A couple of weeks ago I ordered a Threadless t-shirt as a Mother’s Day for my wife. The shirt arrived on time a few days later and I stuck the package in my closet until I wrapped her present — typically last minute — last night. Much to my surprise, inside the Threadless package there was also a present for me as well: a $10 gift certificate for being a loyal customer. Or, as the guys at Threadless put it, “a little reminder to continue to be so awesome.”

Now, not only did they send me a $10 gift card, they sent it in a hand-written note complete with a nice original sketch inside the card. In other words, somebody took the time to craft this — they didn’t just throw a $10 gift certificate into tho order as it went by on a conveyor belt. You can see some pictures of the card below.  And hopefully, you can see why this really made my day and made me feel like a truly valued customer.

Now, what does Threadless get out of something like this?

• They get people talking.  I immediately showed this to my wife (after she opened her present) and will tell all my co-workers about it today.
• They get an up-sell. Ten dollars will get me a free t-shirt the next time Threadless has a sale, but I’m far more likely to use this gift on a $35 hoodie or a Threadless Select shirt.
• They get brand-loyalty. Threadless is by far the best t-shirt vendor out there in terms of design and shirt quality. I love them. But now I love them even more. I won’t even look at another vendor after this.

But most importantly, they make their customers feel special. Let’s not discount this. I’m sure Threadless employees take immense pride in their work and making their customers feel loved makes them feel great about what they do — and they should. When the Threadless guy drew the doodle on this card he was thinking about how awesome I was going to feel getting it. That reciprocal satisfaction is at the heart of customer acknowledgement and customer satisfaction. You can literally feel the love. And in case you don’t feel the love. It actually says on the back of the card, “Sent with love from your friends at Threadless.com.”

So thanks, Threadless. I think you’re pretty awesome too!