August 5, 2008
Thank You
When I was but a wee child, my grandmother taught me to say “please” and “thank you.” And when somebody says “thank you” to you, you say “you’re welcome” back to them.
So when did it because normal to respond to “thank you” with “thank you”? It doesn’t even makes sense! What are you thanking me for? Acknowledging your presence? You need to get some self esteem there, kiddo. Are you thanking me for thanking you? Get off the drugs, dude!
Last year, someone even wrote a letter to the people at NPR about their bad habit. Have they stopped? Are you kidding? If I hear “you’re welcome” once a month, I considerate myself fortunate. “Thank you for being on the show.” “Oh, thank you for having me.”
Stop it! You’re starting to sound like an Abbott and Costello routine.
All right. Rant off. We’ll now return you to your regular programming.
You’re welcome.
Filed by Kelly at 5:29 am under Rant
15 Comments
Manners overall have been shot to hell.
You hold doors open, and get no response. You let a car merge into traffic and they don’t even acknowledge it. It’s all so ridiculous.
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Seriously! I’ll bet we could even achieve peace in the Middle East if people just learned manners.
Well, if you hold the door open for me, I will say “Thank you.” If you let me merge into traffic, I will acknowledge you.
You’re welcome.
And thank you for pointing out the new etiquette trap that we’ve fallen into. Oh wait, I just did it, didn’t I?
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Who’s on first, though?
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@haleyhughes… this could also turn into the Knights Who Now, No Longer, Say Ni skit.
@book_it… that’s right!
What I most commonly hear in response to thank you these days is, “No problem.”
When did that start?
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Not for nothin’ Kelly, but, man, this was a pretty poor mad lib. I’m sorry. It just really made a lot of sense to me. I know you can do better.
Thank you.
(for letting me be mice elf.)
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@Carol… I hear that one sometimes, too. Or “sure.” What the heck does THAT means?
@Max… geez, not everything can be a Mad Lib, Max. More’s the pity. But sometimes I do have to rant about things that annoy me. Keeps my blood pressure dangerously low.
ohno! i do this all the time! but for some reason, when i say “you’re welcome,” or rather yet hear “you’re welcome,” to me, it’s sounds a bit… what’s the word? a bit too formal? overused and trite and has lost its meaning? and i only seem to hear this kind of response with the old older generation, or someone who’s not a native speaker here. i like “no problem” or “don’t mention it” or “oh no it’s nothing” or “de nada!”
anyway, with the scenario mentioned in the post… “thank you for being on the show” and “oh, thank you for having me.” i like the response because the gratitude and welcomeness is shared and mutual.
anyway, thank you for this post!
In the good old days people learned manners as they grew up-now no one grows up. There is also something oddly formal about saying Thank You, something old world.
Most people know what manners are but only use them after the handcuffs have put on.
Like Have A Nice Day it just seems pointless and somehow condescending.
On a totally unrelated topic, I noticed the robot speaker under your post titles. What do you think of this service and would you recommend it to other bloggers?
Good post and no problem
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@od… I think manners in general have come to sound “old fashioned,” which is really sad. Saying things like “no problem” or “don’t mention it” or any such thing seems (to me) to diminish the impact of the exchange, and serves to isolate humans in their own little worlds, rather than admitting that we’re part of a much larger thing called society (but that might just be the sociologist in me talking again). “It’s nothing” is even worse… if I thought it was “nothing” that you held the door open for me, I wouldn’t have thanked you in the first place.
And you’re welcome. I’m pleased we could have this interaction and exchange ideas!
@Descartes… “Have a nice day” certainly has attained a level of infamy it really doesn’t deserve. People say the words, but there’s no meaning or connection to other people behind it (most of the time). So yes… it does come across as condescending. What really tends to freak people out who say that to me is when I respond, “I hope you have a fabulous day, too.”
And the Odiogo thing is fun. It does tend to mispronounce words and garble them sometimes, but all in all, I find it pretty darn amusing. Installation was a breeze, and it doesn’t appear to bog things down. So if you’re interested in having a slightly robotic voice read your blog entries to the world… yes, I’d recommend it.
Thank You
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It’s my pleasure Claire
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Thank you
ahahahaha
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Keep going, kids. It’s so much fun watching you play.