I don’t smoke. With a few exceptions, I don’t particularly care if other people smoke. Don’t smoke around me. Please don’t smoke if you’re pregnant. (I once saw a pregnant woman smoking outside a minor league baseball game in North Carolina.) A friend of mine smokes all the time. I don’t think it’s a smart choice. He knows that. Most people who smoke probably know that. But smoking is their choice as long as they don’t exhale around me.

When I visit the two grocery stores neighboring me, employees are often smoking out front. I see this on a regular basis. I assume people at other businesses smoke out in the face of the front door, but I don’t see it as often as I do at these grocery stores.

Smoking outside grocery stores surprises me. Seeing these smokers is my first impression when walking into the store. I’m rather surprised these businesses permit staff to smoke out front. I wouldn’t want my customers, as they go into the building, walking past employees yapping about work and wafting smoke near my space.

This also surprises me because the business is food:  fresh and good for your health food. I presume grocery stores put a lot of time and marketing into branding themselves and their produce. Smokers out front certainly don’t boost that branding. You don’t see people working on old cars or changing oil in front of car dealerships.

I have nothing against these smokers. I have something against where they smoke. You can spend a lot of money on advertising, but from a public relations point of view, some grocery stores are defeating their own image by introducing their new and regular customers with smokers out front.

So here’s some smokin’ public relations advice for grocery stores. Move the smokers to another spot. Maybe subconsciously people will purchase a few more oranges.

How do you like them apples?

Bank of America mailed my friend a card. The face of the card read “Thank You.” Inside the card, the bottom half included in red print “Thank you for choosing Bank of America. We look forward to continuing to fulfill all your banking needs.” This part did not necessarily impress me. Big businesses, from insurance to satellite companies, mail generic thank you cards to customers. But the top half of the inside of the card caught my attention.

Someone handwrote the top half of the inside of the card. The handwritten note began by addressing my friend by name. The words thanked her for being a customer since the year she first opened an account. Her local branch signed the card.

Recent years have not been good public relations years for big banks. Some people are switching to credit unions out of principle if not for practical reasons.

You can be distrustful and assume a corporate drone mandated otherwise unwilling employees to write handwritten letters which truly did not contain love for customers. But let’s be out of the ordinary. Let’s not be cynical.

One aspect of good public relations is digging your company, one small effort at a time, out of a dreadful public relations hole. Someone at Bank of America took at least a baby step by doing the following:

• Mailing handwritten notes
• Addressing customers by name
• Taking time to look up how long customers have been customers
• Signing the letters from a branch not corporate

Few people shout how much they love their banks. Banks have taken several steps to smash trust with customers. Because of all those missteps and questions of trust, I stopped writing this particular blog long ago after starting it. It’s hard to praise an industry synonymous with hidden fees and fine print. But not pointing out a positive step when you see one is a pastime too many politicians and much of the public already play. Give Bank of America public relations credit where credit is due.