The magical words in society are please and thank you. Humans are obligated by society norms to practice acceptable behavior that incorporates the importance of the words please and thank you. These words are known to show politeness and appreciation simultaneously. These words are essentially used in all dimensions of human interaction. As children, these words are taught at a very young age by our teachers in kindergarten and at home. Society has constructed that thank you, and please are very useful words in the lives of people. All interactions require mutual participation. This may mean that some individuals perform tasks for others, and in such context, the use of please and thank you is important. The word please particularly can be used in many different situations, such as making a request, 'Please sit down,' answering to an objection ‘No please I prefer the red jacket ‘or ushering someone to help you with something. 'Please give me a hand.' Parents also have a role in teaching their children the essence of the words please and thank you . This field observation report will explore how often people use the words please and thank you in restaurants.
Summary
People often dismiss the use of please and thank you to those who serve them in restaurants. This is the observation I made after staying at a hotel for three hours. I decided to walk into the restaurant at 12 midday when people were streaming in for lunch. Immediately I sat down, requested for my meal, not forgetting to use the word, please. My meal was served neatly, and I said thank you while my server said welcome and walked towards other customers. The restaurant is quite a quiet place, and I could hear the conversations between the customers and the servers. A waitress walked to the next table where a man said, "Can I have some tea and pancakes." There was no more conversation between the two. The waitress disappeared to get the order. On the fourth table from my end was a young couple who had just walked in. The young lady told the waitress as she stared at the menu, “We shall have Chicken with potato salad" as the waitress was about to leave, she said, "please don't forget to add some chili" After five minutes, a woman walked in with two children. She said, “Hallo, May I please have three fries and soda." After the fries were brought, one of the kids frowned and would not eat it. The mother again said, "Would you pack this for us? Thank you”. A particular family of five walked in, and the waitress had a hard time taking their order since the three children spoke all at the same time. It was chaotic and stressful for the waitress, who tried her best to deliver all the orders. None of the children said thank you, and the parents did not suggest them. The father, however, said thank you, and I assume he said it for the entire family.
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However, I would not forget a classically dressed woman who sat at a table far from me. She was composed of her shoulders high; she spoke eloquently and explained how her food was to be made. She used both please and thank you. She is one of the few people who completely utilized the words thank you and please. I thought to myself that she was used to the type of conversation in her workplace. In the next two hours, more people omitted the words please completely but instead said, "Would I have (a particular dish)."In my observation period, I encountered 24customers. Fifteen of them omitted the word please in their conversations with their servers. Ten of them said thank you. Only nine customers utilized both please and thank you during the service period. Therefore 62.5% did not utilize the word, please.41% said thankyou and only 37 % used both words. All the children let their parents say please and thank you for them; this was so heartbreaking. Some children just murmured what they wanted to eat, and the parents had to say it out loud to their servers.“We have an obligation and an opportunity in our personal and professional lives to choose language that is respectful, accurate, and empowering” (Roe, K. M., & Mata, H. J. 2019 153-156)
Research Findings
Research studies have confirmed the use of gratitude is vital in the social construct. According to the use of thank you and please create a social glue, it results in unity among the people involved. It is important to maintain good relationships all over the world (Alles, 2018, pp. 12-13). Society requires more people to say please and thank you, thus maintain equality and respect for all. Several studies have linked the use of thank you and please to efficiency at workplaces. For example, saying thank you and please to those who serve your meals makes them feel appreciated and respected in restaurants. It is not wise to dismiss the use of magical words with the notion that they are performing their jobs. In cases where saying thank you to those that serve is difficult, a node to appreciate would go a long way. Research explicitly focused on gratitude has shown that more employees perform their roles more effectively if they feel helpful and respected. People often assume that those in the serving industry do not require respect since that is their job. Gratitude and empathy go a long way, so people should stop avoiding the use of thank you and please.
More research shows that people tend to replace the word sound with some form of politeness, for example, “Would I possibly have some coffee" here, the intonation used to insinuate a polite request. These constructs elude the use of the word please as an essential construct, displaying good morals (Roe, K. M., & Mata, H. J. 2019 153-156) . However, more of my findings identify that children, especially below the age of ten, did not know the essence of using thankyou and, please. Research also shows that those who receive services this are the customers expect to be treated and talked to while they do not initiate or reciprocate the behavior politely. For example, in restaurants, the customers think that because they pay for the services and tip those who serve them, words like thank you and please, are not very relevant. There exist an assumption that those who work in the service industry already know that their customers value their work. However, this is not true, and utterance appreciative words are very important.
Application
The use of the words please and thank you in my career are very useful. People need to incorporate these words as they request for particular tasks to be done for them. The culture of gratitude is essential as it helps maintain respect in the community. In the business sector, both words are vital in everyday activities. I work in a web design company, and I always feel agitated by people who ask you to perform tasks for them. It should not be weird if one always incorporate thank you and please in conversations. Sometimes team members get used to each other that they take their interactions for granted. For example, most people will utilize all the gratitude and respectful terms they have in mind when speaking to the boss. But when they are conversing with fellow workmates, they completely omit such words. This means they do not value their interactions with other employees. Saying please and thank you often does not make one look odd, but it exposes an individual's good personality. Customers love to be treated nicely, and for them to come back, the words please and thankyou are essential in your interaction with them.
Most customer care deals are experts in the use of etiquette in their language. This is a strategy used to maintain customers and increase their referrals. For example, the customer care team in the web design company I work for receives many calls in a day. Of one listened to all the calls, there is plenty of thankyous and please in the conversation. This allows customers to feel wanted and comfortable. A customer service program that uses the best language possible can handle any issues that arise at work. No matter how tough a customer could be, politeness makes them calm and patient. Respectful and appreciative language increases prosocial behavior (Alles, 2018, pp. 48-49). This means that employees develop habits to help each other and live harmoniously by relating well with each other. Leaders also contribute to ensuring that the behavior of pride is not depicted in workstations.
Conclusion
Besides the use of thankyou at work and the community level, these words are essential at the family level. Parents are responsible for their children's behavior as they play a major role in mentoring them and teaching them. Last Christmas, my sister's five years wanted to enjoy her marble cake before the evening meal. She wondered how to convince her mum to allow her to have it. My sister knows that she prefers marble cake to any meal, so she planned to escape eating her evening meal. She knew that talking to her mum would not help, so she brought her a drawing sheet. On it was a drawing of her mother and the words "I have the best mother. Please allow me to eat my cake" The use of the word thankyou showed the importance of teaching children to be polite. She was given a piece of her cake in an agreement that she would get the other half after the meal.
In conclusion, the words please and thankyou are essential in daily interactions with people. They portray kindness and respect to each other; they also uphold equality, which is essential to all people. Society requires people to live together in love and respect. The words please and thank you should be incorporated into our family values. Children should grow up utilizing these terns to maintain a culture of respect and value to others. Human beings will forever interact and hold conversations. The use of terms such a please and thankyou is very meaningful to others. Besides making other people feel happy and comfortable, using these words also makes an individual feel full and happy. It is automatic that if one made another happy, then he or she also feels happy. People ought to stop normalizing, leaving out the words, please, and thank you. Instead, it would be beneficial to normalize the use of thank you and please in our utterances. This way, conversations will portray more respect and value for everybody. Kindness will be a popular thing, and relationships will last longer and be firmer. In the end, all service providers will look forward to serving you as they will enjoy the respect and appreciation of their service.
References
Allen, S. (2018). The science of gratitude . John Templeton Foundation.(12-13)
Roe, K. M., & Mata, H. J. (2019). The power of words. Health Promotion Practice , 20 (2), 153-156.
