I stumbled over this letter I had saved, and i remembered why I had saved it. 2years ago at Holiday time we received this letter from one of our client’s clients. ~Take a moment to absorb that. ~ For one of our law firm clients we had sent out some fabulous gifts to their list of about 150 clients.
We received this letter (names have been blocked out to protect the not so innocent) along with the gift back from one of the receipients.
Addressed on the envelope to us- In the Present – take a look at the letter.
The actual letter has no salutation-just dated. Clearly a poorly written form letter. They manage to mention their own company several times- but can’t seem to muster up enough respect to actually speak to their hired firm personally. And let’s not forget this was not sent to the actual gift giver but the hired company who sent it. No actual name in the closing signature- just their company name AGAIN.
No matter what the communication is, everything coming out of your company should fully reflect how you want your company viewed because you never know where your next piece of business is coming from or leaving from. You never know what might go viral too. In this case a very impersonal letter coming out of a corporate office. They sent back the gift- with this letter and asked that we contact them for donation information in the future. They didn’t even bother to see who this gift was actually from. They simply shot off a copy of a poorly written “gifting letter”.
My favorite part tho is at the very bottom of the letter look at the tagline Building the Future. So a company who wants to build the future can’t even build a simple letter.
- They should have sent the letter to our actual client.
- They should have addressed the letter appropriately- Dear Karen, Thank you so much for the gift however. . . . .
- It should have been signed properly by the author of the letter.
- A simple reminder- Basic RESPECT all the way around.
- Keep top of mind, that any communication is a reflection on you and your company. Whether you are a fortune 500 company or a small start- up.
- You never know where your next connection or new business opportunity will come from and any communication could be your next big catch.
- If you’re a larger company be certain employees in all departments are well versed on communication etiquette for your business.
What’s the most egregous corporate letter you’e received?
