Handwritten thank-you note for a customer: what to write, and how to produce it
A short handwritten note in a parcel does something an email cannot, and it is cheap, if you can write forty of them without losing a day. The hard part of a customer note is rarely the handwriting. It is knowing what to say in three sentences so that it sounds like a person. This guide gives four examples and the rules behind them, then the practical part.
Their name, one real detail
A note without the customer's name or a detail about the order reads as a template, because it is.
Short beats long
Three to five sentences. A long note tells the customer that nobody chose the words.
In your own handwriting
Fill the template once, about 10-20 minutes in total, and every note comes out in your letters, no two identical.
Honest about how it is made
Do not write that you wrote it by hand at midnight. Write what is true of a printed note.
How it works
- Pick the situation (first order, repeat order, large order, or after a problem) and its example below
- Change the opening, name and one detail for this customer, and keep it to three to five sentences
- Paste it into Penmark in your own hand, choose blank or lined paper and download the PDF
- Print at 100 percent on card stock, or scale to half for a card, and add it to the order
Try it free, a ready-made hand and a first page in seconds
Four notes, by situation
A first order: Hi Dana, thank you for your first order. We hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it. If anything is not just right, tell us and we will fix it. This works because it says three things that are true and asks for nothing.
A repeat customer: Hi Dana, you have ordered from us three times now, and that means a lot to a small shop. We put a little extra in this one. See you next time. The number and the extra make it specific; replace both with whatever is true.
A large order: Hi Dana, thank you for trusting us with such a big order. We checked every piece twice before it left. If a single thing is wrong, write to us and we will sort it out the same day. Say only what you really did.
After a problem you fixed: Hi Dana, I am sorry the first one arrived damaged, and thank you for giving us the chance to put it right. This one has been double packed. The apology is the point of the note, so put it first and keep it plain.
The rules that make a note sound human
Use their name and one detail only you could know: the item, the date, the thing they asked for. Say thank you once, and say what for. Write the way you speak and keep each sentence short. Avoid the phrases every note carries, such as we value your business, because they are what a template sounds like. End with a way to reach you or with a plain wish, and your name or the team's.
The honesty rule is the last one, and the one that matters. A note in your handwriting that was printed is still a note in your handwriting, and your customer will not mind that. They may mind a claim that you sat down and wrote it for them tonight. Write so that every sentence stays true if they find out.
Making them in quantity, in your own hand
Fill the template once and keep the library in your browser. Each note is then a paste and a download, about a minute, and the engine alternates between three variations of each letter, so no two notes are identical even when the sentences are. Keep a typed master for each of the four situations and change the name and the detail for every customer.
Two practical limits. The characters @, &, #, $ and accented letters are not drawn, so write and in a company name, leave the email address to the printed packing slip, and spell names without accents unless you add the accent by pen. And the page is full size: print on card stock and scale to half in the print dialog for a card that tucks into a parcel.
Where this fits in a small business
For a handful of orders a week, writing notes by hand is lovely and Penmark is unnecessary. For a few dozen, it takes the evening off you and keeps the personal look. The client thank-you notes page covers the wider case, and the handwritten letter generator guide covers the longer letter.
Questions & answers
What should I write in a thank-you note to a customer?
Thank them by name for something specific, say one true thing about the order, and offer a way to reach you, in three to five sentences. The four examples above cover a first order, a repeat order, a large order and a problem you fixed.
How long should a customer thank-you note be?
Three to five sentences. A long note reads as though no one chose the words.
Can the notes be in my own handwriting?
Yes. Fill the template once (about 10-20 minutes in total) and every note comes out in your letters, with a different variation of each letter, so no two are identical.
Should I tell customers the note was printed?
You do not need to announce it, but do not claim you wrote it by hand for them. Write sentences that stay true if they learn it was printed.
Why is the @ in my email address blank?
The @ sign, the ampersand, the hash and the dollar sign are outside the 155 characters the template holds. Print the email address on the packing slip instead.
What size do I print a note at?
The page is 216 by 283 mm. Print at 100 percent, or scale to about half in the print dialog for a card that fits in a parcel.
Try it free, a ready-made hand and a first page in seconds
Penmark in numbers
- Price
- Free, no account
- Characters captured
- 155 in one template: Hebrew with final letters, English, digits, punctuation, math symbols and Greek
- Time to set up
- About 10-20 minutes in total, once. Or skip it: 91 ready-made hands work immediately
- Variations per character
- Three, from the three times you write each character
- Languages
- Hebrew and English in one sentence, plus math. No niqqud, Hindi, Arabic or Cyrillic
- Output
- PDF, Word (docx) or PNG on lined, grid, dotted or blank paper
- Privacy
- Uploads deleted within about 24 hours; your library stays in your browser
- Not included
- No installable font file, no tables or graphs, no OCR of scans