How addressing a thank you card differently changed a person's life - a real life story

Hi everyone

I thought it worthwhile sharing with you the story below, which is a great way of saying thank you and doing something good for someone else "in the spirit of generosity."

Regards

Richard Dubb 

When you receive a thank you card in the mail, whether expected or not, it makes you feel good.

What if the thank you card was not sent directly to you, but instead was sent to your boss? Would that make any difference?

Last year I thought I would give it a go and see what happened. This was the scenario: Each year I work through all our personal and business expenses and review them to see if we are still getting the best deal that we possibly can.

As part of that process, it came time to review our car insurance. Since Youi is so big at advertising that they have a better price I thought I would give them a go and rang to get a quote and compare our current insurance with theirs. The consultant I spoke with was very helpful and worked with me over the next week to ensure that what they were offering was the best one on the market. But after three phone calls, I realised that NRMA, who we were already with, still provided us with the best option.

I had a dilemma, though, as the consultant had worked really hard and I felt very bad they I hadn't gone with them, but hey as an Accountant, every dollar counts! What to do? I thought I would send her a thank you card. But then I had a thought, hang on, why don't I send her boss a thank you card saying what a great effort she put in, even though she didn't get the sale. I knew she would have sales targets to reach. She had put so much effort in on me, surely that meant she missed out somewhere else.

So I did. I tracked down the head of Customer Service and wrote a card to him and let him know all about the great service I got.

Imagine my surprise when this was the response that I received via email:

Hi Wesley

Hope you are doing well.

I am speechless, but yet again a smile from ear to ear.

Thank you so so so much for the wonderful card and compliment. It really means a lot to me (you have no idea what it means to me) I'm the legend in the work place today. Reason they have forward it to every person in the building ha ha ha.

So just popping in to say THANK YOU.

Hope you have a wonderful day and an awesome weekend.

Wow! What a response. It taught me a huge lesson and reminded me of the saying "praise in public, rebuke in private." When you praise someone in public, the world get's to know. It makes their day and changes their life.

So, the next time you are sending out a thank you note, why not send it to the person's boss!