The power of a hand-written note

Found this letter over at grokdotcom and started thinking about how cool it would be to use a variation of it in our community. I know most of us use welcome letters but are they personalized like the one below?

….that’s right, a hand-written note from the general manager, Ms. Lisa
DeLorean. Not a computer-written-in-handwriting-font note, but a real,
live, ink-on-quality-stock note. I wasn’t even terribly concerned about
the words themselves — the note’s pleasant enough — but this fine
business manager took the time to write that note herself, and addressed to me personally, so I know it’s not just the boilerplate greetings that tells you the name of the cleaning staff.

It actually took me awhile to read the note, as most of the "wow"
effect came from just receiving it! Of course, she thanks me for
choosing her hotel, but she also thanks me for all the other visits
I’ve made to the affiliated chain members (Crowne, InterContinental,
etc., none of which I suspect factored into her bonus those past
years), and then she finished with a bang [emphasis mine]: "We want you
to be very satisfied with your stay."

Not just satisfied, but very satisfied.

And I was. The place was indeed restful, power outlets everywhere and free internet. And, yes, fresh batteries in the remotes.

I’m sure you’ve all heard the stat that a dissatisfied customer
tells, on average, 12 others about their bad experience. (Well, Lisa
DeLorean, I just told 85,000+ GrokDotCom readers about you, your fine hotel, and the classy way you treat your customers. Keep up the good work!)

Mr. Cosslett, as CEO of Lisa’s parent company, if this handwriting
of thank-you notes is corporate policy, congrats to you too! If Lisa
did this on her own initiative, you just found your next regional
manager. Cuz if you don’t, I’m sure another hotelier will snatch up
talent like Lisa’s — and fast.

Sincerely,

John Quarto-vonTivadar, delighted customer