Where Did It Go?
What happened to those two little words that used to be the common and expected end to a retail financial transaction?
During my four hours at Lowes yesterday, at least seven different young employees greeted me with, “Hi, how are you?” All of them were pleasant and each seemed sincere. I chose the human checkout over the self-serve option and after ringing up my $125 purchase, the friendly, chatty, twenty-something cashier said, “Here ya go; have a nice day.”
Sure, that was pleasant, but what happened to ‘thank you?’ I just spend over a hundred dollars. Shouldn’t she be thanking me?
Today I spent five times that much on new glasses and the pleasant twenty-something person who handled the transaction finished with a smile and the words, ‘have a nice day.’ I’d have a nicer day if she had said ‘thank you.’
I spent $5 at McDonalds for lunch today. The counter person said ‘thank you.’ She was a little grumpy and didn’t seem to want to be there, but she did say ‘thank you.’ I’m pretty sure she was at least forty years old. Did I mention she said, “thank you?”
Sorry for the disparaging slam against twenty-something retail personnel, but this trend is ongoing and annoying. And it does seem to be generational. I fully accept that many things from my youth have disappeared, but when did ‘thank you’ leave our vocabulary? And where did it go? And why?
During my four hours at Lowes yesterday, at least seven different young employees greeted me with, “Hi, how are you?” All of them were pleasant and each seemed sincere. I chose the human checkout over the self-serve option and after ringing up my $125 purchase, the friendly, chatty, twenty-something cashier said, “Here ya go; have a nice day.”
Sure, that was pleasant, but what happened to ‘thank you?’ I just spend over a hundred dollars. Shouldn’t she be thanking me?
Today I spent five times that much on new glasses and the pleasant twenty-something person who handled the transaction finished with a smile and the words, ‘have a nice day.’ I’d have a nicer day if she had said ‘thank you.’
I spent $5 at McDonalds for lunch today. The counter person said ‘thank you.’ She was a little grumpy and didn’t seem to want to be there, but she did say ‘thank you.’ I’m pretty sure she was at least forty years old. Did I mention she said, “thank you?”
Sorry for the disparaging slam against twenty-something retail personnel, but this trend is ongoing and annoying. And it does seem to be generational. I fully accept that many things from my youth have disappeared, but when did ‘thank you’ leave our vocabulary? And where did it go? And why?
Comments