"Thanks"

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or "Thank You." does it mean anything anymore? I noticed recently in my utter shit customer service job that the customer says "thanks" to me for helping them but I'm required to end it by saying "thanks for calling." just one example where both people on opposite sides of a transaction say "thanks", in a one-upmanship of sorts. "oh no, really thank you." "no, it is you that should be thanked." "well, fuck you then!"

― joseph pot (STINKOR™), Sunday, 10 October 2004 05:07 (twenty-one years ago)

I guess you should only thank people if you mean it.

― Nowell, Sunday, 10 October 2004 05:14 (twenty-one years ago)

I agree. being overly polite, but insincerely, is just as bad as being impolite. eh?

― joseph pot (STINKOR™), Sunday, 10 October 2004 05:24 (twenty-one years ago)

When in doubt, say "Thanks".

― o. nate (onate), Sunday, 10 October 2004 05:29 (twenty-one years ago)

?????

"motherfuckah, give me yo money!" *points gun*
"ok, th-th-th-thanks?"

― joseph pot (STINKOR™), Sunday, 10 October 2004 05:36 (twenty-one years ago)

Haven't you seen those commercials? The people in uncomfortable situations just say "thank you" and the other people are like just tickled pink and everything works out. I can't remember what they're advertising though.

― o. nate (onate), Sunday, 10 October 2004 05:40 (twenty-one years ago)

The woman I bought shoes from today said "Thank you" because I bought something from her store, insuring her livlihood for maybe one more day.

I said "thanks" because, man, I really needed some new shoes and I was very happy with the price and product that I recieved from that store.

― Pleasant Plains (Pleasant Plains), Sunday, 10 October 2004 05:42 (twenty-one years ago)

Life is Good!

― o. nate (onate), Sunday, 10 October 2004 05:44 (twenty-one years ago)

so then saying "you're welcome" is obsolete and should be punishable by death!

― joseph pot (STINKOR™), Sunday, 10 October 2004 05:51 (twenty-one years ago)

p.s. - unrelated (yet related in a miniscule way via the title)
Thanks For The Memories

― joseph pot (STINKOR™), Sunday, 10 October 2004 05:55 (twenty-one years ago)

The awkwardness of Thanks and Yr Welcome ain't shit compared to sketch phone convos even with yr bests when you AUTOMATICALLY ASSUME the person just said "Whassup" and you say NOT MUCH even though they just said HEY, HOW'S IT GOING.

HEY,
HOW'S IT GOING?

OH, UH, NOT MUCH.. WH WH WHAT ARE YOU UP TO?

OH, Uh, NOT MUCH.

― LC, Sunday, 10 October 2004 05:56 (twenty-one years ago)

the obligatory "not much"! or I like when people say "how's it going?" and then you say "how's it going?" and then you say whatever it was you called about in the first place, no one having answered the question that was posed.

― o. nate (onate), Sunday, 10 October 2004 05:57 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm one of those people who say 'sorry' if people bump into me (British people?), so obviously I support the use of polite terms like 'thankyou'. Complaining about too much politeness is just plain crazy, especially when there is so much rudeness in the world. Also, I think complaining that it's ubiquitousness leads to irrelevance misses the point of manners. They are (partly, at least - maybe mainly) a mode of speech and actions which shows respect for those you are interacting with. If anything, I think the automatic nature of manners could be a good thing, showing an instinctive respect for other people rather than a calculated one. When I was unwell for a period, I started instictively saying thankyou to inanimate objects - cash machines and the Glasgow Underground are among the items that have benefited from my gratitude, much to my embarassment.

― Kevin Gilchrist (Mr Fusion), Sunday, 10 October 2004 06:06 (twenty-one years ago)

X-post, of course, if someone asks "How do you do?", you're not supposed to answer the question, just respond with another "How do you do?", which is kind of cool, but I usually answer the question.

― Kevin Gilchrist (Mr Fusion), Sunday, 10 October 2004 06:07 (twenty-one years ago)

in response to "how's it going?" I almost always say "pretty good." which is almost always a bald-faced-weasel lie.

i'm not so much complaining about too much politeness as just questioning things people say that they don't mean but say them anyway out of convenience, I suppose. sorry!

― joseph pot (STINKOR™), Sunday, 10 October 2004 06:11 (twenty-one years ago)

Sorry, I didn't mean to be harsh - I find manners very interting, and examining them is always worthwhile. I also say "pretty good", even when I am at my most depressed.

― Kevin Gilchrist (Mr Fusion), Sunday, 10 October 2004 06:23 (twenty-one years ago)

i know, Kevin, I was being a bit facetious with the "sorry!"

― joseph pot (STINKOR™), Sunday, 10 October 2004 06:25 (twenty-one years ago)

I've got a buddy who will call and ask "whatcha doin'?" I'll say "Not much" and his response is "well, why not?" Everytime, I'm dumbfounded and vow that I won't fall for it again, even though I always do.

― Pleasant Plains (Pleasant Plains), Sunday, 10 October 2004 06:31 (twenty-one years ago)

Sometimes when someone asks me how I am, I tell them. It tends to make people go away. This is the idea =)

― Trayce (trayce), Sunday, 10 October 2004 09:05 (twenty-one years ago)

Thanks. I always say thanks. I don't think it's devaluing to use it at every possible turn. It's got no meaning anyway -- if you use it as much as possible, you're always expressing your preference for polite and civil etiquette / discourse. A nice li'l bit of social lubricant, and an utterly painless one.

― Remy (x Jeremy), Sunday, 10 October 2004 14:40 (twenty-one years ago)

i can't remember ever feeling natural saying "you're welcome" in response to "thank you.." i feel pompous, like Thurston Howell lording it over his inferiors or something. "you are most welcome to all the surplus dispensations of my bounty. just ask!" i usually go "mmmmmyep!" or something i think.

― You've Got to Pick Up Every Stitch (tracerhand), Sunday, 10 October 2004 15:01 (twenty-one years ago)

It does sometimes sound strange to say "you're welcome" or "not at all" or whatever, but the person who thanked you in the first place isn't going to think you're being pompous, they'll think you're being gracious. I reckon. And surely it's polite to acknowledge thanks?

On the other hand, the thanks ritual does have this power dynamic going on, and it seems rude to accept your place on the high ground if the thing you did that prompted thanks doesn't seem that great to you.

I agree that it's better to be polite and awkward than rude but unexposed.

Thanks for reading.

― beanz (beanz), Sunday, 10 October 2004 15:10 (twenty-one years ago)

No worries.

― Penelope_111 (Penelope_111), Sunday, 10 October 2004 15:11 (twenty-one years ago)

--blushes furiously--

― beanz (beanz), Sunday, 10 October 2004 15:12 (twenty-one years ago)

"no problem", "it's fine", "don't mention it".

Instead of "thanks" I try to say "I really appreciate that", if, in fact, I do really appreciate the act in question.

― Ronan (Ronan), Sunday, 10 October 2004 15:33 (twenty-one years ago)

"you're welcome" literally means, as so many if its counterparts like "it's nothing" do, that hey, there was no reason to say thanks in the first place: you are welcome to what you desire and need no permission from me.. it's almost like calling out the thanker for bothering to be polite in the first place i.e. "hey you don't have to do that among friends!" so it's a little weird that it's turned into such a formal exchange

xpost yes i am fond of "preciate it"

― You've Got to Pick Up Every Stitch (tracerhand), Sunday, 10 October 2004 15:35 (twenty-one years ago)

alternatively, "you are a genius" etc etc.

― Ronan (Ronan), Sunday, 10 October 2004 15:37 (twenty-one years ago)

"you really ARE the greatest"

― You've Got to Pick Up Every Stitch (tracerhand), Sunday, 10 October 2004 15:38 (twenty-one years ago)

often I use "will you go out with me"

― Ronan (Ronan), Sunday, 10 October 2004 15:41 (twenty-one years ago)

how about when people start sentences with "to be honest,..." or "I gotta be honest, though, ...."

so you weren't being honest previous to this? i guess if it's following a joke or something it makes sense, but i've heard it overused many times.

― joseph pot (STINKOR™), Sunday, 10 October 2004 15:43 (twenty-one years ago)

"i wouldn't go out with you even if i was in one of those metal things with the guns on top, and the thing that goes up and down?"

"tanks?"

"you're welcome!!"

― You've Got to Pick Up Every Stitch (tracerhand), Sunday, 10 October 2004 15:44 (twenty-one years ago)

how about when people start sentences with "to be honest,..." or "I gotta be honest, though, ...."

This is usually equivalent to "No offense, but..." -- basically a way of leading up to saying something insulting.

― Leon Czolgosz (Nicole), Sunday, 10 October 2004 15:45 (twenty-one years ago)

Tracer, you are a treat.

― Leon Czolgosz (Nicole), Sunday, 10 October 2004 15:45 (twenty-one years ago)

This is usually equivalent to "No offense, but..."

true. it's funny though... "No offense, but [insert offensive comment here]"

― joseph pot (STINKOR™), Sunday, 10 October 2004 15:49 (twenty-one years ago)

bradley fighting vehicles, Leon!!!

― You've Got to Pick Up Every Stitch (tracerhand), Sunday, 10 October 2004 15:50 (twenty-one years ago)

not to be pedantic, joseph, but that's really not covered in the thread's remit.

― You've Got to Pick Up Every Stitch (tracerhand), Sunday, 10 October 2004 15:51 (twenty-one years ago)

(sorry, bad joke.)

― You've Got to Pick Up Every Stitch (tracerhand), Sunday, 10 October 2004 15:54 (twenty-one years ago)

No offence, but yes, it was.

― Penelope_111 (Penelope_111), Sunday, 10 October 2004 15:56 (twenty-one years ago)

Frankly my dear, go thank yourself.

― You've Got to Pick Up Every Stitch (tracerhand), Sunday, 10 October 2004 16:07 (twenty-one years ago)

To be honest, I think that's uncalled for.

― Penelope_111 (Penelope_111), Sunday, 10 October 2004 16:10 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't care what it's called, courtesy requires you to disagree with me!

― You've Got to Pick Up Every Stitch (tracerhand), Sunday, 10 October 2004 16:17 (twenty-one years ago)

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