A Thank You Goes A Long Way

Written by Andrew Rondeau in blogging guide | 33 Awesome Comments - Add Yours?

thanks1Each day I receive several emails asking for advice or helping people out with their blogs.

I always do my best to respond. A quick few minutes here and there out of my day is no big deal.

But why is it after I respond…

…they very rarely reply back and say thank you.

I suppose it could be they don’t like my advice.

Or they don’t receive my response.

Or perhaps they are far too busy! (Obviously not busy enough to ask for some advice in the first place!).

But I suspect in the majority of cases they just can’t be bothered. They’ve got what they want. A little bit of advice to move forward with.

If someone gives me some advice for free, I would always say ‘thanks’, wouldn’t you?

But a lot of people don’t.

And if they ask me another question, am I going to ignore it or reply?

What do you think?

Of course, there are some who say thanks and it makes such a difference.

That’s all it takes – 15 seconds.

Here’s a true simple example.

One of our members on the Income Blogging Guide Course wrote to me. This is what she said:

“I am having huge problems with plug-ins.  I duly activated all the plug-ins you recommended and ever since I have been in trouble!  It is now 7 days and Hostgator could not fix it for me.  Their techie dept uninstalled and then reinstalled the plug-ins and can’t say which one has messed up my coding!!!

Could you please have a look for me as I don’t know where else to turn to as Hostgator techies couldn’t fix it and I am definitely not a techie so am stuck.  Don’t want to post more articles till I know the coding is sorted.

Thanks.”

I went into the member’s dashboard and deactivated all the plugins. Then reactivated them one-by-one until the problem occurred again.

I found the problem plugin. The member had installed the wrong plugin.

“Not to worry”, I thought. It only took me a few minutes of effort.

I replied back to the member and said, “all fixed”.

The members reply:

“Thanks sooooooo much Andrew.”

I was happy.

That’s all it took. Fifthteen seconds of her time – just to say thank you and I felt appreciated.

How do you feel when you get NO THANKS? Please share your views in the comments below.

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33 Responses to A Thank You Goes A Long Way
  1. Joel from Blog Solutions
    Twitter:

    It’s amazing how such a little thing can mean so much. It’s always nice when I get grateful emails from people I’ve helped either for free or payment. It doesn’t matter, everyone like a thank you now and then!
    .-= Joel @ Blog Solutions´s last blog ..Headway 17 Theme Sneak Preview =-.

    Reply
  2. Shiva from Web Magazine
    Twitter:

    Small things like a Thanks You does mean a lot because it makes one feel like at least they have done something to help. But If there is no thank you…then even if one has helped some one he does not feel satisfactory happiness since he is gonna miss that small thing called “Thank You”
    .-= Shiva@Web Magazine´s last blog ..Rockable Press Rockstar WordPress Designer Revised Discount Coupon Code =-.

    Reply
  3. Terry Tiessen

    Great reminder to never underestimate the power of gratitude, thank you.
    .-= Terry Tiessen´s last blog ..MLM Traffic Formula 20 Expert Reviewed =-.

    Reply
  4. Aaron

    It doesn’t take much to just say thank you, but you are correct when you say it goes a long way. What better way to become friends and network with other bloggers than helping each other out. I would be absolutely enraged if I helped someone (more than a couple of minutes) and they didn’t bother to thank me.
    .-= Aaron´s last blog ..Free Blogs =-.

    Reply
  5. Evelyn

    Hi Andrew!

    When someone doesn’t tell me thanks after I’ve done something for them, it really bothers me. But it doesn’t stop me from helping people.
    .-= Evelyn´s last blog ..Becoming a Raw Vegan and I Need Advice =-.

    Reply
  6. Corinne Edwards

    Hi Andrew -

    Since I used to have a travel agency and still do a little travel, I know my way around the various departmetns of the airlines.

    I saved a client $2400. on 4 canceled tickets on which they were they overcharging. Kept going higher and higher in the chain of command. She does pay me for my time – but not that much.

    When I told her, she offhandedly said, “Oh, that’s nice.”

    I thought it was more than nice. She should have at least said thanks and maybe even sent flowers

    Some people have more than a little sense of entitlement.
    .-= Corinne Edwards´s last blog ..INTERNET DATING FOR WIDOWS AND NEWBIES – Official Driver’s Manual =-.

    Reply
  7. Dean Saliba

    I don’t ask for help a lot but I always, ALWAYS, say thank you. It is only a couple of words and it only takes about three seconds to type it.

    Manners doesn’t cost a thing in this world.
    .-= Dean Saliba´s last blog ..Recycling Old Content =-.

    Reply
  8. Colleen from Kennewick Real Estate

    You went to a lot of effort Andrew for this blogger. I’m certain it took more than a “few minutes.” I certainly would say thank you, and probably ask for a PayPal address to buy ya a cup of coffee or something! :)
    .-= Colleen@Kennewick Real Estate´s last blog ..Annual Prosser Fly-In and Show at Prosser Airport =-.

    Reply
  9. AJ from Best Wordpress Themes

    I know what you mean. I get people asking me all the time how to edit their wordpress themes and I go out of my way to help them out providing them with the code they need or guidance on how to edit their stylesheet – even on themes I did not develop. And maybe 1 out of 3 people actually thank me.

    People should definitely be thanking you. Even if your tip was horrible or you made their problem worse. They should at least reply with some kind of acknowledgment, as you took some of your own precious time to try and help them out.

    Reply
  10. Blog Angel a.k.a. Joella

    Thank you Andrew!

    Everybody needs to be reminded now and then to mind their manners. I think we really do, all appreciate what a good and generous person are! :)
    .-= Blog Angel a.k.a. Joella´s last blog ..10 Great Blog Articles You Shouldn’t Miss =-.

    Reply
  11. GerlaineTalk

    A thanks does go a long way. I practice saying Thank You over and over every morning until I feel grateful. This practice causes me to say Thank You 100 or more times a day to people, even when they didn’t do anything that great!

    You always do great stuff for me and share great stuff with me. So, I thank you. More love to you!
    .-= GerlaineTalk´s last blog ..The Proper Candidate =-.

    Reply
  12. Jason from Affiliate Marketing Forum

    of course, I’d feel a little confused, whether he/she took my advice as good or it didn’t help at all. I meet a lot of people like that online, sure I didn’t do the favor just to be thanked, we all do things to build something, well as for me I try to build good online relationships through interactions. well, I guess they’re not up to what I’m building, though sometimes it just feels bad to be unappreciated even with the small efforts you are doing just to help them out. But in some cases, it’s just good to just let go, even they try to seek for more advice in the future, I’d definitely answer them back. The important thing is that we don’t forget to thank people (as helpers seeking for others’ help as well) :)

    Reply
  13. Luqman from Domain name registration

    I agree with you completely, “thanks you goes a long way” it show a good manners and appreciation…

    Reply
  14. Jovana

    Wow!

    I can’t imagine not thanking someone for helping me. You deserve better =)

    Thank you for the amazing resource. I’ve been gulping down pages of your blog!

    Reply
  15. Nathalie

    I agree completely with Jovana. You are helping me and so many people with your information. Thank you so much!!!!
    .-= Nathalie´s last blog ..PICTURES OF THE BARCELO MAYA BEACH RESORT =-.

    Reply
  16. john

    I find it both amazing and somewhat disappointing that people often forget to say “thank you”, particularly when you have just given them input/responded to their request.

    Reply
  17. Connie McKnight

    Andrew,

    How true! Even if you know you’ve helped a person, without a thank you I sometimes question why I bothered.

    The last month I’ve been working long days helping my son-in-law out to get the files ready for his new computer system. It didn’t seem to matter how helpful I was, I never heard a peep. Then finally I got a phone call saying thank you. What a huge difference that made.

    Thanks for writing this; some people need to be reminded.

    Connie

    Reply
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