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A View on Courtesy and Manners
With tomorrow being Martin Luther King Day which is a day that is supposed to be devoted to service, I would like to talk about the way we treat each other and people in the “service” industry.
Yesterday I was shopping at my local grocery store. As usual I had my IPOD on and playing in my ears, but as I was checking out I made sure to say please, thank you and as before I walked away I said “You have a great day!” I then proceeded to the customer service desk to purchase my lottery tickets, since I AM going to win! I noticed the women who was behind me when I was checking out my groceries coming to the same counter and I jokingly said “Are you following me?” The women then kind of shocked me and said that I was very kind to the young man checking out my order and that I had a great personality. And just this past week I was purchasing a coffee at Wawa and when I said “Thank you and you have a great day” the young man seemed to be shocked at what I said.
This made me think, why should what I had done stick out to this women or this teenager at Wawa? Have we become such a entitled society that we no longer thank people for doing us a service? How many times have I held the door for someone or let a car out in traffic and not been acknowledged for doing so? It seems that more and more this common courtesy seems to be disappearing. I don’t think that this is a generational thing, because it’s the young and the old that seem not to know how to say “Thank you”.
This not only be courteous but is also, just good manners. Parents teach your children by not only your words but also by your actions.
I’ve often said that EVERYONE teenager should have to work in the service industry. It teaches them at a young age what it’s like to be on the other side of not being thanked or not being tipped well or in some cases being yelled at.
So, in the spirit of Martin Luther King Day, when someone does you a service no matter how small remember to say “Thank you” or wave at the car letting you out in traffic, you might be surprised at how “karma” comes back to reward you!
As always your comments are welcome and remember to stop, take a look around and enjoy your view.
Yesterday I was shopping at my local grocery store. As usual I had my IPOD on and playing in my ears, but as I was checking out I made sure to say please, thank you and as before I walked away I said “You have a great day!” I then proceeded to the customer service desk to purchase my lottery tickets, since I AM going to win! I noticed the women who was behind me when I was checking out my groceries coming to the same counter and I jokingly said “Are you following me?” The women then kind of shocked me and said that I was very kind to the young man checking out my order and that I had a great personality. And just this past week I was purchasing a coffee at Wawa and when I said “Thank you and you have a great day” the young man seemed to be shocked at what I said.
This made me think, why should what I had done stick out to this women or this teenager at Wawa? Have we become such a entitled society that we no longer thank people for doing us a service? How many times have I held the door for someone or let a car out in traffic and not been acknowledged for doing so? It seems that more and more this common courtesy seems to be disappearing. I don’t think that this is a generational thing, because it’s the young and the old that seem not to know how to say “Thank you”.
This not only be courteous but is also, just good manners. Parents teach your children by not only your words but also by your actions.
I’ve often said that EVERYONE teenager should have to work in the service industry. It teaches them at a young age what it’s like to be on the other side of not being thanked or not being tipped well or in some cases being yelled at.
So, in the spirit of Martin Luther King Day, when someone does you a service no matter how small remember to say “Thank you” or wave at the car letting you out in traffic, you might be surprised at how “karma” comes back to reward you!
As always your comments are welcome and remember to stop, take a look around and enjoy your view.
posted by Scott Miller at
1:16 PM
1 Comments:
Great post Scott.
"Thank you!"
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