The idea for this blog came yesterday, when I received two “bossy” e-mails in a row and a “bossy” phone call too. I’m using the word “bossy” because these were business communications that had requests and directives in them, but no “please” or “thank you.” Even in an e-mail, the absence of please and thank you can be a bit jarring. Basic manners and courtesy 101 still apply in the world of home business…
Colleagues, clients, customers, vendors, prospects—all of these are business relationships that warrant basic common courtesy. I’ve made it a rule or habit to end every e-mail and every phone conversation with a “thank you” or, many times, I go so far as to inject a “thank you very much.” This also goes for other basic words like “Please,” “It would be wonderful if,” and “I truly appreciate it.” I know that writing e-mails and leaving voice mail messages can be quick and almost done on auto-pilot, but whether you intend rudeness or not—leaving off the basic manners comes across as rude and bossy.
I had an aunt who used to share that old saying “You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar,” and while we may have trained ourselves to use “please” and “thank you” in more public and traditional jobs, our home businesses can, at times, feel like an extension of our private little home worlds. We can forget that we’re in a business and there are real people who deserve politeness on the other end of those e-mails and voice mail messages. So, even if this blog seems like an obvious, back-to-basics topic, perhaps it will be a gentle reminder to make sure that we use our manners in our home businesses.