Do You you politely thank the Postman for delivering your mail and the bus driver?

savemoney

It costs nothing to be polite and courteous. If people serve me I say thanks even if they are rude to me. Most people though appreciate being thanked

Moosk

Errata wrote: »

I was taught courtesty and good manners at very young age, which is why I sometimes say please, excuse me and thank you to the dog

Hehe! Yes that sounds familiar. In fact rather than giving the command 'leave'or 'drop it' to our dogs we always say 'thank you'!

As for the original question, yes I say say thank you without even thinking about it... it seems odd to me that people wouldn't!

meg72

raebhoop wrote: »

I have a market sweet stall and reckon a good 80% of kids don't say please or thank you...they aren't taught manners like we were.What really annoys me is when they are accompanied by an adult, and they don't respond either....The occasional adult will prompt the kiddie to say thank you.
My favourite though was a little girl who's Mum had just bought a large bag of sweets...I offered them to the kiddie who grasped the bag...The Mum turned to the kiddie and said..."What do you say?" The little girl looked me in the eye and said..."Let go" :rotfl:

OMG cannot sto laughing but how sad should cry really. Good manners were a must when I was small.

lucky11_2

My postie is such a star, he goes out of his way to be helpful with the post so he gets a thankyou every time I see him and a tip at christmas

I always say please & thankyou to people when dealing directly with them, unless they're rude - but then if it's obvious they're just having a bad day sometimes a bit of empathy can make them feel a bit better

(I always say 'scuse me' or 'mind yer bum sweetheart' to dogs & horses too )

BligBlag

Postman - Always.

Bus driver - Never, the door to get off is different to the one getting on so I don't bother.

frivolous_fay

Sometimes I have to stop myself thanking the cash machine.

karen24_2

frivolous_fay wrote: »

Sometimes I have to stop myself thanking the cash machine.

I have to admit I have to stop myself too, it always reminds me about when I said thanks to the vending machine in the packed tea room at work

Sharon87

BligBlag wrote: »

Postman - Always.

Bus driver - Never, the door to get off is different to the one getting on so I don't bother.

Same, to thank the driver when getting off the bus will mean shouting.

Then again most London bus drivers I have drive like maniacs. Although sometimes I want them to drive more like a maniac and they don't!

I work at a cinema and sometimes get thanked, not all the time though.

Markie11

I totally agree with this, I can't stand bad manners, it annoys the hell out of me. I was brought up to be polite and have manners, and it takes nothing for others to be that way.

I'm not tarring them all with the same brush but some of the worst offenders are those of the older generation. I would say I go out of my way more so for older people, holding doors, allowing them to queue jump but I often get no response, no thanks, no smile, nothing at all. Before people turn on me for my comments, it's not all older people.

How do we tackle this problem though? I think respect should be taught at school, it's certainly not taught in some homes. What happened to Tony Blair's Respect campaign?

Ivory_Tinkler wrote: »

Good manners cost nothing and if someone does something for me then I will say thank-you. Nothing irritates me more than standing back and holding open a door while shopping to have someone sail past you without so much as a smile, let alone a thank-you. The Next sale on Saturday was a perfect example of rude and igorant people who couldn't even utter the T word when I'd stood back to let them pass, buggies and all. I'm sure the world would be a much better place with more smiles and more manners!

Markie11

Sorry but I would like to add two very debatable topics to this thread:

- Different levels of manners and courtesy across the country
- Changes in driving courtesy (linked to above in my opinion)

I moved south from Newcastle 8 years ago and immediately I realised the difference in manners. There is not a huge difference on 'please', 'thank you' and so on, but a big difference on holding doors, letting people pass before you, etc. I remember going back home one weekend and when I filled the car up, I went in to pay and on leaving the assistant said 'Have a good day'. I felt shocked to hear it, not because it was unusual, but because I hadn't heard it for a while, never since I had moved. People have said that the more North you go the better the manners. Who agrees with this and why? Is it a cultural thing? Who disagrees with this?

Also driving, it seems to be getting a worse. For example when driving on the motorway and you flash someone out, you used to always get an acknowledgement and thanks with a flash or a simple hand up. I very rairly see this now and it really annoys me. Previous posts have stated that it promotes happiness and good will, I totally agree with this.

Better manners in general generates a happier life.