Apparently thank-yous are obsolete. [WTF!?!]
What's so hard about giving people a SIMPLE THANK-YOU?
Do people think that thank-yous are no longer necessary in society? Why do some people think they are exempt from showing somebody that their kindness was appreciated?
I'm not talking an extravagant letter engraved in gold foil. A simple envelope with a scratch paper inside; hell, even a 10-second fucking text message would suffice.
I'm just infuriated that for some reason this message is lost in today's society. At what point did it become a lost art to let somebody know that their actions were noticed and not just taken for granted? Or what point did people become so sloppy, lazy, anti-professionalism and anti-courtesy?
Is it still OK to watch out for your circle of people, and even complete strangers? Or am _I_ out of line for saying, "Hey I think you dropped this!" or to smile and wave quickly at the person who allows your car to merge into traffic in front of them when they didn't HAVE to? or to send a snail-mail thank you note for watching my dog for free?
Aren't there some etiquette guidelines that say a handwritten thank-you is still acceptable (if not somewhat expected) even in this technology-driven "electronic society"?
*fume*
If you take anything away from this message when you leave your computer, it's that a tiny thing like a thank - you STILL goes a long way. Nobody ever resents a thank-you.
POST SCRIPT--> yes obviously this note IS directed at somebody specifically . . . but nobody here on LJ. Directed at TWO people I work with who popped out a baby on May 5th. I spent a combination of prolly over $80 on 2 of my co-workers to make a baby & parents-pampering gift basket with multiple brands of baby wipes, chocolates, pistachios, granola bars, baby soaps/lotions, candles, etc, etc, all put together in like a $15 pretty Target basket with fabric lining . . . all they said when we brought it to them at the hospital was, "Wow, thanks, You didn't have to do that." Okay. You know what? You're right. I DIDN'T HAVE TO DO THAT. But I did. And coincidentally my $50 student loan payment was late that month. The fact that you didn't send a formal thank-you is excusable. But the fact that you didn't even think to say anything afterward, even send a quick text or say something when you SAW ME at work is persoanlly INSULTING. When I asked her casually over text, "So how are things? I assume you three are still doing well? did you even get a chance to use anything from that gift basket?" she writes back,
"haha yeah the food is gone LOL."
WTF?! Is this just kind of rude? Or am I being too self-righteous, thinking that I did them some huge favor that apparently was coming to them anyway? I wonder if they even sent thank-yous to anybody who atteneded their baby shower and showered them with gifts? I didn't go because I'm afraid of pregnancy & baby culture. Not really because I "couldn't make it." It kind-of makes me wonder. If there's one thing I hate, it's people who throw "BUY ME STUFF" parties, or throw parties where you have to buy a lot of stuff to attend (short/sweet generic example: "hey, you are invited to my birthday party! You now have to spend $60 on gas cuz it's in the twin cities, we are having dinner at an uber classy place so you have to buy your own $50 food, plus more for drinks & pay $30 to park downtown; it's a black-tie event so you need to buy a formal suit or dress . . . oh and I booked you this adjoining hotel room because it's only $200, which you can pay at check-in."
I'm really pissed at both of them--I thought for sure Kristian would know/act better than that. He comes from christian upbringing . . . doesn't that at some point teach BASIC MANNERS and common courtesy? By extension, don't Christian households teach any form of etiquette? Rachael's really crass & kinda rednecked in a way so I guess the fact that she just accepted the basket like it was her given right is a little less of an outrage.
So pretty much what _I_ have taken away from this message is, "I'm never going to do anything nice for them again." Isn't it sad that for me personally, this is what it boils down to?
If Anyone thinks I'm a little out of line or expecting too much, by all means, let me know! No offense taken! But the bottom line is that I have feelings too. I feel insulted, disappointed, even disgusted. I feel that if this is the way they are going to treat a caring gesture them fuck them; I'm not going to do any more nice things for them. And it really makes me wonder if this is a broad-sweeping standard for society? Is it my generation that apparently is too good to send a thank-you? Is it because the world is largely Internet-based when 20 years ago it was largely print-based? I'd appreciate any feedback cuz I'm just fuming.
Do people think that thank-yous are no longer necessary in society? Why do some people think they are exempt from showing somebody that their kindness was appreciated?
I'm not talking an extravagant letter engraved in gold foil. A simple envelope with a scratch paper inside; hell, even a 10-second fucking text message would suffice.
I'm just infuriated that for some reason this message is lost in today's society. At what point did it become a lost art to let somebody know that their actions were noticed and not just taken for granted? Or what point did people become so sloppy, lazy, anti-professionalism and anti-courtesy?
Is it still OK to watch out for your circle of people, and even complete strangers? Or am _I_ out of line for saying, "Hey I think you dropped this!" or to smile and wave quickly at the person who allows your car to merge into traffic in front of them when they didn't HAVE to? or to send a snail-mail thank you note for watching my dog for free?
Aren't there some etiquette guidelines that say a handwritten thank-you is still acceptable (if not somewhat expected) even in this technology-driven "electronic society"?
*fume*
If you take anything away from this message when you leave your computer, it's that a tiny thing like a thank - you STILL goes a long way. Nobody ever resents a thank-you.
POST SCRIPT--> yes obviously this note IS directed at somebody specifically . . . but nobody here on LJ. Directed at TWO people I work with who popped out a baby on May 5th. I spent a combination of prolly over $80 on 2 of my co-workers to make a baby & parents-pampering gift basket with multiple brands of baby wipes, chocolates, pistachios, granola bars, baby soaps/lotions, candles, etc, etc, all put together in like a $15 pretty Target basket with fabric lining . . . all they said when we brought it to them at the hospital was, "Wow, thanks, You didn't have to do that." Okay. You know what? You're right. I DIDN'T HAVE TO DO THAT. But I did. And coincidentally my $50 student loan payment was late that month. The fact that you didn't send a formal thank-you is excusable. But the fact that you didn't even think to say anything afterward, even send a quick text or say something when you SAW ME at work is persoanlly INSULTING. When I asked her casually over text, "So how are things? I assume you three are still doing well? did you even get a chance to use anything from that gift basket?" she writes back,
"haha yeah the food is gone LOL."
WTF?! Is this just kind of rude? Or am I being too self-righteous, thinking that I did them some huge favor that apparently was coming to them anyway? I wonder if they even sent thank-yous to anybody who atteneded their baby shower and showered them with gifts? I didn't go because I'm afraid of pregnancy & baby culture. Not really because I "couldn't make it." It kind-of makes me wonder. If there's one thing I hate, it's people who throw "BUY ME STUFF" parties, or throw parties where you have to buy a lot of stuff to attend (short/sweet generic example: "hey, you are invited to my birthday party! You now have to spend $60 on gas cuz it's in the twin cities, we are having dinner at an uber classy place so you have to buy your own $50 food, plus more for drinks & pay $30 to park downtown; it's a black-tie event so you need to buy a formal suit or dress . . . oh and I booked you this adjoining hotel room because it's only $200, which you can pay at check-in."
I'm really pissed at both of them--I thought for sure Kristian would know/act better than that. He comes from christian upbringing . . . doesn't that at some point teach BASIC MANNERS and common courtesy? By extension, don't Christian households teach any form of etiquette? Rachael's really crass & kinda rednecked in a way so I guess the fact that she just accepted the basket like it was her given right is a little less of an outrage.
So pretty much what _I_ have taken away from this message is, "I'm never going to do anything nice for them again." Isn't it sad that for me personally, this is what it boils down to?
If Anyone thinks I'm a little out of line or expecting too much, by all means, let me know! No offense taken! But the bottom line is that I have feelings too. I feel insulted, disappointed, even disgusted. I feel that if this is the way they are going to treat a caring gesture them fuck them; I'm not going to do any more nice things for them. And it really makes me wonder if this is a broad-sweeping standard for society? Is it my generation that apparently is too good to send a thank-you? Is it because the world is largely Internet-based when 20 years ago it was largely print-based? I'd appreciate any feedback cuz I'm just fuming.