Upset man holding cookieBy Roamy R. Valera, CAPP

A dear friend of mine recently sent me a letter he had written to his long-time airline of choice. I know my friend well and as a travel warrior myself, I knew his letter was not going to flatter anyone in the organization. He was disappointed that after 20 years of loyalty and commitment to the brand, he was not recognized after reaching a significant milestone–well, at least not recognized in the way he expected for his years of brand loyalty.

The airline served him a cookie! A cookie is not how he expected to be celebrated. He is certain he deserved more than that. His letter was meant for the airline, but it touched me and my pursuit to recognize and reward my circle of contacts/influence better. But, as I just shared, it is difficult at times to know just how much others expect from us.

I hope I can show my gratitude with how quickly I respond to emails, calls, text messages, etc. I also hope I can display a level of gratitude for your loyalty in how I treat you and care for you. In the end, we all have certain expectations to how we want to be recognized. I will continue to work on mine and hope I meet yours.

And if it is a cookie, please be sure it is warm.

Roamy R. Valera, CAPP, is CEO, North America, with PayByPhone.