When she realized she had forgotten to mail her father’s birthday card, Grand Junction resident Jenette Stanley, 42, was mortified. Then inspiration struck. She started Snail Mail Greetings, an old-school greeting-card service that chooses a card, inscribes it and mails it on behalf of harried, forgetful clients.
Q: Do any card recipients notice that the name signed on the card is familiar, but the handwriting isn’t?
A: Nobody’s said anything. There’s no way for the recipients to know. I thought about stamping “Snail Mail Greetings” on the back of the card. But then I thought, no, this is supposed to be from your brother or your aunt, not from me.
Q: How many customers do you have?
A: About 400.
Q: Do they make any unusual requests?
A: No, not really. I had one person who requested bunnies on the card. I’ve had people who told me “Don’t make it mushy.” A lot of people ask for humorous cards.
Q: Where do the cards come from?
A: I have a stockpile of about 2,000 Hallmark cards. So I just look through the pile for an appropriate card.
Q: You don’t want someone pushing 50 to get a card aimed at a 5-year-old child.
A: When people put “unknown” instead of listing the recipient’s birthday, that usually means an adult. Adults don’t like to tell you their exact age.
Q: Has anyone approached you about taking over their Christmas card list?
A: Yes! I’ve done a couple of Christmas card mailings for people.
Q: You mean one or two cards? Or a mass mailing?
A: Actually, they were mass mailings. I just used the same card for each client and sent 20 to 30 cards per client.
Q: Don’t you get writer’s cramp?
A: No. I just write ’em in batches, five or 10 at a time.
