Please and Thank You

By Thomas Morrone CFP®, CPA

Call me old fashion but what ever happened to a simple please and thank you? It is such an easy thing to do but being polite and respectful seems to be from an era gone by. Let me be clear that many, if not most people, extend common courtesy to others. After all, how hard is it to be polite and courteous? In my opinion, it seems to take more energy to be rude and obnoxious but for some that just seems to be the way it should be. It is unfortunate that as our society has been swooped up with technological advancements that some common courtesy between people has suffered. Maybe I am more sensitive to this as I get older, but everything is moving so fast that many people seem to not have the time or patience or even care about being polite and courteous to others.

Many of my writings include the phrase “when I was younger”. This is no different in that being polite and courteous started at the dinner table with the family when I was younger. We ate our dinner, talked about our day, argued, laughed, listened and got bored at the long story that someone was telling. We may not have liked the discussion topics or even the meal that was set on the table. We were always polite, courteous and respectful. My parents and Cathy’s parents instilled those values in us and we can say that it has trickled down to our children and hopefully will trickle down to our grandchildren as well.

There are so many instances when the difference in an entire experience can hinge on someone being polite or being rude. Think of being in a restaurant and having a rude server. It does not matter how nice of a venue or the quality of the food, you remember the poor service or the attitude of the server. Spin that a different way and you almost overlook poor quality food if the server is polite, courteous, sincere and honest about the menu and takes interest in you having a pleasant experience. Maybe they just care about a good tip but that is perfectly fine with me.

Being in a service environment for decades, I have seen it all. One thing I can say with conviction is that when you walk into our office you will be greeted with a smile, a firm hand shake and probably a hug and maybe even a kiss on the cheek. We want you to feel welcome and to have a pleasant experience because that is what I would hope for if the roles were reversed. If there is something we need from you, we would say please. At the end of the meeting we always thank you for your business and for taking the time out of your busy schedule to meet with us. So simple but extremely powerful.

The word service has a certain stigma associated with it. That service can include everything from ordering a hamburger at the counter to ordering filet mignon at the finest steakhouse. It could be shopping in the grocery store, fish market or butcher shop, clothes shopping or purchasing electronics. Any business function, personal gathering, family event or social setting, of any type seems, a bit nicer when the setting includes polite and courteous people.

So, I thank you for taking the time to read this letter and please continue to read future letters from our office as they come into your inbox.

Until the Next Tom’s Take…