I really don’t need gifts, but is it too much to expect anniversary cards? I receive business anniversary cards from my company, The Gallery Collection, commemorating the wonderful day I first walked through the door. Well, not really. It’s more about the anniversary of when I started working on a regular basis because I had worked on a seasonal basis for several years before becoming a regular employee. Yes, I know it’s a greeting card company, but that doesn’t mean that they have to send me an anniversary card.

You would think that my husband would remember that he was lucky enough to marry me 35 years ago. Ok, so maybe the fire distracted him. Well, is that really a good enough excuse? Didn’t he think about getting me an anniversary card before our anniversary?

Oh, you want to hear about the fire? On my anniversary, I received a call at work from my son. With a slightly hysterical tone, he says “THE GARAGE IS ON FIRE!” It seems my husband and son were having a leisurely lunch when someone knocked on the door and said “You have to get out – the garage is on fire.” Well, what good would it do for me to go home and stand outside and watch, especially since I have asthma? So I stayed at work and kept getting updates from my husband and son.

When I went home at my usual time, I walked into chaos. It seemed the whole family was there plus the neighbors, the firemen, the police, and assorted unknowns. The garage was burned, wet, and smoke damaged. The siding on the back of the house was melted along with the neighbors siding and all the patio furniture. How it didn’t damage the car in the driveway is beyond my comprehension. Everybody hung around until almost ten o’clock and had pizza (which I paid for) and nobody even wished me a Happy Anniversary. Okay, maybe they were preoccupied.

After the last person departed, I sarcastically asked my husband, “Is it really too much to expect an anniversary card?” Hopefully he’ll redeem himself in a few months by giving me some fantastic birthday cards!

When do you expect to get an anniversary card? Wedding anniversaries? Sure. Personal milestones? Of course. But how about an anniversary card for the date you started your job? Business anniversary cards were never anything I had even considered – that is, until I got one!

I couldn’t imagine why I was getting mail from my office but was pleasantly surprised upon opening it. Inside the deckled-edged envelope was a magnificent anniversary card, signed by the company executives and thanking me for my hard work and devotion. It reinforced my feelings of being appreciated and valued at my job, and I surely was happy to go to work the next day.

But think about the opportunities. If business anniversary cards can make your employees feel valued, then imagine how they can make your customers feel. Why not send clients or vendors anniversary cards to observe the day they began working with your company? And in the same way these cards might encourage your employees to look forward to going to work, which after all is a good thing, business anniversary cards might make your customers look forward to giving you some extra business!