Friday, September 27, 2013

Mind Your P's and Q's

In our formative years, we were all taught to consistently use "please", "thank you",  and "you're welcome".  But have you noticed lately that the response given to any heartfelt "thank you" these days has automatically become "no problem"?

The connotations of the two responses are quite different.  "You're welcome" denotes a complete willingness to provide advice, counsel or service not just at this instance, but at anytime in the future.  If one is ever able to help someone out in this manner, receiving a "thank you" in return not only feels good, but makes one want to act similarly again sometime.  "You're welcome" provides that direct message clearly and succinctly.

On the other hand, hearing the response "no problem" infers that, hey, you know what?  That favor that you asked me for could have been a problem, so be careful in asking me for something similar again.  Saying that a task was "no problem" only more closely associates that task with indeed being a potential problem.

Maybe it would be easier to respond to "thank you" with "happy to do it"-- a phrase whose meaning cannot be misinterpreted.

Thursday, September 12, 2013

They're At Every Farmer's Market

The Pro
-asks multiple questions of each vendor
-carries his/her own shoulder bag to hold purchases
-slowly eyeballs each individual piece of produce before deciding whether or not to buy
-often empties containers to cherry pick their contents

The Sampler
-goes from vendor to vendor asking for a taste of their offerings
-successfully completes a full meal in the process for zero cost
-never makes a purchase

The Flower Lady
-wears a large straw hat
-only interest is in taking home as many types of fresh-cut flowers that she can physically carry
-not at all aware that fresh produce of all kinds is readily available

The Browser
-visits each and every stand, hands clasped tightly behind back
-slowly peers over all of the offerings , often squinting
-asks the price even though there is a 4 foot high sign immediately in front of them

The Dog Lady
-accompanied by a small white canine weighing less than 15 pounds
-completely unaware that the dog is devouring anything and everything off of the ground
-has no control whatsoever over the dog's penchant for barking

Any others that immediately come to mind?

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Nice To Meet You

My wife and I have been lucky to have 3 different dogs since we were married.  And living in a metro area makes it a sometimes challenging endeavor regarding when and where to walk them.  We're not into the dog park, so we usually take our guys for a lap or two or three around the neighboring blocks.

Our dogs have gotten the chance to meet a bunch of friends this way, and off the top of my head I can immediately think of about a dozen different dogs by name that our current pet knows quite well.

But I can't say the same about the dogs' owners.  Sure, I know Beau, Crockett, Joshua, Henry,  and the rest, but I have absolutely no clue regarding their owners' names.  And I would venture the same is true the other way around as well.  Maybe it's different in the suburbs.  I'd love to find out.