The Lost Art of the Hand-written Note

Recently I arranged a company lunch for eight at El Gaucho in Bellevue. The lunch wasn't a momentous occasion  just celebrating a success fr the company between a few departments. I was kind of excited because I'd never been there before. My paltry wage doesn't quite make my wallet fat enough, barring my  from such classy establishments. So I paid with the company card and filled out their survey because we had pretty wonderful service.

About a week later I received a card at home from El Gaucho. I thought it was a little strange. I had never received a card from a restaurant before. Red Robin and Subway probably don't have any stamps at their houses, I guess. Anyway, I opened up the envelope, and there was a hand-written, fairly personalized note from the main waiter that served us that day. And it wasn't just a thank you note. It was composed of 3-4 sentences and let me know how much they appreciated our  choosing El Gaucho that day (and of course, welcomed us back).

So, even though I do feel--and know--this was marketing, it came off much, much better than just a printed piece would have. I know they wouldn't have written a  note to just write a note. El Gaucho writes notes because it resonates with their customers. Even though I know this, it still resonated with me, and I told other people about it. But, then again, maybe I'm just not going to the right restaurants.

Of course, writing a hand-written, personalized note to all your customers is a considerable commitment, so is giving your hard-earned money and time to any establishment.