Keep clients coming back · Every business
The Thank-You Message to Send After Every Job or Visit
A thank-you that only says thanks is pleasant and quickly forgotten, so the version worth sending also gives the customer something useful: what was done, how to care for it and when to come back.
Send a short message the same day, within a few hours of the visit or finished job, that thanks the customer by name, names the work, adds one useful detail and gives one easy next step: "Hi [First name], thank you for having us out today. We replaced the kitchen faucet cartridge; if you notice any drip in the next week, reply here and we'll come back at no charge. Your next check-up is due in [month]." Send it by the channel the customer agreed to, from a person rather than a no-reply address, and keep it short enough to read at a glance.
The template, with versions for six kinds of business
| Business | Message to copy |
|---|---|
| Salon or barbershop | Hi [First name], thank you for coming in today. To keep the color bright, use the sulfate-free shampoo we talked about. You're booked for [date]; if that changes, reply here. |
| Dental or medical practice | Hi [First name], thank you for visiting [Practice] today. Your care notes are in your patient portal. If anything feels off tonight, call us at [number]. |
| Plumbing, HVAC or electrical | Hi [First name], thanks for having [Business] out today. Your invoice, photos and warranty details are here: [link]. If anything isn't right, reply and we'll make it right. |
| Auto repair | Hi [First name], thanks for trusting [Shop] with your [vehicle]. We replaced the front brake pads; your next oil change is due at about [mileage]. |
| Law, tax or bookkeeping office | Hi [First name], thank you for meeting with us today. Here is the list of documents we still need, with the date we need them by: [link]. |
| Gym, studio or coaching | Hi [First name], thanks for your first session today. Your plan for this week is here: [link]. Same time next [day]? |
Checklist before you turn it on
- Write it once and attach it to an event. Tie the message to the moment the visit is marked complete or the invoice is paid, so it goes to every customer and no one has to remember.
- Use the customer's name and the work. A message that names the faucet, the color or the brake pads reads as written for that person, even when it was set up once.
- Add one useful thing. Care instructions, a photo of the finished work, the warranty or the next due date give the customer a reason to keep the message.
- Give one next step. A booked date to confirm, a reply-to-fix offer or a link to the documents; one, not three.
- Keep the review request separate. Asking for a review in the thank-you turns a gift into a request; send it a day or two later as its own short message.
- Get permission to text. Ask at booking, "Can we text you about your appointment and follow-up?", and honor every STOP.
Why it works
Gratitude on its own changes less than most owners expect. In field experiments published in American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, about 500,000 new donors to public television stations and a national nonprofit were randomly assigned to receive a thank-you phone call or not, and although fundraising professionals predicted the calls would raise donor retention by 80%, the researchers found a precisely estimated null effect. That result is the reason the template above carries the work done, the care instructions and the next date, since information the customer can use gives the message a job beyond politeness.
People who send thanks also tend to underrate how it lands. Across experiments published in Psychological Science, people who wrote letters of gratitude underestimated how surprised and positive recipients would feel and overestimated how awkward recipients would find it, a gap the researchers suggest keeps people from expressing thanks as often as they could. For an owner who hesitates because a message feels like one more thing in the customer's inbox, that finding suggests the customer will likely think better of it than the owner does.
Sources
- Samek, A. and Longfield, C. Do Thank-You Calls Increase Charitable Giving? Expert Forecasts and Field Experimental Evidence. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 15(2), 2023. About 500,000 new donors.
- Kumar, A. and Epley, N. Undervaluing Gratitude: Expressers Misunderstand the Consequences of Showing Appreciation. Psychological Science 29(9), 2018.
Related reading: The Review Request Text to Send After Every Visit · Small Touches That Make Customers Come Back: A Checklist by Business Type · Following Up Without Being Annoying: A Simple Post-Service Sequence
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