A Little Touch of KindnessBeing kind is important in business networking as well as in life. Build customer loyalty with wholesale greeting cards from Send Out Cards

That special greeting card for that special person on that special occasion.

My mother-in-law’s 85th birthday was coming up on July 25th. I had been thinking for a while what kind of card I would send and what it would say. I knew I was not going to find a card like that at the card store. Yes, they have beautiful cards there, with nice words, even poems specially written for any occasion…But written for just anyone. I wanted something really personal.

My mother-in-law was a very special person and I wanted her to have a very special card for her very special birthday. So I made one. My husband Randy and I were looking around for some pictures of her and her grandkids and we found just the right ones. 

For the front of the card we picked a beautiful shot of her and my sister-in-law when they were at the Rose Bowl some years back. She had always dreamed of going there so it finally had happened and she had a blast. I thought that was the perfect opener to personalize her greeting card and make it special.

On the inside we wrote a very personal message and added some pictures of her and her grandkids as they were growing up. Special shots that we thought she might enjoy. We ended the card with a picture of her blowing out candles on her birthday cake and “Happy Birthday!” wishes.

She LOVED the card.

Sadly, my mother-in-law passed away this week. Just 4 days after her 85th birthday. She was a wonderful person and will be sorely missed by her family and her many friends.

I am so glad I didn’t just go out and buy a card at the store but took the time to make a special one for her. She so deserved it.

(After I had gathered all the photos I was going to use, it took me just a few minutes to put the card together with SendOutCards and add that special birthday message. I had created a very special personalized greeting card at the fraction of the cost of a store-bought one. And I touched someone’s heart in a way I could never have accomplished with just any card.)

This story landed in my inbox a couple of days ago and I just had to write about it today. It seems, although we all are so very busy with our lives and don’t seem to care, customer appreciation is still very much alive. Especially in our small towns.

Read this heart-warming story…

The Richest Man in Town

CHAPTER ONE
The Handshake

It’s amazing what can happen just by paying attention. Besides, I never thought I would have a life-changing experience at Wal-Mart.

I don’t remember the exact date I met Marty for the first time. Up to that moment, nothing that day seemed particularly important – certainly not what brought me to the store in the first place. Like a lot of people who want to get through a checkout line, my thoughts were on speed, nothing more. The line I was standing in wasn’t moving as quickly as I wanted, and I glanced toward the cashier.

There stood and affable-looking man in his seventies. Slightly stooped and of average build, he wore glasses and a nice smile. I thought, well, he’s an old guy and it probably takes him a little longer to get the chores done.

For the next few minutes I watched him. He greeted every customer before he began scanning the items they were purchasing. Sure, his words were the usual, “How’s it going?”  But he did something different – he actually listened to people. Then he would respond to what they had said and engage them in brief conversation.

I thought it was odd, but I guess I had grown accustomed to people asking me how I was doing simply out of a robotic conversational habit. After a while, you don’t give any thought to the question and just mumble something back. I could say, “I just found out I have six months to live,” and someone would reply, “Have a great day!”

This old cashier had my attention. He seemed genuine about wanting to know how people were feeling. Meanwhile, the high-tech cash register rang up their purchases and he announced what they owed. Customers handed money to him, he punched the appropriate keys, the cash drawer popped open, and he counted out their change.

Then magic happened.

He placed the change in his left hand, walked around the counter to the customer, and extended his right hand in an act of friendship.

As their hands met, the old cashier looked the customers in the eyes. “I sure want to thank you for shopping here today,” he told them. “You have a great day. Bye-bye.”

The looks on the faces of the customers were priceless. There were smiles and some sheepish grins. All had been touched by this simple gesture – and in a place they never expected.

Some customers would walk away, pause for a moment, and look back at the old cashier, now busy with the next customer. It was obvious they couldn’t quite comprehend what had just happened.  They would gather their things and walk out the door, smiling.

Now it was my turn. As I expected, he asked me how I was doing. I told him I was having a good day.

“That’s good,” he said. “I’m having a good day, too.” I glanced down at the name tag on his red vest, the kind experienced Wal-Mart cashiers wore. It read, “Marty.”

I said, “It looks like you enjoy your job, Marty. “He replied, “I love my job.” Marty told me how much I owed and I handed him some money. The next thing I knew he was standing beside me, offering his right hand and holding my change in his left hand. His kind eyes locked onto mine. Smiling, and with a firm handshake, he said, “I sure want to thank you for shopping here today. Have a great day. Bye-bye.”

At that moment I wanted to take him home and feed him cookies. It was as if Sam Walton had come back from the dead and invaded this old guy’s body.

I left the store, walked through the parking lot and got into my car. On the drive home I couldn’t shake what had just happened. I had been in that store a hundred times and had never walked away feeling like that.

Who was that guy?

He did something different – he actually listened to people.

Click here to watch the 3 minute DVD movie: “The Richest Man in Town”

And if you liked the story, please share it with your friends and leave me your comments

A little touch of kindness goes a long ways. So does a nice gesture. A piece of chocolate. A brownie or cookies.  Have you ever noticed the dish of candy in some professional offices? It’s not for the employees (although they might enjoy it too).  It’s for the clients. There’s something about chocolate that gets us into a good mood. I’ve never seen a person eating chocolate and being crumpy at the same time.  Maybe before, but not after putting that delicious treat in their mouth. And when we are in a good mood we are more likely to buy something, agree with or do business with someone.

Gail was a freelance graphic designer with the typical self-employed person’s problems:
lots of work, but little money coming in. Although her business was brisk and her billings
were high, her clients simply weren’t paying their bills. “My money seemed stuck in their
bank accounts, ” says Gail. Gail tried a number of tactics to convince her creditors to
pay – from letters that said “Please pay soon” festooned with smiley faces to diplomatic
phone calls – but nothing worked.  Desperate, she stumbled on what turned out to be a
brilliantly effective idea: bribing them with baked goods. “I would send out reminders
of past-due invoices with the enticement that if paid by a specified date, I would reward
the client with fresh baked cookies, brownies, cake – whatever they wanted. And it worked.

From The Power of Nice…Let ‘Em Eat Cake, by Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval, pp 31

They say, “you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” Or in this case with cookies and brownies.

Another example, my husband, who’s in the mortgage industry needed a loan closed before the holidays last December.  As we all know, things move very, very  slow right before the holidays. To expedite the loan, he send a box of cookies to the underwriter and what normally would have taken 2 – 3 weeks was done in just a few days.

Sweeten the deal!!

My mother-in-law who is going to be 85 this month lives in a small town, 17,000,  in Oklahoma.  After several heart attacks, she is very frail.  She still lives by herself and manages quite well. This morning when she was feeding her lab, Isabelle, she noticed a large tick on her eyelid.  Knowing that she couldn’t remove the tick by herself, she loaded Isabelle in the car and drove about 12 miles to the vet in the next town.  Mind you, it has been extremely hot in Oklahoma so even mornings are quite warm.

It took 3 people to hold Isabelle down to remove the tick.  When my mother-in-law asked what she owed for the service she was told, “Nothing.” The staff asked if she drove herself and when they found out that indeed she had, they offered to drive her home.  Two staff members went out of their way to drive her back home in her own car, which meant one was following to take the driver back to the vet clinic.  Free care and being chaffeured.  Now that is customer service!

Of course my mother-in-law will be sending a nice “Thank You” note.  Most people would stop there.  However, she is taking it even a step  further.  She is going to send a letter to the Editor of the local newspaper to have this great news story  about this extraordinary customer care published.  This is a win-win situation for everyone. My mother-in-law and Isabelle got back home safely…and the vet clinic will get great publicity.

The vet clinic did this out of the goodness of their hearts.  Whenever you give from the heart to someone without expecting anything in return, that is “true” giving.   Whether you receive your reward on earth or not, that is not important.  The simple act of giving is contagious and will make the world a better place for all.

I challenge you to give from your heart today without expecting anything in return.  Let’s spread goodness and joy in our world.