Etsy store owner’s simple gesture impresses, earns fans

How to impress your clients

There are some customer service lessons that come through experience – you know how to answer the phone politely, or how to assuage the behavior of a hostile customer, and you probably send thank you emails to your best clients, or heck, all of them.

People complain all the time that the internet has made our culture less connected and absent of manners, but one Etsy store owner’s recent gesture was shared on the web and instantly earned her new fans.

Christa Hathaway is the owner of SimpleDiversions, where she handcrafts Steampunk accessories, and unlike most business owners, she never forgot her first customer.

Hathaway recently sent the following letter to her first customer along with a token of gratitude:

A selfless gesture converted fans

The recipient wrote, “A year ago, I bought my beautiful wife a necklace from Simple Diversions on Etsy. It was a wire bird’s nest. Since her nickname is Bird, I thought it was appropriate. She loved it, which was awesome but not the point of this story. Today, I received a package in the mail from Simple Diversions. I was confused, since I didn’t remember ordering anything. I opened it to find a card and a small box. I was touched by the gesture of kindness. She didn’t have to do that, but she chose to send it. Made my week, and Julie’s week as well. A simple act of kindness can get a lot of mileage and takes very little effort. Thank you, Christa. It meant a lot to both of us. Check out her stuff, everyone. She’s what we call ‘good people’.”

In the comments, people were complimenting her work, and many were saying they were off to go buy from her. With this simple gesture that she undoubtedly crafted for the recipient’s eyes only was a beautiful move, one that expresses gratitude and humility, and so impressed the buyer that he shared it with as many people as possible, advocating for her artwork.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Any business can do this. Who was your first customer where you work, or at the business you own? How have you thanked them lately for being part of getting you to where you are today?