Why do I keep hearing about advice that the emailed “thank you” is a no no?!! Some people suggest to cutting the emails out completely as it just clogs up people’s inbox and is pointless – that is crazy! Being polite, gracious and building rapport is never pointless; it is actually time very well spent.
Sure sending just the words “Thank you” leaves a lot to be desired but regardless, a thank you is still a thank you. I’m confused by etiquette professionals whom are making it their life work to uphold and educate in the area of manners yet at the same time telling people to leave out the two most polite words in a conversation?!
If someone (whether they are paid to do it or not) has done a deed for you, whatever that may be: fixed your telephone line, settled your account, sent you a letter, confirmed a booking or meeting, or just emailed you to say your dog has been on their lawn again, these all deserve a thank you email back; even if it’s just confirmation that you have received their email; it’s the right thing to do.
Again like I mentioned above, those two works should be accompanied with a good morning, a kind regards and a little bit of other content and pleasantries but all that will not take any more time to read than the two words. Isn’t it better to have a person think “oh good” (delete) than get nothing from your and either think you are rude or wonder if you actually got their email in the first place?
It’s always better to run down the line of polite than of silence.
I was recently presenting at a staff conference and got a lovely emailed thank you from the event organiser to which I replied a thank you to her also. Sure you don’t want to get into an email rally of “no thank you” – “no really, the pleasure was mine, thank you” and so on, but silence could have been taken in this situation as “I’m too busy for you.” It took us both a couple of seconds to appreciate each other and really, a couple of seconds is a worthwhile investment into your business relationship.
So to you all today, thank you for your time to read this article and bravo to you for continuing to enhance your learning about building and keeping effective business relationships in your lives; well done. (See, it is nice isn’t it).