Friday 14 September 2012

Minding your P's and Q's

I often hear parents reminding their young children to say please and thank you. As a sales person, it's also very important to remember to say please and thank you to your customers. Basically be friendly and polite and it should keep your customers returning because of the good service they receive as well as the great products.

Being polite is something we were raised with, and some of us continue that through adulthood. It seems to me though, that some people seem to have forgotten that lesson. I've held doors for people who've walked right through without acknowledging me. A dollar tip would've been nice although I would've settled for a thank you or a smile.

A little while back, there was a Facebook page set up for people in Bellingham, WA who wanted to have a time in the day when only Americans were allowed to shop at their local Costco. The Canadians, they said, were too pushy and rude. Unfortunately, as with everything, we all get tarred with the same brush even though we're not all rude. People seem to think they can get away with it because as the city grows, our sense of anonymity grows as well. We can give each other the finger, confident that the chances of seeing the other person again are about as much as winning the lottery jackpot.

I know I'm preaching to the choir here because nobody I associate with would ever knowingly be rude or obnoxious. But I hope that there will be some random person who ends up reading this post, and remembers to thank the next person who holds the door or lets him or her into traffic.


Oh and personally, I have no problems with the P's, it's the J's that I get backwards a lot.

4 comments:

  1. Oh, I so hear you on that! I remember the worst offenders about not saying thank you to your holding the door for them were the commerce students at UBC.

    If we were all polite and mindful of other people's feelings, there would never have been any wars, nor any of the stupid fighting and abuses that still go on today.

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    1. I guess politeness wasn't in the curriculum for Commerce students. Ah yes if wishes were horses, right Jayne?

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  2. Ah yes! Manners make the world a better place, and learning them should start at a very early age. I agree with Teresa that there would be less "wars" of any kind if more people were mindful of other people's feelings.

    Thanks for the reminder just how important this little act of kindness is!

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    1. I think if people showed better manners on a daily basis, there'd be a lot less grumpy people at least.

      Carrie, you are always sweet and you've done a great job with your kids and grandkids, I know you've taught them to mind their P's and Q's.

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