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People Like Getting Thank You Notes, Research Finds (nytimes.com)
From a report: O.K., it's not that surprising. But what did surprise two psychologist as they attempted to get to bottom of why so few people actually send thank yous is that many people totally "miscalibrate" the effect of an appreciative email. They underestimate the positive feelings it will bring. "They think it's not going to be that big a deal," said Amit Kumar, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin who studies well-being. They also overestimate how insincere the note may appear and how uncomfortable it will make the recipient feel, their study found.
But after receiving thank-you notes and filling out questionnaires about how it felt to get them, many said they were "ecstatic," scoring the happiness rating at 4 of 5. The senders typically guessed they'd evoke a 3. To be clear -- the notes in question were not your typical "thanks for the Amazon gift card." Rather, the 100 or so participants in each of the four experiments were asked to write a short "gratitude letter" to a person who had affected them in some way. Sample letters included missives of appreciation to fellow students and friends who offered guidance through the college admissions process, job searches and tough times. In lab experiments, Dr. Kumar observed that it took most subjects less than five minutes to write the letters. Further reading: Finding Emails With Certain Variation Of Thank You Vastly Improves Response Rate, Study Finds; and Apparently, People Say 'Thank You' To Self-Driving Pizza Delivery Vehicles.
But after receiving thank-you notes and filling out questionnaires about how it felt to get them, many said they were "ecstatic," scoring the happiness rating at 4 of 5. The senders typically guessed they'd evoke a 3. To be clear -- the notes in question were not your typical "thanks for the Amazon gift card." Rather, the 100 or so participants in each of the four experiments were asked to write a short "gratitude letter" to a person who had affected them in some way. Sample letters included missives of appreciation to fellow students and friends who offered guidance through the college admissions process, job searches and tough times. In lab experiments, Dr. Kumar observed that it took most subjects less than five minutes to write the letters. Further reading: Finding Emails With Certain Variation Of Thank You Vastly Improves Response Rate, Study Finds; and Apparently, People Say 'Thank You' To Self-Driving Pizza Delivery Vehicles.
Someone needed to research this?
Make me wonder what the consensus is on the wet nature of water or being punched in the nose by a biker.
Another consultant who stuck it out.
"We are the Priests, of the Temples of Syrinx..."
https://lkml.org/lkml/2017/1/1...
I don't care how much money you have, if you aren't polite, you have NO class.
Bottom line : it costs nothing to be polite, but in some cases it can bring benefits that money cannot buy.
Anyone can be coarse and rude, but a bit of thought and good manners can make life easier and more pleasant for all concerned.
This used to be obvious, but real-world experience in recent years has shown me that for many people it is not obvious, and that is sad.
Thank you!
(this thank you note is intentionally devoid of information just to piss off the original poster)
> Praise is cheap. Heap it generously on all customers
> -- Ferengi Rule of Acquisition #39.
Also, apologies are free, yet so valuable.
Of course, to be valuable, praise should be sincere. One can find SOMETHING you appreciate about the other person.
For example, I can praise Obama's idealism, and Trump's directness - Trump doesn't say whatever opinion pills tell him to say. Obama says things *well*, even when I don't agree with the content of what he's saying.
for upvoting this "interesting" comment. I really do appreciate your upvote. Thank you so much!
But seriously who knew?
I wonder if old friends that you haven't seen in years and come up and give you a big hug might make you feel good too?
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
That's funny.