When the going gets tough - it's time to pour on the manners.
Please and Thank You go a long way in a difficult situation. Go a long way in ANY situation.
For clients who regularly say please and thank you, my experience over 24 years says they get better service, better results, more for their money. For co-workers who use please and thank you, my experience says work gets done faster without as much drama and bitterness.
Even if you are giving a direct instruction, please and thank you have a serious place in the dialogue. It shows you respect the other person. It demonstrates that you are dependent on them to do something well for you.
At the same time, please and thank you do not mean the request or directive is necessarily a suggestion. Rather that the person has respect for you. If your "current" understanding of your day does not accommodate the request or directive, it is incumbent on you to explain that you have a full deck and to accommodate the request you will need to shuffle the deck and then seek input on how to get it done.
(Of course this sign is all wrong, but it makes the point!)
I know I respond better when the please and thank you buttons are pushed.
So Please say "please" and Thank you for saying "thank you" as you go about your day.
It is the give and take of working together.
Comments