlier.

You can also call it easily inside databinded controls in the aspx page.

<%# ((RemovalType)Eval("ServiceType")).ToFriendlyString() %>

Or in razor with the necessary usings.

@Model.ServiceType.ToFriendlyString();