diff --git a/ejabberdctl.template b/ejabberdctl.template
index 7a225e831..8976414d5 100755
--- a/ejabberdctl.template
+++ b/ejabberdctl.template
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ exec_erl()
 exec_iex()
 {
     NODE=$1; shift
-    exec_cmd $IEX ${S:--}name $NODE --erl "$ERLANG_OPTS" "$@"
+    exec_cmd $IEX ${S:---}name $NODE --erl "$ERLANG_OPTS" "$@"
 }
 
 # usage