diff --git a/mxvipctl b/mxvipctl
index 4c1605e..9d5f520 100755
--- a/mxvipctl
+++ b/mxvipctl
@@ -171,11 +171,11 @@ function mxvip_stop() {
 
 
 function create_run_dir_if_not_exists() {
-    if [ ! -d $rundir ] ; then
+    if [ ! -d ${RUNDIR} ] ; then
         mkdir -m 0700 ${RUNDIR}
     fi
 
-    if [ ! -O $rundir ] ; then
+    if [ ! -O ${RUNDIR} ] ; then
         echo >&2 "${RUNDIR}: wrong owner: possible hack attempt? exiting.."
         exit 1
     fi