A Short but Important Thank You to Our Vendor CommunityA Short but Important Thank You to Our Vendor Community

I have a rule for myself. I don’t hesitate to write a nasty letter when one is earned (and I can write a doozy if I do say so myself). On the other hand, when I receive service that’s above and beyond, I need to write a positive letter of thanks and acknowledgment. For me, the ratio of those letters needs to be one-to-one. Broadly, I think we are very quick to complain when things go wrong and very slow to acknowledge good things, even though we all experience them.

With this in mind, I want to formally thank vendors in the communications technology community for keeping us tied together through very trying times. Without your efforts to keep us connected, we couldn’t be working at all, let alone communicating with business colleagues, friends, and family. It’s these connections that help us to collectively maintain our sanity and find some shred of normalcy. In fact, I know that I’m not alone in saying that for the past month or so, I have “reached out and touched” friends with whom I hadn’t spoken in a long time, and with whom I have, if not life-long, then powerful and important connection. For the most part, these calls have not been one-offs but have continued through the weeks. I expect them to continue once the true “new normal” arrives.

As an end-user community, we often beat up on the vendor community (they often deserve it). However, in this time of uncertainty, I think it’s important to share — if not shout — a heartfelt “thank you” to those vendors who keep us connected. I, for one, am grateful.