Old-School Gratitude in a Digital World

For 16 years at Ryerson Brothers Construction, hand-written thank-you notes have been part of how we do business. At first, I only wrote them when projects wrapped up, as a way of showing appreciation. But five years ago, I began also writing them at the contract stage, because that’s when customers take the biggest step of faith with us—and I believe that trust should be recognized right away.

I can’t take credit for this idea. I learned the importance of personal notes from my friend and former employer, Scotty McCurdy, owner of Coastal Reconstruction Group in Orlando, FL. Scotty showed me that taking time to write a note leaves a lasting impression. His example made me realize that while emails and texts are efficient and effective, they don’t carry the same weight as something written by hand.

A personal note is simple, but it communicates something important—that we notice, that we care, and that we don’t take someone’s business for granted. For a small, local company like ours, that matters. We want our customers to know we’re invested in more than just the project—we’re invested in them.

So, my Friday afternoons are often spent in the coffee shop, with a stack of cards, a grateful heart, and my trusty, worn, old-school kraft “notes” folder that my wife has begged me so many times to replace. =)