No Thank You To Thank You

Have you been told "thank you" too much lately? I have. It seems everywhere I go and everyone I meet is thanking me for something that needs no thank you at all. It's the perfunctory, insincere "thank you" that is bugging me. We have diminished the value of a sincere thank you by uttering thank you too much. (You'll probably want to thank me for writing about this, but don't....it will only make me rant more about the subject later). When people or businesses say thank you too often they don't truly mean it. Thus, the meaning of the phrase becomes weakened or lost altogether. Excessive thank you's for ordinary gestures makes a real thank you for important ones less genuine for the listener. Need an example of the unnecessary thank you? Ok, here are a few.
- The "Thank you for shopping at" on the receipt you get at a store as you check out. Who needs a machine thanking them for anything? It's not sincere.
- The employee at the clothing store thanking you for visiting the store as you depart after not buying a thing. Is it necessary to thank a person who didn't transact any business at the store?
- "Thanks a million" for the directions you give to a stranger who is trying to find his way. Oh my, if that stranger is willing to give a million for directions what will he offer for something that is really beneficial to his life?
- The anchor news caster on your TV news who "thanks" the weather forecaster for his segment on the weather. Isn't it the job of the weather caster to tell us how hot or cold it is to be? He or she is being paid for that. Why does the news anchor have to thank him for simply doing his job? "Thanks for the forecast, Fred.". Ughhhhhhhh I hope it rains on any TV anchor who says that.
- Some taxi cabs now have recorded voices thanking the rider as he or she leaves the cab. But why? The passenger needed to use the cab and he paid for it. No thanks is required. It's a simple business transaction.
There are many more I could give, but suffice to say, shouldn't "thank you" be a sincere comment? When people who work are forced to utter it, or when private citizens say it out of mindless habit it cheapens the phrase and the actually intent of thanking someone- being polite and respectful toward others.
Suppose I reported the store clerk for not thanking me for shopping at the store.. I assume he would be in big trouble with the boss, maybe even fired. He says "thank you" because his job requires it, not because he means it. So it is one of a many meaningless thank you utterances that have cheapened the phrase and made sincere thanks less believable.
Who needs an insincere thank you? I don't. I like the sincere ones, but it sure is getting harder and harder these days to tell the two apart. Oh..by the way, thank you for coming into my blog today!