Principessa
Expert Member
I hear it more in my small town than in the big city, Reno or Chico, or even in small cities. I use thank you a lot in my business for many reasons. In general, I have found that small towns and rural areas are more polite. Since I moved to rural Georgia from suburban New Jersey in June I have been surprised at how polite and chatty complete strangers are. My parents have been here 3 years and my dad still marvels at the innate kindness of the people he meets.
Sad but true. I have had many jobs in my life and rarely have I been thanked for doing a good job. :frown1:
I had a new secretary/book-keeper once and at the end of her first day of work I said "Thank You" as she left, she turned around and asked me "What did you say?", she then asked me why I said that, I replied thank you for showing up, doing a good job and just for being happy and efficient, it turns out that she had never been thanked for doing her job before. Sad.
I live on the outer edge of a bus route here in the metro Washington DC area, and folks on this route don't just generally say "thank you" to the driver, they know his name, and he knows many of his regular riders. When riding on a different route, yes, I thank the driver, as do most of the other riders. I can't figure out why some people think it's unusual, or a bad thing, to be pleasant to others.
I also think it's criminal that all parents don't teach their children basic manners and social skills.
You ride the bus?
Unfortunately many children are not reared properly these days. They just sort of grow up with minimal instruction in how to behave in polite society. :frown1:
My parents are older than many of my peers; consequently I was raised "old school." I can remember my great-grandmother telling me when I was quite young that it didn't matter how much money you had, if you have good manners you can go anywhere and fit in.It doesn't matter where you live. If you were brought up to respect the rights of others and be polite than you would say please or thank you no matter where you are.