Saying "thanks"

When is the last time you made the effort to recognize the good work of someone else?  If you haven't, you should.

We are having some work done at the house, by a family owned contracting business.  Yesterday, as I have done every day, I stepped out to ask them how everything was going.  Steve, the owner's son who is leading the crew, said all was on track.  I took a moment to thank him for the good work he and the crew were doing.  In making the comment, it wan't simply gratuitous.  It was sincere.  It wasn't simply "keep up the good work," it was a personalized statement, citing a specific example of their good work.  He stopped, turned, smiled, and thanked me.  The whole exchange didn't take but a minute or so.

I hear all too often stories from folks who report having "fired someone up," because they had made a mistake or not delivered good service, the right product, or whatever.  But I seldom hear examples about having told someone they did a good job, let alone went above and beyond.  By the way, most often I hear about or see folks publicly berating someone, but rarely offering praise.  Early in my training as a Marine, I learned "praise in public, criticize in private."

Certainly, as some might respond, there is a valid expectation of good service.  Isn't that what is being paid for, after all?  Can't really argue with the premise, but if it is offered as justification for not recognizing someone's good work, then the reader is missing the point.  The point is to acknowledge when someone has done a good job.

It doesn't take a lot of time.  It shouldn't be insincere.  It can make both you and the person you recognize feel good.  I like bringing a smile to someone's face.

As we rush through our worlds, the tendency is to become insular, interacting as little as possible with others.  The advent of email, cell-phones, texting, Tweeting, and the like feeds this tendency.   Our cars have also become havens, into which we retreat at the end of the work day, to drive home as quickly as traffic enables, then pull into our garages, only to close the door behind us.  It reminds me of one neighborhood in which we lived in southern California, in which exactly that scenario was repeated week end, week out.  There were neighbors on the street I'd literally never seen.  I knew which cars went into which garages, but had no idea about the people driving them.  Where we currently live, I know and speak with the neighbors.  Many a Saturday morning has been spent shooting the bull with the guy across the street, standing in his drive way or ours.

What does this have to do with saying "thanks?"  I see it as another example of the lessening of human interaction that our society actually pursues.  rather than one-on-one, meaningful conversations, we're expected to pump out 140 character long Tweets or plop down words for all to read via Facebook.  It's no wonder people do not take the time to say "thanks."  Meaningful communication is rapidly disappearing.  It is going the way of cursive handwriting, eloquent speech, articulate expression, and language skills. 

I, for one, will continue to say "thanks" when the situation warrants it.