The Business of Please and Thank You
Is it just me, or does their seem to be a growing lack of common courtesy in the business world today? (If it’s just me, you can go ahead and say it. I’d rather someone confront me with the fact that I may be turning into a grumpy old man…)
When I was growing up, my mother & father made sure that please and thank you were part of nearly every conversation I had with an adult.
(Fortunately for me, Barney was well after my time as a toddler…)
My parents’ lessons hold true today, and are a valuable asset when it comes to talking with other people in business environments today.
I recently started a new job, and had my first prospective client meeting just a few months ago. When I came in for the meeting, the first thing I did was to thank the manager for her time. I knew how busy someone in her position was, and understood that granting an outside vendor such as myself an hour of her time was extremely considerate.
After the meeting concluded, I immediately mailed her a thank you note on company stationary. I thought about sending an email, but as Judith Bowman writes in her book Don’t Take the Last Donut:
A handwritten thank-you note on quality stationary, in professional blank ink…is the mark of respect and proper protocol.
I didn’t ask for a follow-up time to talk, or call her to ask for the sale, I simply thanked her again for her time. Just two days after I sent that note, she got in touch with me to talk about closing the deal. I didn’t even need to ask for it…
So thanks again, Mom & Dad, for keeping on me about my P’s and TY’s!
business etiquette, please, thank you
June 15th, 2007 at 9:33 am
I see the importance of not only using manners with clients but also with your fellow employees. I have worked as an administrative assistant for about 6 years now and have had a number of managers. For me the best thing a manager could do when he needed something was to say please (in a non-condescending way of course) and to remember to thank me when I was finished. It is something so small but I think lots of management forget that just because it is my job doesn’t mean it was easy or I don’t deserve common courtesy. That little bit always went a long way for me.
June 15th, 2007 at 11:44 am
Well said, Letia! It’s amazing how big a difference those little words can make…