"What do you say?"

Thank you. My mom, the greatest mother this planet has (sorry if you think your mom rocks, mine rules, period), taught me this. You say thank you, no matter what. She even taught me things like if I ever got a crappy gift, I should always put a great smile on and say thank you, if I ever got served a food I really could gag on, I should gulp down and say... yes, thanks. Yummy. Puke later if you want, I always thought. I guess she didn't want a brat for a daughter. I think I have made her proud.

Well. Tonight, a miracle has happened. A client of mine said thank you to me. I have been working non stop for over 48 hours. I said to my client, you will have all your pieces in time for your opening. And trust me, what I promise, I deliver. Well, all the hard work finally went ackowledged. I like that.

Clients should say thank you from time to time, and mean it. I would love for ad agencies to have a written rule about that. CEO's should say to clients that if they liked one or two pieces, if the campaign actually made money, they should say thank you to all that worked on them. Better if it comes in an email, with a copy to the CEO. They should know who was behind it, and kudos should be given to them. Besides, it is a great way to get a bigger salary. You become part of a team, you become needed. It develops a great relationship between all involved at the agency and the client, because they start to feel comfortable around their team. Good work gives birth to one special thing: trust. Trust from your clients. Trust from your bosses.

Don't have that in your ad agency? Dammit, ask for it. Tell your Account Manager, your Account Executive. Well, if you have bigger balls, walk to your CEO's office, sit down and tell him/her about it. You don't know how many times I thought I was scared of giving my opinions and suggestions and they were all taken very well.

So, to my client, I say... You're welcome. Thank you for shopping at My Agency. Ya'll come back now, ya hear?