What happened to "thank you"?

[dennis thompson]

I had a bike I no longer wanted so I put it on Craigslist for free. A guy called and I told him to come over and get it, he said he'd been at my house in 10 minutes. I had it in my driveway and after waiting about 30 minutes I looked in my driveway and it was gone. I didn't expect anything for this bike but a "thank you " would have been nice.

[Karl Andersson]

In this day and age, leaving the bike out may have sent an unintended signal to the receiver, like "just take it and be gone". There is a lot of craigslist paranoia, so they may have assumed you'd rather not talk to/ meet them because, you know, serial killers are known to want free bikes all the time.

Or, your first impression is right and they just lack social skills... also a good bet these days.

[Matt Meiser]

In this day and age, leaving the bike out may have sent an unintended signal to the receiver, like "just take it and be gone". There is a lot of craigslist paranoia, so they may have assumed you'd rather not talk to/ meet them because, you know, serial killers are known to want free bikes all the time.

This was my first thought too.

[Al Launier]

Any person unappreciative of your generosity, who can't even thank you, certainly doesn't deserve the bike. You could call the phone number he used to call you to find out who he is, if you want to, just to say "you're welcome" to get your point across.

[Simon MacGowen]

In this day and age, leaving the bike out may have sent an unintended signal to the receiver, like "just take it and be gone".

Did he say "thank you" on the phone before he hung up?

If so, Karl's point of view that he did not want to bother you made good sense.

I had left things on my driveway (including bikes) for people who responded to my online ads and had expected them not to ring my door bell.

Simon

[Malcolm Schweizer]

That is extremely rude- not only to not say "thank you," but also to not even acknowledge you were there to pick up the bike.

[Keith Outten]

I wonder if you would be surprised if I told you that a large number of people here, who have won FreeStuff Drawings, failed to say thank you to the drawing sponsor.

[Mike Cutler]

Dennis

Social skills, and grace, are rapidly disappearing from our everyday life. It's kind of sad.

[John K Jordan]

Dennis

Social skills, and grace, are rapidly disappearing from our everyday life. It's kind of sad.

Even Thank You cards are are on the endangered species list. I never expect them but am always happy to see one. Three wedding presents and free photography to kids from the same family and not one thank you card? Says something about their parents...

JKJ

[Al Launier]

[QUOTE=John K Jordan;2752422]Even Thank You cards are are on the endangered species list. I never expect them but am always happy to see one. Three wedding presents and free photography to kids from the same family and not one thank you card? Says something about their parents...

Totally agree with John. Experienced this myself several time after giving expensive gifts. Evidently thanking someone, for whatever kindness or gift, appears to be a lost art.

[Yonak Hawkins]

Even Thank You cards are are on the endangered species list. I never expect them but am always happy to see one. Three wedding presents and free photography to kids from the same family and not one thank you card? Says something about their parents...

JKJ

My wife and I have friends who, whenever we go to dinner with them or invite them over, never fail to follow up with a thank you note. It gives us a very warm feeling and encourages us to want see them regularly. ..That, and the wonderful conversations we have. Cordiality seems to be becoming a lost art but, it's so easy to do and people who don't exercise it don't realize what they're missing and how it makes folks feel.

[Harold Balzonia]

I'm nuts on this topic. I'm a thank you note guy and I'm teaching (insisting) my kids do the same. Whenever they get a gift for any occasion, they aren't allowed to play with the gift or cash the check until the thank you card is in the mail. At this point (they are 10) they enjoy writing the note. This started as soon as they could write their name.

The other thank you I miss is when a motorcyclist splits lanes on the freeway and I move over to give him room. 20 years ago 9 out of 10 riders would give the low wave in acknowledgment. Now 99/100 don't.

Entitlement knows no bounds. Societally speaking, I think it's less about the "thank you" than it is about a rampant lack of gratitude, in general. Except for the biggest ticket items, (cars, houses, cabinet saws) everything anyone could want is available in an instant. We've created this instant gratification world and in turn we've lost most sense of gratitude.

interesting times....

[Bill Orbine]

I wonder if you would be surprised if I told you that a large number of people here, who have won FreeStuff Drawings, failed to say thank you to the drawing sponsor.

I'm not even surprised for not receiving a thank you for donations I made to other forums.

[Frederick Skelly]

Sort of related... I left a weight bench out on the curb with a sign that said "free, take it". Someone did and I was happy to be rid of it.

Then, 3 days later it appeared in my driveway again. No note. No nothing. I guess they didnt want it and didnt want to dispose of it themselves. So they brought it back. Thank YOU!

[Mike Henderson]

Sort of related... I left a weight bench out on the curb with a sign that said "free, take it". Someone did and I was happy to be rid of it.

Then, 3 days later it appeared in my driveway again. No note. No nothing. I guess they didn't want it and didn't want to dispose of it themselves. So they brought it back. Thank YOU!

That's really funny. I guess they figured they could return it, just like at a store!

Mike