I may be the only one but I do get irritated by a “Polite Notice”.  It might be because I feel I’m being told off for thinking about doing something I never thought of doing.  Until, that is, the “Polite Notice” reminded me of the many ways I could misbehave.

I received a box of point of display goods the other day.  It had a “Polite Notice” stuck to it.  The words that stood out were “Packed with pride by James”.  I thought that’s nice.  It could have read “Lovingly packed by James” but I’d be nit-picking.

Then I read further.  The rest of the “Polite Notice” went on to inform me that the business had thought of all the ways I had of defrauding the business by a false claim for goods damaged in transit.  They had also recorded James packing my box by CCTV.

Yet the box was packed beautifully and had arrived in perfect condition.

It seemed odd to make me feel awkward when I had no intention nor any reason to claim for goods damaged in transit.  James had done a tremendous job and should be congratulated.

This all made me think of one of the prime reasons we do business with each other: trust.  So our customers trust us and do business with us.  Should that trust run both ways?  Should we also trust our customers?  Would that result in stronger, more lasting business relationships?

Which made me think maybe this would have been better stuck to my parcel:

We take great care to ensure your parcel arrives safely.  We know Jack has worked hard to pack your goods securely.  Accidents happen though.  If your parcel arrives damaged, please…………..