A Simple Thank-You Note

JAM

JAM

I am the storm
Silver Member
I recently worked with a group of philanthropists, who shall remain unnamed, on an annual retreat. Each year, they get together to network with each other and share donating strategies to achieve their ultimate goals. One gentleman recently donated $25 million to a university to set up tuition-free scholarships to worthy students. :smile:

One topic that seemed to resonate with all of them was whether to continue donating funds to entities that did not keep them up to date on how they were spending the funds, as well as a simple thank-you note. In fact, some of them stated they decided to quit funding some entities because of the lack of communication, but it was that simple thank-you note or recognition that was a biggie for a few of them.

I remember Tim Scruggs used to sponsor a regional tour in my neck of the woods, around Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. One day, I ran into him at a local pool room, and we chatted for a spell. He said he decided to end the Scruggs tour.

I'm sure he had various reasons for doing so, but the straw in the camel's back was this. The winner of his tour's season finale always received a custom-made Scruggs cue. It was his way of giving them something special. The last year of the Scruggs tour, the winner of the season finale sold his "rights" to the custom-made Scruggs cue to somebody for cash money. Tim Scruggs received a phone call from the guy who paid the cash money to the season finale winner, giving him his specifications for the custom-made Scruggs cue. I'm sure that was upsetting to Tim Scruggs. :frown:

Recently, I read a thread on this forum about Melissa Herndon requesting help for an injured husband of a player. She not only raised $4,000, but she came back on the thread and thanked everybody who donated. That's a first-class action, something you don't see very often after the monies come in! :yes:

I do wonder if today's pool peeps who do receive help from industry members take the time to provide updates on progress and/or send a simple thank-you note to them. IMO, there might be more financial support if this practice was exercised more often.

If you see a Ustream or attend a pool tournament that is sponsored by an industry member, a thank-you note sent to them expressing your appreciation or even how you felt the event went would go a long way. In fact, after spending time with some multimillionaires, I'm sure of it. ;)
 
It's easier to forget a "thank you" from behind a keyboard than it is in person or engaging in phone conversation, but those are just excuses. We get lazy, and I'm as guilty as the next guy/gal!!!

I'll try to improve on this in the future.

Maniac
 
Maniac said:
It's easier to forget a "thank you" from behind a keyboard than it is in person or engaging in phone conversation, but those are just excuses. We get lazy, and I'm as guilty as the next guy/gal!!!

I'll try to improve on this in the future.

Maniac
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After attending this retreat and listening to the colloquy, I am definitely going to make an attempt to improve in this area. I had not realized how important something this simple could mean to a potential sponsor!
 
Kickin' Chicken said:
JAM;

Thank you for your post. :smile:

Best,
Brian kc
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Tee-hee! :grin:

You know, I also understand how this simple concept can apply to our forum culture.

Many times when I used to be on the road attending pool events, I would provide multiple daily trip reports accompanied with photos. It was my way of capturing the event and sharing it with forum readers here. I know when I am at home and unable to attend a pool happenings, I do enjoy reading about it from those on site.

A simple thank-you on a thread to someone who does provide this kind of sharing does mean something to the OP. If they take the time to create the thread and nobody replies, well, they might think why bother doing it anymore.

In Forum Land, in particular, it seems that the feel-good threads don't get as much activity as the flame threads. In real life, this is also true. When you watch the news, it seems like the majority of folks are interested in hearing about Charlie Sheen's meltdown, Brittney Spears shaving her head bald, Casey Anthony's trial, but the feel-good stories don't generate as much interest.

Maybe everybody really does prefer to watch a train wreck, but I'd prefer to believe that there are those who would rather contribute something positive, even something as simple as a thank-you. :smile:
 
Besides laziness,procrastination,forgetfulness as the reasons for not sending a thank u note, there is another reason for the problem and that is ' The of sense of entitlement '.The people who feel entitled, maintain an arrogant attitude feeling that u owe them. In the service industry, significant number of young males don`t care to thank but the females more often express their gratitude either verbally or nonverbally (with a smile ). Coming to the pool industry, several NEW AGE proplayers, Many gamblers lack that ability to say 'thank you'. I am not sure what the problems is with the pool players. It could be as simple as ignorance of social eticate due to lack of education and socialization OR just arrogance with 'the sense of entitlement'


Gracias!
 
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I agree, JAM.

I do think, though that by definition, there's supposed to be a difference between a philanthropist and a sponsor. But unfortunately, in our pool world, too many sponsors wind up being philanthropists ---- Either because their sponsorship investment shows no return on their investment, or they have no real way to gauge the results.


I think that there are ways that aren't being used to help sponsors gauge results, and even encourage positive results. For example: at a major tournament ( or any tournament), each player can receive a printed sheet with sponsor coupons that can be used and duplicated for a period of time after the event. That will give the sponsor a gauge of his ROI related to that event, and may even encourage sales. It wouldn't matter if the sheet gets passed around and duplicated by people not at the event. That would be the idea.

My guess is that they'd probably appreciate that more than a 'thank you'.
 
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I agree. Without appreciation, good things just disappear. I don't know if it's a sign of the times or what, but there seems to be a sense of entitlement to anything that comes along, as also mentioned by Vagabond. Appreciation makes me, personally, feel great. Without it, I just stop and move on. Examples: Last month, friends from France visited my wife and I, and stayed in our home for several days and we just got a call last week expressing their appreciation for about the fourth time in such a great way, made us both feel warm and fuzzy. We got a thank you card from some other friends that we just had over for dinner last week, about three paragraphs long saying various nice things and expressing thanks in a wonderful way. I had been copying humor from the "Funny Pic/Gif" thread and forwarding to a group of folks for quite a while...not one word of thanks or acknowledgment from anyone, so its gone...they can find it for themselves. Same with birthday/Christmas gifts for ungrateful family over the years. I know these are not big deals, but I just can't imagine anybody getting a large grant, or a custom Scruggs, without any appreciation. Amazing.
 
right now my girlfriend is busting her butt for her bachelors to earn scholarship/financial aid for law school in a year. she's on the dean's list so i hope she'll be able to qualify for some of those tuition-free scholarships!!!
 
I agree with this. I am a minor sponsor for a great new regional tour and the tour director has been very gracious and appreciative which makes me feel good about it.

I don't need or expect glory or attention, but I really only care about 2 things when I donate money: 1) that the recipient is appreciative and 2) that my money is being used for the betterment of that organization.

If I don't get those 2 things, then I usually don't continue donating to those organizations.
 
It's amazing as to how just those 2 little words can make someone's day and the lack of them can break someone's day.

2 very simple words that can mean the world to someone regardless of who they are in spite of who they represent/sponsor/or give as a gift.

Thank you JAM for opening a very good thread that is all about one's appreciation.
 
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thank you means a lot, means a lot more if it is tangible

A simple thank you means a lot, be it by phone, PM, e-mail or in a conversation. However a tangible thank you means a lot more. A card, a small gift, a few lines mailed to someone. I had a business with a lot of cash flowing through it and I was new to the area. I continued the giving of the previous owner and gave a bit more to things I supported. Dozens of donations a month adding up to over ten thousand dollars a year. One local ball team I sponsored sent me a thank you, along with a photograph of the shirts and an end of season update. Most groups large and small that I supported, I never heard a word from. With no real personal relationship it made it very easy to shut down the donations when the economy started to sour.

The final thing was the demands they made on my time when they wanted to solicit donations but they couldn't spare any time or effort for a thank you. I worked six days a week besides on demand, I was on emergency call. One month I started keeping up with the time I spent on the phone or in the office when people seeking donations weren't satisfied with speaking with whomever I gave instructions to how to handle the donation. They got exactly the same they would get from me directly but they didn't interfere with my work when I delegated the check writing. I added up over ten hours a week lost to people demanding to speak to me personally to solicit donations. Time spent a year to thank me for my donations didn't add up to ten hours. I dropped all donations except a couple I personally believed in strongly and told the people demanding my time exactly why they no longer received donations from my businesses.

Like JAM, I have talked to people that donated far more in one shot than I have in a lifetime. More than one was annoyed by a lack of gratitude or even personal acknowledgement. Their name out front on a sign was nice but a simple letter would have pleased them more.

Speaking of sponsors, a friend had an unofficial deal with someone he had solved a technical issue with one of their products for. He figured out how to solve the problem for himself and sent the solution on to them. After that he decided to send them a picture of his car with their name on the side of it. They sent him a check for $1500. This went on for years. One year he didn't send a picture, they never again sent a check.

I helped many race car teams in small ways but declined to sponsor any forbiding anyone to put "sponsored by" my business on the side of their car when they offered. I told them they could put "thanks" if they really wanted to put something but there was no need. With the hours I put in my business I didn't make it to the races for several years after I bought it. It was a very pleasant surprise to see that it looked like half the cars on the track had "thanks" and my business name on the side of them!

Hu
 
The word "thank you" goes a long way, and I am not talking about big things, but the very small things as well. Many times I tell someone at the cash register "thank you" or " I hope you have a great day" and I can tell from their reactions that it doesn't often happen. It makes them feel good, and there is nothing wrong with making another human being feel like they, along with their efforts, matter.
 
Manners count

JAM-

In general, most of us are taught as children to say please and thank you.

It's a shame that as adults we forget this valuable lesson.




ps: JAM - Thank you for this real world reminder of the power of these simple words.
 
Jam, thanks for this thread, good subject.


Regardless of how you receive anything you get from someone else in life, a common 'thank you' says tons about your character.
 
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