A Thank You Video

If you have seen my earlier posts, then you know that I am a big fan of the thank you card. I believe it is just good manners to thank someone for a gift.  The people over at Solar Roadways took this one step further.  This is one of the hundreds of thank you videos they did for people who donated to their recent crowd funding drive to get the money to test and develop solar roadways. 

The video says thank you, gives a cute example of what they plan to do with the money and yes, advances their own marketing.  I am not suggesting you put a plug for your business at the end of every thank you or even that you need to make elaborate videos. Rather I am saying that they took the time to say thank you in a way that is both cute and polite and I applaud that.

If you are interested in finding out more about Solar Roadways, here is a link to their website.

http://www.solarroadways.com/intro.shtml

Subcontracting Your Thank Yous

I was looking at a site that specializes in matching people up with the idea of hiring someone to do small jobs for you.  This is not your hire someone to mow your lawn kind of small jobs. No, this site specializes in the more unusual. You can get people to write a love poem or research honeymoon destinations.  A variety of things from random people such as someone to send you a birthday card or translate a sentence into another language.

I was horrified (but not surprised really) to see that one of the jobs offered was to write your wedding thank you cards for you.  You give this person $5 per 10 cards and a list of wedding presents and addresses, and they send out handwritten cards.

Please do not do this.

First, it is incredibly bad manners to subcontract out your gratitude. People went to the time and trouble to purchase and send or deliver you a present. It is not too much to ask for you to take 3 to 4 minutes and write them a thank you note. (You can see my earlier post on how to craft a thank you card if you are nervous about writing one. http://etiquetteasilearnedit.blogspot.com/2013/12/time-for-thank-you-cards.html)

Second, you are giving someone you have never met a list of all the shiny new things that live in your house. Maybe they are perfectly trustworthy. Maybe they will have their friend in your driveway with a moving van while you are on your honeymoon.

Third, you just gave this same stranger the names and addresses of your friends and relatives. Maybe they will decide that since Aunt Mabel gave you that $500 vacuum, she obviously has some extra money.  They can be at her house right after they finish at yours.  They could also just sell your family's information.

Save yourself the potential headaches--and the $5--and take the time to properly thank your friends and family for the thoughtfulness.  It won't be as bad as you think.

Time For Thank You Cards

Christmas time has come and gone again. For many of us, that means presents. Presents often mean a need for thank you cards.

If you did not open the present in front of the giver, you need to send them a thank you card. Even if you did open it in front of them--and said thank  you--you may want to send a thank you card or email anyways. Thank you cards are seldom a bad choice so when in doubt, go ahead and send one.

Some simple rules for thank you cards:

Whenever you open a present outside the presence of the giver, send a thank you card.

Send the thank you card within two weeks for most occasions. If it is for a wedding or baby shower, you can stretch that out to a month or two as people understand that you probably have a lot of them to do. However, anything else, do it as quickly as possible.  For one thing, this eliminates the wait for the giver. For another, it makes it much less likely that you will forget to do it.

Always put something good about the gift or giver at the beginning of the thank you card.  For example, "It was wonderful of you to take the time to send a present." or "I love the colors of the blanket you sent."

Always finish with the words, "Thank you"

If the gift was given to a small child, feel free to include them in the process. They can draw a picture or write a little message. Chances are whoever cared enough to send them a present would love to get a personal message from them.  It also helps to teach your children so that some day, they too will know to send a thank you card.