How to Write a Condolence Note to a Customer or Client

It’s hard to write any condolence note because the subject is death. But it’s especially difficult when the bereaved is a client or customer. The challenge is to strike just the right tone and choose words carefully. The wrong ones can make a poor impression and even damage the business/professional relationship.

I would start your note, “Dear Janet,” rather than just “Janet.” Omitting the “dear” would be acceptable in an ordinary note, but it’s much too casual for a condolence message. This is a sad and very sensitive situation. I would begin the first sentence with, “I am very sorry to hear...” for the same reason. “So very sorry,” which omits the “I,” seems almost flippant.

The next sentence gives advice, which is a common mistake in condolence notes. Advice is the last thing any bereaved wants to hear – especially from someone who isn’t personally close. The words can seem presumptuous, and make the recipient feel very angry. You don’t know your client well yet, and probably have no knowledge of her relationship with her mother. The same is true of the line, “It will help carry you through the dark.” The person’s reaction very well might be, “How would you know?!”

Realize that writing a condolence note is not about being profound. It’s about acknowledging a death and expressing genuine sympathy. Period. Here is one possibility:

Dear Janet,
I’m so sorry to hear about your mother’s passing. You are in my thoughts and prayers at this time of sadness. I send my deepest condolences.

Follow with your signature. Here is another option:

Dear Janet,
I just heard about your mother’s death. I’m so sorry for your loss. Please accept my heartfelt sympathy.

And simply sign your name. Such brief notes are both powerful and appropriate, and they keep you from getting into trouble.

In a time of grief, words often fail us. We want to express our heartfelt sympathy, but finding the gift that can share our sentiments and provide comfort is not always easy.

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Twenty Reasons to Plant a Tree

1. Trees Combat the Greenhouse Effect

Global warming is the result of an excess of greenhouse gases, created by burning fossil fuels and destroying tropical rainforests. Heat from the sun, reflected back from the earth, is trapped in this thickening layer of gases and global temperatures rise as a result. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a major greenhouse gas. Trees absorb carbon dioxide, removing and storing the carbon while releasing the oxygen back into the air. In one year, an acre of trees absorbs the amount of CO2 produced when you drive your car 26,000 miles.

2. Trees Clean the Air

Trees absorb odors and pollutant gases (nitrogen oxides, ammonia, sulfur dioxide and ozone) and filter particulates out of the air by trapping them on their leaves and bark.

3. Trees Provide Oxygen

In one year an acre of trees can provide enough oxygen for eighteen people.

4. Trees Cool the Streets and the City

Trees cool the city by up to 10�F by shading our homes and streets and breaking up urban “heat islands” – and by releasing water vapor into the air through their leaves.

5. Trees Conserve Energy

Three trees placed strategically around a single-family home can cut summer air conditioning needs by up to 50%. By reducing the energy demand for cooling our houses, we reduce carbon dioxide and other pollution emissions from power plants.

6. Trees Save Water

Shade from trees slows water evaporation from thirsty lawns. Most trees need only fifteen gallons of water a week, the equivalent of two toilet flushes. What’s more, as trees transpire, they increase atmospheric moisture.

7. Trees Help Prevent Water Pollution

Trees reduce runoff by breaking rainfall thus allowing the water to flow down the trunk and into the earth below the tree. This prevents stormwater from carrying pollutants to the ocean.

8. Trees Help Prevent Soil Erosion

On hillsides or stream slopes, trees slow runoff and hold soil in place.

9. Trees Shield Children from Ultra-Violet Rays

According to a National Skin Cancer Prevention Education Program report released in 1996 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, skin cancer is the most common and most rapidly increasing form of cancer in the country. Trees provide protection from cancer-causing ultra-violet rays, especially on campuses and in playgrounds where children spend hours outdoors.

10. Trees Provide Food

An apple tree can yield up to 15-20 bushels of fruit per year and can be planted on the tiniest urban lot. Aside from fruit for us, trees provide food for birds and wildlife.

11. Trees Are Teachers and Playmates

Whether houses for children or creative and spiritual inspiration for adults, trees have provided the space for human retreat throughout the ages.

12. Trees Mark the Seasons

Is it winter, spring or summer or fall? Look at the trees.

13. Trees Create Economic Opportunities

Fruit harvested from community orchards can be sold, thus providing income. Small business opportunities in green waste management arise when cities value mulching and its water-saving qualities.

14. Trees Bring Diverse Groups of People Together

Tree plantings provide an opportunity for community involvement and empowerment that improves the quality of life in our neighborhoods. All cultures, ages, and genders have an important role to play at a planting.

15. Trees Add Unity

Trees as landmarks can give a neighborhood a new identity and encourage civic pride.

16. Trees Provide A Canopy and Habitat for Wildlife

Sycamore, and oak are among the many urban species that provide excellent urban homes for birds, bees, possums and squirrels.

17. Trees Block Things

Trees can mask concrete walls or parking lots, and power lines and poles. They muffle sound from nearby streets and freeways, and create an eye-soothing canopy of green. Trees absorb dust and wind and reduce glare.

18. Trees Provide Wood

In populated areas, trees can be selectively harvested for fuel and craft wood.

19. Trees Increase Property Values

The beauty of a well-planted property and its surrounding street and neighborhood can raise property values by as much as 15%.

20. Trees Increase Business Traffic

Think about the most pleasant places to shop in your community. Chances are, trees provide shade for pedestrians and cars.

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Trees have many economic, environmental and social benefits

Trees have many economic, environmental and social benefits. They improve our lives and the places we live. Here are some reasons to plant and care for trees:

Economic Benefits

• Planting shade trees on the south and west faces of your house can reduce winter heating bills by up to 15% and summer cooling bills by up to 50%.
• Studies have shown that well-treed businesses project a warm, welcoming and inviting atmosphere for shoppers who tend to linger and spend more time shopping, resulting in some cases in a business increase of up to 11%.
• Fruit trees provide delicious and free supplemental nutrition for the entire neighborhood.
• A well-landscaped, tree-lined yard can raise the property value of a home by 5 to 15%, increasing neighborhood desirability and speeding up sales.

Environmental Benefits

• Through photosynthesis, trees absorb carbon dioxide and emit oxygen. The average tree can clean up to 330 pounds of carbon dioxide annually while emitting enough oxygen for a whole family.
• Trees reduce the need for heating and cooling, thus decreasing the need for more power plants in the future.
• During a storm, the canopy and root systems of trees act as a both a sponge and a filter, cleaning the water as it seeps into the water table and reducing storm water runoff.
• Forested areas are far less prone to flooding and soil erosion.
• Trees provide a habitat and refuge for urban wildlife, as well as wildlife that may have otherwise been displaced by development.
• All of the above benefits are important factors in reversing the effects of major environmental crises such as global warming, species loss, and drought.

Social Benefits

• Trees are shown to have a calming effect on people; people suffering from high stress tend to feel calmer in the presence of trees, thus improving overall health and well-being.
• Studies show that neighborhoods with significant greenery report fewer instances of crime and less insecurity, resulting from a greater sense of community.
• In today’s world we are growing increasingly insulated and isolated from our neighbors. A community tree planting is a great way for people to interact with one another, work side by side toward a common goal. Planting trees is also a great way to instill in members of the community a sense of civic pride and a stronger connection to place.
• Closely-spaced trees along roads tend to slow traffic by giving the impression of narrow roads and speed as they zoom past your windows. They also serve as a buffer zone between streets and sidewalks, creating safer environments for joggers, pedestrians and children at play.
• Trees have been shown to increase levels of concentration in children, and girls who are exposed to nature or live in greener communities tend to exhibit higher levels of self-discipline and decreases in impulsive, risky behavior.

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