I’ve been flying with United Airlines for about 20 years now, and for most of that time I’ve been a 1K member, their 100,000-mile frequent flyer tier.

Every year when they send the “you made 1K again” packet, it includes recognition cards customers can hand directly to employees who made an impact.

What I love most is that United created a system that allows loyal customers to recognize the employees who make the experience memorable. I’ve given these cards to gate agents who calmly solved complicated travel issues, flight attendants whose kindness completely changed the tone of a brutal travel day, or simply to people who genuinely seemed to love what they do.

And honestly, I LOVE giving them out.

Admittedly, it can feel awkward handing one to a flight attendant while rushing off the plane to make a connection. There’s always that split second where I wonder if they think I’m slipping them my phone number instead of a thank-you note. 😂 But the moment they see it and realize it’s simply appreciation, you can see the real excitement in their face. That’s the part that sticks with me.

United invests real money into printing and mailing these because they clearly believe acknowledgment matters. They understand that when employees feel seen and appreciated, especially by customers, it reinforces culture in a very human way.

It got me thinking about veterinary medicine and customer experience.

We spend so much time training teams on service standards, communication, and client experience, but how often do we intentionally create systems for recognition? Not just internal praise or a positive metric buried inside an aggregated survey report, but direct recognition from the client in a real human moment.

There’s something far more powerful about hearing “you made my day better” directly from a client than simply seeing your name attached to a positive percentage on a spreadsheet.

Could this work in veterinary practices? I honestly think yes.

Maybe it’s selecting a group of loyal clients and giving them a way to recognize team members who impacted them. Maybe it’s a “team shoutout” section on the website that exists separately from reviews. Maybe it’s even simple printed recognition cards clients can hand to staff members.

Recognition creates emotional connection for both the person receiving it and the person giving it. Sometimes the smallest gestures leave the biggest impact.