At about 7:15 the morning, my eldest child crawled into my bed. My baby ( who sleeps in the crib in my room) was just waking up. Sometime between 7:15 and 7:30 they both were in full conversation with me, and I was still attempting to find the strength to get up. I was responding to them, but I just wasn’t conscious of what I was saying.
At some point my older child said, ” Mommy, who are you saying thank you to?”
I honestly didn’t even realize I said thank you, so I just stared at her with no answer.
She responded to my blank stare with, “Mommy, who do you say thank you to?”
This I had an answer for. “I say thank you to whoever does or says something nice to me.”
I desperately want to raise polite, grateful children. So far so good on the polite; the grateful we have a ways to go.
Understanding “thank you” in life and in service is so important. It validates point of view. As a consumer, when I thank the person treating me to their service, it validates their hard work and time. As a customer service person, to thank a consumer validates their time and choice to spend their hard earned money on you.
People who truly mean “thank you” are in fact, reaching out to understand you. They appreciate you. When I drop something on the floor, and my husband picks it up for me, I say thank you in appreciation of his efforts to go out of his way to do something nice for me. It may be something little, but it’s an effort none the less. When a server brings me a glass of water, or helps clean up what my children spill (we had a hat trick on spills on New Year’s Eve if that wasn’t embarrassing!), they have just worked hard to help me. To not say thank you is to not acknowledge hard work or kindness.
For the many years I have spent with my husband, he consistently looks for the thank you when we dine out. He is always pleased when the server or manager thanks him for choosing their establishment. It makes him feel valued as a customer, and that his hard earned money was truly appreciated. I imagine millions of people feel just like he does. People want to be appreciated. The guests and the servers alike.
Whether you are serving, and you see people pulling out their credit cards to support your business, or a customer witnessing how hard someone is working to make you happy, please remember to say thank you.
Thank you for your time!