When was the last time you received a handwritten thank you note in the mail from a friend or client? I bet you that you can tell me exactly when you received it, who it was from and why they sent it. Do you know why? In today's world of e-mails, voicemails, text messages and instant messages, the path of least resistance is to thank someone electronically or not thank them at all.
I remember vividly my childhood and the month of December. My birthday is December 14 and, with it being so close to the holidays, I would try to get away with thanking grandparents and other relatives with one note for birthday and Christmas gifts. However, my mom made me sit down on the evening of the 15th and pound out all my thank you notes for my birthday gifts and the same occurred two weeks later after the holidays.
I now want to thank my mom formally for instilling in me the value of thanking someone with a note. It is a lost art. I think we have forgotten how much a nice note means to someone. On several occasions I have walked into the office or home of a friend or client that I have written a note of congratulations or thanks to and the note is pinned to the wall or on their fridge (even weeks or months later). I have even had people call me as soon as they receive my note to let me know how much it meant to them. So why don't we take the time to do it?
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I have interviewed hundreds of people in my career and it is amazing how few people take the time to write a thank you note to me for my time. Most interview preparation books and manuals will tell you the last rule of interviewing is make sure you send a handwritten thank you note. The problem with sending an email thank you in today's world is you never know who is reading or checking the person's email. It could be an assistant, trainee, or more that one person could have access to that person's email.
My grandfather, in his retirement, sat with his coffee every morning and wrote in his journal about the prior day's events. He also periodically wrote letters to his children and grandchildren about his travels or a special memory, even after he had mastered the internet. I still have the note he wrote to me the week before I got married. Remember, a note to a friend or client doesn't always have to be a special occasion. Some the best notes I have received were ones just to say "Hello."
There are several reasons to sit down and write a note:
- Nice to meet you
- Thank you for the business
- Birthdays, Holidays, Anniversaries, Sympathy
- "Thank you" for all you do
- Reminders of important products or ideas
- Congratulations on
- Send a business-related or recent article
- Just to say "Hello"
Greg Hatcher in his book "55 Steps to Outrageous Service" explains that writing a simple thank you note accomplishes three things:
- The person receiving the note feels very good about it.
- We feel good for having written the note.
- The person receiving the note becomes a friend and an ally who will help us even more in the future.
I've always made it a habit at the end of my business week to take a few minutes and review the past week and drop a few notes in the mail, warranted or not. I will also cut out clippings or articles of interest and send with a note to friends or clients. So maybe it is time to dust off those note cards and old stationery and think about your really important clients, friends, and relatives…and write them a note of thanks. There's a good chance they'll stick it on their wall or fridge. And just think, it's quite possible that e-mailed thank you note you sent last year is still sitting in their SPAM folder – unopened.
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