(This post was originally published on March 28th, 2011)

As any self-respecting boyfriend knows, flowers are a ladies best friend on Valentine’s Day. Well, maybe on every day. Okay, okay, every day should be like Valentine’s Day. But flowers hold a certain significance on Valentine’s Day.

So this past February 14th, I ordered flowers online with FlowerCreations.ca and had them sent to my girlfriends place of work. The process was seamless: they had great pictures of the bouquets I could order, and the check-out process was easy and painless.

Sure enough, I got an excited IM from a very happy (and embarassed!) girlfriend. Thanks to Flower Creations, I was a hero, and all I had to do was click a button. Would I use them again? Absolutely.

But last week, I went to go check my mail and found a small card-size envelope from the website. Inside, to my absolute surprise, I found a hand-written note, addressed to me, and a business card.

Richard,

Thank you for purchasing from Flower Creations.

We appreciate your business and hope to be able to provide flowers for you again in the future.

Flower Creations

Is it odd that I was floored by this act? Shouldn’t all companies make it a practice to thank their clients personally? Probably, but since that isn’t the case, any time someone goes above and beyond, it becomes extra special.

What have you done to reach out from behind the computer screen and thank your clients or partners? A simple act like a hand-written thank you note can go a long way to making a lasting impression.