|
|
Dear Patricia,
Starting with this Summer 2008 issue, our business newsletter will come out six times a year. This issue focuses on a tried and true key to success: thank you notes. I'm amazed by how much response I received to a Boston Globe column question about writing thank you notes after an interview. Too often we think of thank you notes as something we have to do rather than something we want to do. The next time you ask yourself if you should write a thank you note, think of the effort as an opportunity to reach out and build the relationship rather than as an obligation. Please feel free to share these articles with your colleagues or department. And thank you for your interest in business etiquette. Sincerely, Peter Post
|
Thank You Notes:
A Two-way Street
|
|
Sure, you should write a thank you note,
but what about the employer?
Thank you notes matter whether you're vying for a job or promotion or trying to land a new contract or client. Why? If you make the effort to send a note and your competitor doesn't, who stands out? If you send a note to each person on the selection committee and your competitor sends one to the committee chair, who stands out?
Unfortunately, there's one aspect about interview thank you notes that is a major thorn in the side of interviewees. It's the failure of companies/interviewers to either let the interviewee know the outcome or to thank the interviewee for her time and effort. When a company asks a person to make the effort to come in to be interviewed, the company should be sure to acknowledge that effort with a thank you. It can easily be part of a letter informing the interviewee of the decision.
|
Thank You Notes:
Email or Snail Mail?
|
|
Do you want to be remembered or deleted?
Think carefully before you fire off an email thank you note. If it doesn't get by the corporate spam blocker, your effort is for nothing. Even if the intended recipient actually gets it, will he skip your email because the subject line didn't tell him what was in the email? Finally. even if he's read it, what does he do when he closes it? He deletes it.
On the other hand, if you hand write the thank you note on nice card stock, put it in an envelope with a stamp on it and mail it to him, he's likely to open it. After all, each day he receives only a few pieces of real mail, if any at all. Once he's read it, he'll put it down on his desk and leave it there for a few hours if not for a few days. Each time he sees it, he's reminded of you.
|
|
Thank You Goes National
|
|
 Nominate someone to receive a huge thank you.
Monday, September 22, 2008 is National Thank You Day. Established to recognize acts of everyday kindness and the importance of saying thank you, it's a perfect opportunity to acknowledge clients, employees, vendors and prospects. End-of-the-year gifts and holiday greetings can get lost in hustle and bustle of the season. Sending a card or gift on National Thank You Day allows you to stand apart from the crowd.
National Thank You Day is sponsored by The Emily Post Institute and merciŪ Finest Assortment of European Chocolates. Once again, National Thank You Day will include a contest to search for one small deed that deserves a big thank you. One grand-prize winner will be awarded a prize personally selected by their nominator with a value up to $20,000. Click here for details and entry forms. The contest runs through August 15, 2008.
National Thank You Day was inspired by the findings of a 2007 survey conducted by merciŪ Finest Assortment of European Chocolates and The Emily Post Institute. Survey results indicated that while 87.3 percent of Americans said they are bothered when people don't say thank you, 90.2 percent feel that they don't say thank you enough. The survey also found that saying please, thank you and you're welcome are the most important common good manners Americans need to observe more, followed by practicing patience and politeness while waiting in lines.
|
"Excuse me, Peter, what do you do when..."
|
|
Q&A's with Peter Post
Q. When taking a client out to lunch or dinner, what's the rule of thumb regarding when it's appropriate to start talking business?
A. Business meals have two important components: One involves conducting any business the host wants to address; the other involves an opportunity to build a relationship. It's important to leave time for both.
At business lunches or power breakfasts, the service tends to be faster and the meals typically have fewer courses. Therefore, "getting down to business" occurs sooner. At these meals, it's usually acceptable to start talking business once the waiter has taken your order. At a dinner, where the pace is slower, business talk usually commences with the main course. In either case, the host
should always initiate any discussion of business matters.
For more Q & A's, go to the online version of Peter's column at the Boston Globe, click here.
To submit a question for Peter at his Etiquette at Work column at the Boston Globe, click here.
|
The Kisser and
The Clipper
|
|
A day in the life of an etiquette superhero...
Watch Peter Post rescue co-
workers from these villains in two popular videocasts on Boston.com.
|
|
If you can't find the answer on our
website...
...there's a good chance it's in one of our books. Emily Post Institute books are available at your bookshop, or on the Emily Post website books page with a click through to Amazon.com.
|
Bulk book purchase discounts
Are you interested in purchasing Emily Post books for your
employees? All of our books are available at a 45% discount if you order a minimum of 10 books, with free shipping on orders over $450 retail value.
For more information, or to place your order, contact
Trudi Bartow at HarperCollins Publishers, Special Markets Email: Trudi.Bartow@harpercollins.com
Phone: 212.207.7581 |
|
|
