Thanking People

About a month ago I had to call tech support and the man who took the call was very patient with my lack of technological skills. When the call was finished I said I'd mention in the survey that I appreciated his work, but he said they didn't have anything like a survey. At my request he gave me his supervisors phone number.

I called it and expressed my appreciation. The boss was flabbergasted! He told me all the calls he ever gets are complaints and nobody had ever called to say thanks before.

I blogged about a similar experience a few years ago. (Here's the link: http://onwordsblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/giving-thanks.html )

It seems like people are a lot more likely to complain than to thank people.

At Thanksgiving we remember to be thankful for things like food, homes, friends and family, etc. and that's important. But I hope we can remember to be thankful all year long, and not just for the necessities and pleasures of our lives.

We need to remember to thank the people who help us every day, often just doing their jobs.

Sure the people who collect our garbage, wait on us in stores, direct traffic, deliver the mail, etc., etc. get paid for what they do.

But many of them get complaints when they do something that's not perfect, or their jobs inconvenience someone. And, judging by the reactions I've seen, when somebody expresses appreciation, it can make them very happy.

So please remember to thank people and even mention to their supervisors that we appreciate those who help us, even if it's just part of their jobs.

And, by the way, I want to thank you for reading this and for all the nice comments I've gotten about my posts on Facebook in the past.