Month: February 2012

Personalized Birthday Cards Flew us to California

Who would have thought that personalized birthday cards could have been so rewarding. It was my daughter Terre’s Sweet 16 birthday and she didn’t want to have a Sweet 16 party, the same as all of her friends were having. She wanted instead to go to Southern California – Huntington Beach to be exact – with three of her best friends (my sister and I also went). So I ordered some custom imprinted birthday cards which incorporated a special invitation for Terre and her three best friends to Huntington Beach for one week for a Sweet 16 birthday vacation. I placed a round trip airline ticket in each and gave out the special birthday cards to my daughter and her friends. They were thrilled, to say the least.

When the special vacation week finally arrived, we had a limo come and pick us up to go to the airport. We landed at LAX and for our first night, we stayed at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. We got to the hotel, checked in and went to the poolside café to have lunch. We were so excited to be there and so hopeful we would see a famous person or two. We weren’t there ten minutes when Jennifer Aniston walked in and sat at a table 25 feet from us. The girls could barely hide their excitement at seeing her. I really couldn’t either!

While we were all too shy to say anything to her, she was very sweet nonetheless. She couldn’t help but notice the gaggle of teenage girls trying not to stare at her. When we were finished and on our way to do some sight-seeing, Jennifer waved to the girls as they got up from the table and left. Well, they were on cloud nine the rest of the day.

We left for Huntington Beach the next day and had a great time. We didn’t see any other famous people but to be honest, seeing Jennifer Aniston was all we could handle for one trip! But those special birthday cards, and the whole vacation, is a memory the girls will cherish forever.

 

Reunited by Personalized Holiday Cards

When I was just sixteen I dated the love of my life, Ed, for four years. We did everything together. We spent school days together walking to class. We spent summers at the pool. We celebrated our birthdays and holidays with each other and our families. No matter what we did, we were laughing. We really had an amazing time together.

Three years into the relationship he went away to college. I missed him like crazy. We talked on the phone. We visited when we could afford it. We sent personalized holiday cards, birthday cards, cards for everything. As time went by the cards became less personal, and they became less frequent. So did the phone calls. Season’s greetings were almost never exchanged anymore. After about 11 months it seemed as if the relationship that once was my world was now just a memory. I always wondered where Ed was, how he was doing, and was he the one who got away?

Nine years passed. I still thought about Ed once in a while, maybe a little more during the holiday season. I was working as a receptionist in a doctor’s office. It was the middle of December and I had “decked the halls” of the office with holiday décor, lights, and bells. Before I left one night I was hanging all the Season’s Greetings cards sent to the office and the doctor. As I hung the last card I noticed something oddly familiar. Inside the company president thanked the doctor for his business. At the bottom of the card, clear as day, I’d recognize that handwriting anywhere, “Best Wishes, Ed.” I couldn’t believe it, I hadn’t seen or heard from him in nine years and there was that familiar signature printed on the card. Could it be? Could it be my high school sweetheart, Ed?

I wasted no time calling the number on the card. It turns out it was my Ed and he had been thinking about me too! We were both single and lived fifteen miles from each other. That was 2 years ago that we finally found each other after nine years. We now live together and are getting married next month. We even have the holiday card that brought us back together framed in our family room!

Thank You Cards for Today’s Business World

In today’s fast paced corporate world – where the source of just about all our communication is done through emails and the internet – taking the time to write out and send a business associate thank you cards as a means of communicating your appreciation or just to network can make a powerful statement as to how you conduct your own business. Thank you cards for business are a great way to help keep your company in contact with others that may be or eventual become clients, suppliers, business contacts or even to thank someone for a referral. The benefits of using thank you cards for business shows that you appreciate them for something they did for you or your company.

Using corporate thank you cards is seen as a positive and effective move that will keep your company in the thoughts of your recipients for potential future projects. These extra steps you take to ensure your company and your products will be remembered at that corporate meeting or company presentation. The corporate thank you cards you send can very well play a major role in getting you future business with other companies. You know how word of mouth is a powerful tool in the business world? Well using thank you cards for business to let someone know you appreciate having them as a customer or just as thanks for a job well done can speak volumes!

Business Birthday Cards Are A Big Deal

Birthdays are no big deal around my office. It’s as if we were all hatched from a batch of eggs, like birds and turtles, with no personal birth dates. What’s so difficult about people signing friendly little “from the gang at work” birthday cards? Or how about business birthday cards from the big boss himself?

Does it bother me? Believe me, I’m not looking to advertise my age every year. I’m not looking for a party because my waistline doesn’t need another slice of cake. I’m too old for a bunch of balloons tied to my chair, and I don’t certainly don’t need flowers or more candy. It’s just that I’d like to feel a little special at work for just that one day a year.

Back in college I had a part-time job. The printing machines in the next room were so noisy, everyone in the office had to shout to be heard. “HI, GINNY!” “GOOD MORNING, PETE!” “NICE WEATHER OUT THERE.” There wasn’t much socializing in that place or you’d have a sore throat by the end of the day. Things were better at my first “real” job. No big celebrations for a birthday, no presents, just a few friends sharing cake at the lunch table. This was an old established firm and we weren’t allowed to have any personal items, especially birthday cards, cluttering up our desks.

On my next birthday I’ll really shake things up here. I’ll mail myself half a dozen birthday cards and tack them up on my bulletin board. Maybe I’ll get pizza for everyone. What do you think? Maybe the boss will take the hint and start sending all of us some business birthday cards. Being happy at work is certainly a great motivator to do a great job!

The Loss of Whitney Houston – Talent and Heart

Every year I have need for more and more personal sympathy cards. Maybe it’s because I know a lot of people or maybe because I’ve lived in a number of places. Maybe it’s just my age, but it seems that every year I learn of more deaths of people I knew. Sometimes that person is a stranger, but my sadness is real because they feel like family. Such was the case this weekend, with the sad and sudden passing of Whitney Houston.

Whitney Houston was an amazingly talented woman who, unfortunately, had her struggles though the years. While all the talk in the past few days has been about her tumultuous marriage to Bobby Brown and her issues with drugs and alcohol, I prefer to remember Whitney as a mega-talented singer and a woman who donated much of her time and money to charity.

Whitney Houston had an incomparable voice. One just had to hear the few opening notes of her classic rendition of “I Will Always Love You” to know that she had a talent second to none. What some people may not know was that she was devoted to charity giving. She ran her own organization, the Whitney Houston Foundation for Children, which helped children with such issues as homelessness, cancer and AIDS. She was also involved with other equally important causes, such as the United Negro College Fund, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, and the Children’s Diabetes Foundation.

I will be writing a sympathy card for Whitney Houston, and I hope it can find its way to her daughter Bobbi Kristina, who must be devastated at the loss of her mother. So even though I never actually knew her, I choose to remember Whitney for her grace, glory and spirit. I hope you will too.

Business Greeting Cards Help Erase Employee Dissatisfaction

Business greeting cards may have taken a back seat on the list of high importance when companies are considering what cuts should be made to the yearly budget. However, when the cost of sending a greeting card is analyzed, it is a small amount to spend. It can be a small price to pay to convey to the recipient that they are truly appreciated. It shows that one is remembered throughout the year. Not just when one is actually purchasing or utilizing a product or service, but all of the time. In these crazy economic times, an under appreciated customer or client can spell doom.

Now let’s take a look at employee birthday cards. How much importance do we place on this? I would venture to guess that it is probably not enough. The thought is that an employee should just be happy to have a job. This is true enough. But please consider this recent news headline – Americans’ Job Satisfaction Falls to Record Low. The article states that only 45% of Americans are satisfied with their work. In 2008 that number was 49%. Ok, that’s only a 4% drop. However, in 1987 the number of satisfied workers was 61%. The article goes on to list some of the reasons for the drop, such as the jobs are not interesting, incomes have not kept up with inflation, and the increasing cost of insurance cutting into take home pay.

There are some things that can’t be controlled. Inflation and insurance costs are all but impossible to fix. Companies can’t stop inflation or the increasing cost of insurance. Companies can however, do some small things that can take a bite out of this growing trend of dissatisfaction. You know, lessen the sting a little bit. By recognizing an employee’s birthday or anniversary, we are letting them know that although we are all trying to work through these trying times, they are truly and sincerely appreciated.

Ok, sending employee birthday cards is but a small thing, but small gestures can go a long way in boosting employee moral. Not showing appreciation will not help the company in the least, whether it is a customer or employee. Imagine if you will, that only 45% of your customers are satisfied. It’s a sobering thought. Any successful company knows that appreciated employees will go the extra mile, even in tough times. They will also stick with you when the tough times are over!

Business Sympathy Cards Touch the Heart

When someone experiences the loss of a loved one, business sympathy cards can bring to light how many other lives have been impacted by this individual. Receiving acknowledgement from someone’s co-workers touches the heart as it reveals an often unknown group of people that share the loss of your dearly departed. We all know the effects of the loss on friends and family but hearing from outside this group can be very special indeed.

I recently lost a very dear friend of many years. After the services were over, her husband approached me and asked if I would help him choose appropriate thank you cards. He wanted to send a message of thanks in response to the many thoughtful  sympathy cards that had been sent to him from his wife’s co-workers and clients. He told me that he had received an astonishing amount of approximately 300 business related cards! He knew only a few of these people and was overwhelmed by the kindness and caring these cards represented.

Business greeting cards, in general, show appreciation and respect for people we work with, who work for us, and who we work for. That respect and appreciation exhibited through a business sympathy card is a way to show someone how much their dear one meant to others. It’s a simple way to touch the heart.

Business Christmas Cards, February and a Groundhog Named Punxsutawney Phil

One doesn’t normally think about business Christmas cards in February. February brings visions of snowflakes and candy hearts for Valentine’s Day. However, the mild temperatures are making the predictions of one certain Pennsylvania groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, seem silly. Six more weeks of winter? If it continues like this, everyone will welcome it!

So with a prediction of six more weeks of winter, it turns my mind to Christmas cards in February. There are many reasons to order your cards early. One of the best reasons is that because this is the off season, cards are offered at greater discounts. This is a winning situation for both business and customer. Employers are able to keep employees productive and customers reap the benefit of lower costs. Ordering early also gives you the best selection of cards. When waiting until peak season to order, you run the risk of that special card being sold out. During the holiday season we usually feel rushed with way too many things to do. Before you know it, you are in complete panic mode and wondering how you are going to get everything done.

While everyone else is scrambling in November to get their Christmas card order in, you can devote your time to other important matters. Just don’t forget where you stored your cards!