What do you say when you thank people in shops/restaurants etc....if you do

I say "that's excellent, thanks" or "lovely, thanks a lot" or if I'm feeling a bit more loose "that's magnificent, thanks", though I still say it in the same voice all the time so it's pretty low key. Do you have consistent platitudes or do they change often? For me I reckon they have 2/3 year lifespans...

"Thank you" or "Thanks".

"Cheers now", mostly.

"thank you"

"great, thank you"

"thanks so much"

"cool, thanks"

"absolute cunt, don't touch me, thanks"

okay I am going to start saying that now

"cheers" or "thanks" usually. i will occasionally throw in a "super-duper" when i ask for/get something i'm not 100% expecting.

Mostly just "thank you" or "thanks," occasionally prefaced by "great, ..."

i dont have a special way of saying thanks but i always say "have a good one" its like a tic

When I went to Michigan/Chicaho/Madison I got approximately three thousand "mmm-hmmm" replies to my thank yous. So disturbing! Why does America hate saying "you're welcome"?

oh yeah max! "have a good one"

"be seeing you"

why does every fuckin comic book character say that

"i find you strangely alluring"

usually 'thanks', 'thank you!' (exclamation mark = uncharacteristically high pitched and affectful) if I really mean it. But I've been meaning to adopt nabisco's 'thanks, slut'.

thanks very much. have a good day / night!

'Ta' and 'Thanks Much' both make me want to kill.

aw "have a good one" u guys are my dad

i often say "thank you so much" which seems to freak people out. too intense.

i have a friend who is incapable of not being totally awkward when giving such thanks to attractive female waitresses/staff/store employees. it's usually some protracted lingering, partnered with a brief hopeful gaze, finishing off with a quick look down at the floor and a shuffling away.

i usually just say, "thanks" or "take it easy" or "see you next time" (if i know them)

i give a lil' wink usually

w/ maybe a 'thanks babe'

my husband and i like to see if we can get the toll collectors at the BB to speak, so he'll often do a really over-enthusiastic "THANKS SO MUCH" for a reaction. it rarely works.

When I went to Michigan/Chicaho/Madison I got approximately three thousand "mmm-hmmm" replies to my thank yous. So disturbing! Why does America hate saying "you're welcome"?

^^^this!!!^^^ - when i started traveling to the states more i noticed this. i will spare ilx by not bringing up the tipping implications...

thanks bye

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S9Ew3TIeVQ

i often say "thank you so much" which seems to freak people out. too intense.

― horseshoe, Wednesday, October 21, 2009 1:26 PM (16 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

when i say thank you so much ari gets mad because she thinks its insincere

Just 'thank you' or 'thank you very much' - but I make sure I always say it to everyone who does anything worthy of thanks. I read that Tony Blair always interrupts conversations to thank waiters, etc. and it struck me as quite impressive behaviour - I mean, I probably thanked everyone anyway, but the article made me really conscious of how unimpressive not thanking people is. I bet Gordon Brown doesn't bother.

i guess i have something in common with Tony Blair after all!

When I went to Michigan/Chicaho/Madison I got approximately three thousand "mmm-hmmm" replies to my thank yous. So disturbing! Why does America hate saying "you're welcome"?

cause we're cool like that. in 10 years time, everyone will do as we do.

lol justine

thank you very much

'Ta' and 'Thanks Much' both make me want to kill.

― brotherlovesdub, Wednesday, October 21, 2009 6:26 PM Bookmark

I say "Ta"; which obviously makes me some sort of disgusting savage...

I am from the North of England, though. It's almost de rigeur up here...

I think "Ta" is some kind of affectation in the US or something. Unlike over here where yeah it's basic everyday communication.

I think "cheers" is moving from affectation to not in the US.

Am I right in thinking that affected "ta" in the US means "goodbye" btw?

I think "cheers" is moving from affectation to not in the US.

I still see it as an affectation, except in the context of a toast.

peace bro

"ta ta for now"

toodle-oo

if u cant find the words maybe just wink @ ppl its what i do

Last week when I was in the US, I flubbed a few times and said 'cheers'.

Weirdly, Urban Dictionary has a reasonable etymology

TA 471 up, 115 down love it hate it

A slang word for Thanks.

The word is a result of the heavy Danish influence on the English language. Most people do not realize that the English language roots are really Danish or Jutland. Equiped with this knowledge this word is easy to decipher.

The Danish word for Thanks is tak. In Scotland and upper England it was common to drop the k at the end because of the way words were pronounced during the time of old English and Middle English. Hence the slang word "Ta" which should actually be pronounced "TA-k" but over time became "Ta" is really Tak meaning "Thanks"

("Ta-ta" as in "goodbye" also reasonably common in England but sounds v. different depending on class/region of whoever's saying it.)

ta

I agree with those saying thanking is important, I really feel the constant need to thank people who do things for me or are working wherever. I hope it comes across as genuine esp in situations where someone is doing a really horrible job.

I came to hate 'ta' as an American bar tending in central London. Saachi and Saachi types (who worked down the street) were always saying it and increasingly made my blood boil. Is it that hard to just say 'thanks'? Thanks Much seems to be regional in the US since I don't ever recall hearing it in the South, but in the Northwest, it seems to be very common. 'Thanks much' is not a valid response. Thank you so much, thank you very much, thank you, thanks. All acceptable. Thanks much - not acceptable.

what are saachi and saachi types

that dude from the nanny whos in mad men but in present day

"thanks" is pretty much a shortened form of "thank you" and the adverbial "much" doesn't need an amplifier. cheers.

Why does America hate saying "you're welcome"?

I've asked this question of ILX several times!!! I actually think it's because saying "you're welcome" acknowledges that up until that point, the person was in your debt to some extent. And maybe in some kind of "heartland modesty" way or "tall-poppy" way, people don't like to acknowledge that they were in the right, had the upper hand, etc -- viewed in a certain light, it might seem ungracious.

Denying the existence of a factual social obligation, any little thing that socially obligates a person to thank you, seems...modest to the paranoid extreme. But that's America for you!

yeah i think that's what it is. at work i've noticed i say "no problem" instead of "you're welcome" and i think it's because on some irrational level i don't want the person to feel indebted.

I usually just nod my head slightly.

yeah i say and hear no problem a lot more than youre welcome

i use "no problem" more frequently than "you're welcome" tbh

at work i've noticed i say "no problem" instead of "you're welcome" and i think it's because on some irrational level i don't want the person to feel indebted.

i also will say "dont mention it" but "no problem" is my default response

hah xxposts

"you're damn right you better thank me"

I wonder how well an imperious "you may go" with a dismissive handwave would be received

I'm sort of realizing that I have lots of placating behaviors to be "nice" in my real life/business life, and it's way more honest to nix them.

When something is your basic due, the bare minimum the other person owes you in terms of respect, you really don't have to thank them for providing it. You can, to be nice, but it can also give the impression that they somehow did you a favor. You know what? I deserved that gesture, or that returned phone call, or those books on schedule, and I don't owe you a damn thing for finally noticing that fact.

eh "you're welcome", it's just too formal. "thank you" "why you are welcome. good day sir/madam." just be happy you got any acknowledgement of your thanks, you knob.

xp I'm mad at someone today.

the "thanks" "thank YOU" "no thank YOU" thing is awkward but i tend to get caught up in that or just be like "okay bye then!" and run away before it goes any further.

it was my pleasure entirely

I thank in a shop, pub, or when getting off a bus or whatever by saying "Ta." Restaurant for whatever reason makes me more formal and I say "thanks" or "thanks very much".

When thanked I say "no problem/no problem at all" or "nae bother/baither" depending on how formal the setting is.

the pleasure was ALL MINE

My nickname at one job was "thank you" because I said it when anyone handed me anything or etc., and my stoned metalhead coworkers found this hilarious and novel.

'Thanks much' is not a valid response. Thank you so much, thank you very much, thank you, thanks. All acceptable. Thanks much - not acceptable.

I think this is enough to make a clinical psychiatric diagonsis on you.

usually i let my friend ben franklin do the talking

fuck all yall

honestly, i think i say: "je bent welkom" or "dank U!"

i love "you're welcome"

i have to say it on the job a lot. i actually say "you're very welcome" consistently

you say that to your waiter? that's very arrogant. "feel free to serve me any time, garçon."

I address the person by the name on their nametag and say something along the lines of YOU JUST HAVE A FABULOUS DAY NOW OKAY YOU BETCHA

i think a lot of times doing service work, i'll say "you're welcome" reflexively - like before the person says "thank you."

aha yes i tell people to have a nice day but then i feel like it's so fake-polite it's awkward, nobody SAYS that anymore, right?

instead of "have a nice day" I like to use the more sincere "I hope you don't die"

I'm kind of an old lady -- I tell people to have a nice afternoon, or a good evening. I always tell cab or livery drivers to have a safe night, ever since there was a rash of shootings in NYC some years ago.

HAHA strangely appropriate xp to Dan.

Ah Mr. coleman I am certain you are too suave to do this, but I hated when working in service fields and every so often this certain type of guy (always a guy) would just use my name over & over. "Hi, Abbott, I would love my two eggs any style with the eggs...oh, Abbott, I just don't know...I guess over medium, Abbott. Thanks, Abbott, and if I need anything I'll be sure to ask you–Abbott." It leaves a person flummoxed sore!

only knowing it from a nametag

I mean, I really don't care one way or the other if they have a nice day but I do sincerely hope that most of the people I encounter in the process of going to a shop or a restaurant don't die

tbh i don't think everyday "you're welcomes" or politeness in general really has to do with acknowledging or inveighing obligations to another specific person -- it's just part of being socialized to public interaction

i usually just say "LOVING YOU!!!!!!!!"

I'd estimate there's about a "thanks" per minute in my office. Just now, someone brought me something and we both said thanks at the same time.

haha Abbott a friend of mine used to put a different name on his nametag because he would always get disoriented when strangers would address him by his name

i have to tell you that inter-office thanks really freak me out

like ppl will write these emails to tell you information, not even asking you for anything, and sign it thanks

"many thanks"

for NOTHING

it's like "thanks" doesn't MEAN anything if you use it as a convenient sign-off for no reason

in restaurants, if the food is good, i like to sort of be all "thank you very much" in a way that says "i am humbled by this impressive meal sir and i've also had a few drinks."

x-post i think it's the way you say "you're welcome", if you actually put the emphasis on it so it's got a silent "no don't mention it" before it then it's surely fine.

surm, that "thanks" means "thanks for taking the time to read this"

the Oxford English Dictionary doesn't have an etymology for 'ta'. We have entered a brave new age of Urban Dictionary as our primary vocabulary resource.

uh-oh, I always sign all my work emails "thanks" or "thank you". I don't really know what else to put.

I also thank the bus drivers approx 3 times on getting off, once when they have acknowledged that I am waiting to get off and pull over to stop, once when the doors open, and then a "cheers" on finally leaving. This may be excessive.

It does seem dreadfully inappropriate to call someone by their first name when you don't even know them. It's like you're taking a liberty with them that you haven't earned. I wince even when I hear other people doing it...

elmo otm here

surm, that "thanks" means "thanks for taking the time to read this"

― the blackest thing ever seen (HI DERE), Wednesday, October 21, 2009 9:45 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i totally get this, but some people have it (literally) as part of their email signature, or just use it all the time, even for like 2 sentence emails. at that point, it really just loses its meaning and feels manipulative to me. like just put a dash, and your name.

i always hate a "thanks" or "thank you" before you've even done something. like, "could i get another cup of coffee please? thanks." something is a little off about that.

I'm guilty of using "Thanks" gratuitously in emails not because *I* think it's appropriate, but because I know the person receiving it will think it is. I need them to feel good about answering my urgent queries in a timely manner.

some people think that looks brusque or perfunctory

best,
nabisco

i feel like i'm the only one who uses the dash anymore.

-Me

ok but i started email talk and that's like not the point :(

'best wishes' is my e-mail sign off go to, if I feel I need one. Unlike 'thanks' I pretty much mean 'best wishes' most of the time, and if it's one of the times when I don't, I probably shouldn't say.

I just put my initials. I'm a cold bitch sometimes.

yours in the brotherhood,

yeah, maria, i just think of etiquette as something that actually helps ensure civility / prevent resentment between strangers. i'm not a stickler for politeness and can of course be thoughtless & rude on occassion, but i try to be pleasant when i can.

I use initials all the time, but not so much for anything really formal or professional. (It's partly just a habit from an old job where everyone was identified by initial tags, though.)

A guy I know puts "Thank you for your time" at the end of his emails...

I don't really know what else to put.

Exactly. This is a fault of our culture as a whole, not the poor individuals at its mercy.

right

re coffee please? thanks.: when I say this, it's usually in the context of either a relatively minor request or something that the server has neglected - like when the water glasses have been empty for a while at a restaurant where it's customary for the server to frequently check on such things. I think it's also an acknowledgment that the server is busy, and I don't want to waste their time with another round of pleasantries.

I'm a big fan of "Thanks and best wishes/regards" if I'm writing to Asia, cos I just assume they'll be okay w the extra formality there. "Regards" or the even hastier "Rgds" are my faves, though.

hey guys, thanks for reading this post

MQ

XXXXX:

I've gone over the spreadsheet you sent and the numbers look fine. Please forward to YYYYYY.

Rock out with yr cock out,
DJP

hey guys, email's just a thing people read quickly. the thanks and other stuff is usually the least important part, so don't sweat it.

yours in christ

MQ

Even more annoying than people who don't say thanks - where I'm working just now, no-one ever says 'bye' or similar to each other. Its not so much the evening that's the problem, because at least it's obvious that the day is over. It's that there are all these little conversations during the day, and there's never any indication that they're at an end - people just walk away or turn round and start looking at their computer or whatever.

haha. I want to adopt yours in christ, because I know that 90% of the people I email at work would be weirded out, but of course say nothing about it.

I'd just like to point out that Mr. Que has been otm in this thread.

Ask me how you can lose 50 pounds in 5 weeks

sl

I'm not talking about conversations at adjacent desks either - all these conversations occur with at least one of the participants having travelled to be there.

Even more annoying than people who don't say thanks - where I'm working just now, no-one ever says 'bye' or similar to each other. Its not so much the evening that's the problem, because at least it's obvious that the day is over. It's that there are all these little conversations during the day, and there's never any indication that they're at an end - people just walk away or turn round and start looking at their computer or whatever.

I'm guessing you work with tech people...? Because that is classic techy "I do not understand your social ways" behavior.

i had a girlfriend who got freaked out when we were out to dinner and i would get up from the table to go to the bathroom without telling her where i was going or saying anything. i figured she could probably guess.

Aren't you supposed to excuse yourself if you leave the table? You don't HAVE to say why, but you should say SOMEthing.

I walked out of work a couple of days ago and completely forgot to say "bye" to the one other guy there until I was 99% out of the door and then stuck my head back in to say goodbye and feel like a massively socially inept asshole.

Not very good at knowing how to leave office/work kitchen chitchat during the daytime - that moment when you know your part of the conversation is over and you should leave but they are still talking to someone else or whatever, so it feels rude to interrupt just to signal that you want to leave, but also rude to be hanging on listening to other people's conversations when you should be going to do some, you know, work

i had a girlfriend who got freaked out when we were out to dinner and i would get up from the table to go to the bathroom without telling her where i was going or saying anything. i figured she could probably guess.

"ohmigod, why do I always pick the ones who slip out to fuck whores and knife hobos"

I don't actually - it's mostly lawyers. It's so odd that I wonder if maybe there's some office tradition I don't know about.

i guess it's slightly rude to not say anything, but i never excuse myself. i'll just say, "this chicken is so delicious, i must go knife a hobo, be right back."

There's this weird old paedo dude who works in the newsagents below our flat who always says "Well done" when he gives you your change. Brrrrr...

i figured she could probably guess.

you wanted to be a Man Of Mystery, admit it.

http://www.lib.udel.edu/ud/spec/exhibits/women/poste.jpg

i thought of another one--when its raining i always say "stay dry"

i end all office chat with a slap on the back and a "good chat, very productive"

ok one thing i kind of freak out about -- my one coworker NEVER ANSWERS ME when i say "good morning" in the morning when i come in

i'm like, hello, am i here??

try doing a quick nod with a "'Sup" instead

try giving him the finger--see what happens. (i bet you will get a response.)

maybe he's hard of hearing?

yeah I do the stay dry thing too

my one coworker NEVER ANSWERS ME when i say "good morning" in the morning when i come in

i'm like, hello, am i here??

^ this is what I feel like sometimes, only it's every time I open my mouth

guys sometimes I acutally do the old man wink with my "thanks"

being an old man, i'm sure wink appreciates it very much.

Capital!

mostly i say thank you or thanks. and i never call people by their nametags. if somebody helps me find the right size jeans or shoes, say, I can be more effusive.

I say 'thanks' and then automatically 'cheers' as I leave. Just moved to the US though, does 'cheers' sound weird? I tried to start the Bristolian 'cheers drive' when getting off the bus but here in SF you exit the bus at the back :(

yours in christ

MQ

i know some people from religious contexts who sign off emails with things like "christ's blessings" and it makes me feel awkward writing back! like when i write my usual "best wishes" they'll think "oh, we know each other from church but she doesn't wish christ's blessings on ME"? my hope is that they just pinpoint me as "uptight new englander raised in secular home" and not worry about it.

I'm glad you're all having this discussion and i'm going to let you finish, but Ms. Manners had some of the best etiquette advise of all times.

Sorry, i'm still not tired of that.

Granny Dainger, i'd love to hear your clinical diagnoses of me based on my irrational hatred of 'thanks much'.

You are full of irrational hatred.

that's great thanks

^OTM

xpost

Just moved to the US though, does 'cheers' sound weird?

- some people will not care one way or the other
- some people will find it amusingly British and eventually annoy you by going "haha isn't that funny how he says 'cheers,' like pip-pip cheers guvna"
- some people will be slightly confused and wonder what you are toasting when clearly nobody is drinking

you will move down that list as you leave urban centers and sophisticates and travel into the realm of ordinary Americans who are not used to English people

yes perhaps i am used to urban centers and sophisticates because i think cheers is pretty normal

some of my (american) friends are actively all "i'm going to start using cheers now"

I feel a need to announce that I just sent a work email in which I was doing something for someone else, and at the end I said thanks. Here is why: you get to the end of an email to people you don't know and you have to say something. You're like "okay, you can pick up that stuff you wanted at this location..." And then what? If you were talking to someone you might say "so..." and wait for them to say thanks, but that's not going to happen. Or else you'd say "okay, bye" or "alright, catch you later," but if you end emails with "bye" you will look totally subnormal. Something has to go there. So you just say "thanks," because that is a friendly way to wind things up. It is a general wind-up thanks. Thanks for reading this. Thanks for not thinking I'm a jerk. Thanks for not writing back to this and going screw you, stop emailing me. It basically means "you can't see me but I am smiling the human smile of a friendly person," something else you can't say explicitly in an email without looking psycho.

yeah what's wrong with "thanks," it is the most generic of sign offs

I mean if you even vaguely knew or saw the people you could wind up with "by the way I liked that hat" or if it were raining you could close up with "stay dry out there," or in general you could say something like "enjoy your night," but "thanks" is way easier than thinking about it w/r/t strangers

DASH

"okay, you can pick up that stuff you need at my office. let me know if you need anything else!

-Me"

yes, it's the most generic, which is why i don't like it!

surm you just replaced "thanks" with a lengthier close-up and an unnecessary offer to do even more stuff for them!

oh please, that was just an example

i just don't understand thanking people all the time, for no reason. it's like what do you do when you really need to thank someone, then? add 4 exclamation points? some people do this, btw

I know, but it's the same thing -- that whole "let me know..." is just another way of putting a friendly little ending to things so you don't sound brusque. "thanks" is doing basically the same work!

sure, but i don't like it to be the same every time! it just ends up sounding annoying and generic.

so, i change it up.

like, to me, if everyone does it, all the time -- it doesn't seem friendly anymore, it just seems perfunctory

the thing nabisco is describing is why i end a lot of emails with "cheers" because its less specific than "thanks," at least to me, by which i mean, "thanks" theoretically means "thank you for doing this thing for me" whereas "cheers" just kind of means "best wishes, and also possibly thanks, if you are feeling at all put out by this email, fellow human"

ok fine

yes, cheers is better!

that is totally cool and nice. but if I'm sending a "here's where your stuff is" message to people I never work with and don't know ... you know, the generic serves its purpose. strangers are who the generic is for. it's not a problem if it seems perfunctory, because it is perfunctory.

there are also those people who do the "cover your ass" thanks -- they have to say thanks at least 3 times to be sure they've pleased everyone they need to please, etc, and i end up feeling like they're just brown-nosing

xp - a lot of the time "thanks" is perfunctory. If I'm sending/receiving a professional email that is about basic logistics or some menial task, esp. if it involves someone I don't have any sort of personal relationship with, "thanks" is fine. I don't care about or expect "best wishes" from someone letting me know when and where they're gonna send a check.

i don't necessarily mind perfunctory, but i like something to mean what it does. i don't thank people unless i really mean it. if i just need to be friendly and perfunctory, there are countless other ways to do so. at some level, it's just not creative!

i use "best" all the time, and i don't mind all that much that it's pretty banal, because i do generally wish people the best. i don't always need to thank ppl or need to be thanked tho.

i use "best" a lot too, i think its a middle ground between casual an more professional

that or so totally bland nobody could possibly take offense

right. look, it's not like i get UPSET when people thank me, i just get a lot of emails in a day. and invariably, half of them are thanking me for reading the 2 sentences they contain. at the end of it i'm just like, uh, i really don't want to be thanked anymore.

'preciate it, thanks!

um, that's what I say, I mean.

ha

"regal geez, laters"

One of the contractors I have to work with will only say "acknowledged."

I wish he'd switch it up to "compliance!" from the flight of the navigator movie

if it's a short, perfunctory email, i'll usually just put my name at the end without any sort of closing salutation. i'll use "thanks" if: in the email the person has promised to do or has done me a favor, or something i asked them to do or provided me with information i asked for; in the email i am asking them for something.

For example:
I will need a copy of the grant narrative in order to complete the final financial report.

thanks,

me

but not:
Thanks for clearing that up for me!

thanks,
me

if it's a short, perfunctory email, i'll usually just put my name at the end without any sort of closing salutation.

i love this!

"your forms are ready in our outgoing bin

-R"

i have more difficulty, tbh, with how to address people, since i'm sending half-formal emails to people with honorifics they may or may not take seriously

a lot of my work emails are from my boss asking me if something has been paid or received, and the workplace is informal enough, so that it would seem dumb to reply:

No, it hasn't come in yet.

thanks,
me

BUT PEOPLE DO THIS

In which case one might ask why the feck you're all not just walking to each others desks and ASKING. God why do people use email for a one line question to the guy at the next desk, lazy buncha *&^&$%^$

buildings are bigger here

xp trayce - my co-workers all work from home.

I hate "you're welcome", mostly because I find it hard to say without it sounding like "Yer welcome", plus I don't really care for the meaning of it.

I usually say, "uh-huh/mmm-hmmm", "any time", or "my pleasure", depending on who I'm saying it to, and how much of a sacrifice it was.

to thank people I say "thanks", "many thanks", or "thank you very much", depending on the sacrifice.

when sending a formal email, I'll sign off with "thanks," if it's a request (demand), or as kind of a 'thanks for reading' type of thing. If I really need a favor and it's a pain in the ass for the other person, I'll sign it, "thank you for your help,"

lately, I have been signing them with either "-Name" or not even bothering to sign them.

we're more productive over here, trayce. you aussies are just looking for any excuse to get up from your work and wander around. cheers.

plus, even if the co-worker is a few desks away, having documentation of professional buck-passing can be crucial.

if it's an ethnic i usually say "cheers boss"

haha surm you totally do not actually wish random people the best, though, except maybe in such a contingent way as to be totally meaningless. if the best operated on any kind of scarcity, you would probably wish yourself and your loved ones the best, and wish everyone else what's left over.

i wish random nice people the best that is possible for them in their lives :-)

thinking in terms of abundance, as opposed to scarcity, is one of the 7 habits of highly effective people

haha surely "thanks" is way LESS generic than "I guess if it's all the same I'd prefer your life to be pleasant"

I mean, I use "best" all the time, but if we want to get down to what things literally mean, "best" has no real literal content beyond "I do not actively wish you unhappiness or harm"

i don't guess! most often, i wish the people i deal with, who are generally very nice, the best for them. but i don't always feel thankful to them!

best is a generic sign off, sure. but yes, generally i mean it.

i think in that context, the literal content is "not an asshole"

now if it's a co-worker, best is most often too formal. in that case, just your name.

nabisco, i thoroughly enjoy my job in customer service. i get a lot of customers, and i like to think i'm usually pretty sincere! i mean ffs i started this thread Verizon Wireless customer service

I know, I know, I'm mostly just kidding around here -- I'm just saying that basically the verbal content of any of these things is basically "insert friendly closing gesture," so I don't know that differences in literal meaning are all that important

i agree w/surm, that a short email that already is thanking someone for something with "thanks" as the closing gesture is redundant and kinda annoying.

my boyfriend sometimes hears me on the phone and he's like who the eff are you talking to, and it's like hsbc

a short email that already is thanking someone for something with "thanks" as the closing gesture is redundant and kinda annoying

haha wait, who ever said otherwise?

but so part of the reason we can just throw initials, or even nothing, at the ends of messages to people we actually know or care about isn't just about being informal -- it's because we already naturally end the message itself with a friendly upbeat wrap-up ("and then we'll have it done by Friday!" / "awesome, I'll meet you there" / "have fun at the show" / "say hi to Brian for me") and don't need a whole epilogue. with strangers that sense of closure is just ... throw in anything that sounds friendly and conclusive.

i find "best" oddly grating but it's common so i'm trying to get used to it
sarahel's examples remind me the registrar's assistant would sign her emails "me." she was like 55 and her initials were not M E!

emails to one person, not mass emails. for those she'd use her real name.

lololol

hahaha i just found one in my archives

Let me know if I need to add a university course to your schedule or if there is anything else I can do for you.

me

i can't take it

i am literally cackling in my empty house right now

Ok, I added you to the course. Sure you don't want to spend spring break in Acapulco? 8-) I will re-do an audit for you and get back soonest. I can't drop you from the audit..........only a student can do that via the university system. However, wait until I get back to you about the hours.

me

i love her

JERRY: Hey, so Sophie gave me the "It's me" on the phone today.

ELAINE: "It's me?" Isn't it a little premature?

JERRY: I thought so.

ELAINE: Hah. She's not a "me". I'm a "me".

GEORGE: I'm against all "it's me's". So self-absorbed and egotistical, it's like those hip musicians with their complicated shoes!

i reallllly wanted to see this http://www.theatermania.com/los-angeles/reviews/08-2009/the-receptionist_20713.html

actually it might've been this one! didn't know there were so many! http://theater.nytimes.com/2007/10/31/theater/reviews/31rece.html

oh it's the same one.....

having documentation of professional buck-passing can be crucial.

This is truth.

I dunno what everyones problem is with thanks. Everyone is so rude and selfish these days whats wrong with a little polite nicety.

I HATE "best"!

Just one of those things, I guess.

Thanks,
Z S

ok sometimes if i'm feeling weird i'll do "Yours" but you really have to pick the right person for that

I'm one of those people who is like

Hiya Dan-O,

Thanks for your feedback on the draft I sent you yesterday. We can talk about it some during tomorrow's call if you like.

Thanks,
Z S

NOTICE THE DOUBLE THINKS

faux pas city

DOUBLE THANKS
DOUBLE THANKS

oh whatever any email you send me i would be fine with

Email sign-offs depend on the workplace, in my experience. At a legal firm I worked at everyone signed off 'Kind regards' (to external clients) which I found hilarious - like, "My regards aren't regular regards! They're KIND!"
Elsewhere it was just 'best wishes' which I associate with birthday cards.

The first time I got an email ending in 'Best, -S' I was really puzzled - best what? You think YOU'RE the best? This was pretty much the first time I worked in a place with emails, though...

kind regards is just obscene.

my mom used to sign all her emails "peace"

she meant it literally, not idiomatically

Slightly ditsy 60-ish woman I once did some database work for would sign off all her emails "bi for now". Which was kind of hilarious to me but perhaps that only shows my immaturity.

What I do not like is when you email a generic helpdesk address at work, and someone does some minor task for you, but you can't thank them and acknowledge this as you don't have a direct email address for the person who did the task, and if you send your thanks back to the helpdesk address then 50 disgruntled IT workers will see that you have sent an email containing the one word "thanks" to their entire department, and this one almost meaningless word has been assigned a new ticket number as an urgent task needing their consideration, and they will grunt to themselves that you are a terrible luser and possibly even that you use Windows and Outlook and have top-posted and other such things which are cardinal sins of IT while being actively enforced throughout all other departments

but, what can you do?

"bi for now"???

or "see you next time" (if i know them)

― access flap (omar little), Wednesday, 21 October 2009 17:29 (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

see you next time i'm buying condoms at 11:30pm! *wink*

Hi all,

I've softened the gradient behind the search input field and tightened up the margins like you requested. I also bumped up the font size a little. Let me know what you think of the changes.

Retards,

Tracer Hand

http://assets.sbnation.com/imported_assets/24138/nom-nom-nom_medium.jpg

i say "you're welcome" a lot

i also say "you got it" if i'm feeling a little loose and cavalier

What I do not like is when you email a generic helpdesk address at work, and someone does some minor task for you, but you can't thank them and acknowledge this as you don't have a direct email address for the person who did the task, and if you send your thanks back to the helpdesk address then 50 disgruntled IT workers will see that you have sent an email containing the one word "thanks" to their entire department, and this one almost meaningless word has been assigned a new ticket number as an urgent task needing their consideration, and they will grunt to themselves that you are a terrible luser and possibly even that you use Windows and Outlook and have top-posted and other such things which are cardinal sins of IT while being actively enforced throughout all other departments

this also actively annoys the fuck out of me

thanks

someone just told me "thanks, fella" on the phone.... and i liked it

another one of mine that people inthe uk think is a little weird - "no sweat"

no problemo, dude

"lovely, thanks"

no worries

Dear _____

We have no control over this. Would it be ____?

With warmest wishes
_______

Now this is a nice thing to say - but you are extending your warmest wishes with a one-line "ain't our lookout" response to someone you've never met? Your very warmest? What if your grandson comes to tea and can only get your second-warmest?

(it is a Friday morning and I am staving off a massive headache with copious painkillers and am just really looking for mindless distractions to get me to the weekend, yes)