This week I was having a conversation with a client about the power of acknowledgement, of taking the time to say thank you to members of the team. They live in London, and they then said: “Saying thank you, that’s a great idea. I always say thank you to the driver when I get on the bus”. This struck me. In most places I have travelled, everyone says thank you to the bus driver when they get off the bus, but in London, it is very rare.
Now, one more piece of information is that most places have one door on buses, so you pass the driver as you get off at the front door. London, however, has buses with two doors, so you get off in the middle of the bus, so quite a distance from the driver’s cab.
Perhaps that influences why Londoners don’t say thank you, and perhaps they are just socially conditioned to not say thank you. For sure I look to be the “crazy Londoner” who does make eye contact, does smile, does say hello when I pass someone walking down a footpath.
Anyway, I loved the idea of saying “thank you” when you get on the bus, I’ll do that from now on.
Where do you say thank you, why and how often?
In closing, a fun video for you about Londoners and friendliness: