After tens of thousands of conversations with business owners, we’ve concluded that one of the key determinants between thriving and struggling businesses is how appreciated customers feel. While that insight might seem fairly commonplace, what’s rare is discussion on how business owners go about making their customers feel appreciated. So, we reached out to some of the most loved and admired entrepreneurs and small business owners in the community and asked them to open up about how they show appreciation to their customers.

Abby Coello

One of the best ways I’ve shown customer appreciation was during a live painting event I hosted at a gallery. A woman came in and was mesmerized by one of my pieces but mentioned it was slightly out of her budget. I could see how much the artwork spoke to her, so I offered to personalize a smaller version just for her. She was overjoyed not only because I was willing to work with her budget but because the personalized piece felt even more special. Read more>>

Jackie Burtch

I always send my clients a little something with their new branding on it. It feels extra special when I am able to partner with local entrepreneurs to execute that, so one of my very favorite client gifts was a sticker collaboration with a local artist, Kelsey Haver of the Daisy Market Co. I always try to send along something that applies to their business or that they might not buy for themselves. Read more>>

Bambi Pride-huff

We pride ourselves on our customer service. We did have a customer when we were in brick n mortar before we transitioned into our concession trailer. This customer was a regular, he came in and ordered every Thursday for himself and his wife. He had a daughter that was almost 2 and had become friends with our daughter. When his daughter started eating food like Mac n cheese and he was adjusting to that new normal….. he would order the food for him and his wife and then forget to order the Mac n cheese and remember right before he was gonna leave when he would get a message from his wife. I caught on to this and started to just include a side of Mac n cheese for the kid and didn’t charger for it. He would fight me on it but I always told him that we appreciated his loyal business and to tell the kid we said hi. Read more>>