Tom's Guide | Tom's Hardware | Tom's Games
 |
 |
 |
Name: DerbyDad03
Many of us have brought up the fact that there have been times when we have not received acknowledgement of our responses in these forums. We're not looking for piles of praise - a simple Thank You is enough.
I recently had 2 instances in the Office forum where I went back and forth with 2 different posters trying to solve their problems. It finally got to the point where I PM'd an email address to each of them so I could look at the documents.
Both posters immediately sent me their document and I spent close to an hour *on each one*, finding the problems and crafting a detailed response to each person.
5 days later and I hadn't received any acknowledgement that they had received my reply, so I sent them each an email:
"Did you receive my reply? It would nice to receive some acknowledgment for the assistance I gave you."
This morning, close to 2 weeks later, I received this reply from one of the posters:
no probsThat's it. No "Thanks for the help." No "Sorry for the delay, I've been busy." No "You've solved the problem."
Nothing but those 2 "words":
no probsI don't even know how that response relates to the situation. What could possibly be meant by "no probs"?
Thanks for listening. I will now try to get on with my day.
Sadly it happens...; and also occasinally one does get a genuine thank you - and even occasionally plaudits too...
Best you can do is help as/when you can or feel so inclined... But not to anticiape feed back for the most part...; although it is nice and often useful if it happens...
You see a need, offer help/assistance as best you may - and then go on your way... Good karma overall...
See the job, do the job, stay out of the misery - as per MMY... 40years or so ago.
0 
perhaps the original poster no longer has any problems with
the file?This may come across as rude, and please believe me when
I say I don't mean it to...As you clearly enjoy doing it (I certainly wouldn't spend an
hour looking at a spreadsheet I didn't have to), why ask for
thanks? Surely the pleasure is in helping someone out,
rather than being praised for it?
0 0
Hi, those posters were fortunate to have your help and clearly they lacked the common decency and sense to acknowledge your helpful and proactive efforts. Unfortunately, it's probably best not to expect any thanks for any of your philanthropic efforts going forward. But don't let that discourage you. The act of giving your knowledge and time, as you have done, is a truly selfless endeavor. You will be rewarded in unexpected ways. As the saying goes, "Good things happen to good people."
0
As I said in my OP, it wasn't a request for "praise". What prompted my email was the complete lack of acknowledgement of my reply emails.
The posters were all "Please, please help me" in the forum and then when I did attempt to help them, they didn't even acknowledge the effort.
I was taught that "Please" should always be followed by "Thank You", regardless of whether or not the help received was useful. Thank You for *the effort* is the point.
In another thread in this forum, Ewen agreed with the sentiment I was trying to relay in my vent:
"... I can remember when posts on the old forum could be read and understood and people THANKED contributors for their help. ... Very few come back after getting an answer and as DerbyDad03 says it must be very frustrating to be left in the dark."
To me, it's even worse when you've taken it to the next level and moved the issue to personal email. I would think that common courtesy would dictate that you at least acknowledge the receipt of the email by saying thanks.
0
I completely agree with DerbyDad03. Besides, how can you have intrinsic satisfaction that you have helped someone when they don't even let you know and you have to email them to ask if what you offered was helpful to them or solved their problem. Granted, when the response was "no probs", that would indicate that the advice was helpful-but even then, some common decency and acknowledgement of one's efforts would still be nice.
0
Another thought just came to me...
Picture yourself as a Customer Service Rep or store employee. Picture your phone ringing.
Which situation would you prefer:
You: Good Morning. How can I help you?
Caller: Hi. Can you please tell me what time you close today?
You: Sure - 5:00.
Caller: Thank you.or
You: Good Morning. How can I help you?
Caller: Hi. Can you please tell me what time you close today?
You: Sure - 5:00.
CLICKDo you need to be thanked for helping the caller? Of course not, but doesn't it feel better than CLICK? Would you hang up and feel satisfied that you helped the caller or would you stare at the phone and think "What a jerk"?
Why should it be any different with an email or forum exchange?
P.S. Just let me ramble...I'm still venting, but this too shall pass.
0
As earlier... I (and many others here too) do understand the "phrustrashyn..." (a per Elmer Phud - for those who remember that far back) with the lack of courtesy etc... that "some" posters display... And sometimes maybe it's good to "let orf" steam...
But don't give up...! Each one who does say "takk" maybe equates to several or more who don't...; and the advice you provide is inevitably read/taken by many who you never ever hear from, and who likewise will likely not say "takk..."
Personally I seldom resort to private emails etc. when offering help etc., as if it's all given here in the forum(s) everyone can see and advance or add to (and also correct too) if necessary...
Sadly it appears to be a current attitude that few bother to say thank you (aka "takk" in Swedish and my natal dialect...); but it does happen... And it's not only on this forum either; much the same disease/failing prevalent on other forums (fora) too...
Incidentally I have occasionally found a link to one or more of my posts here at CN - from elsewhere... I doubt I'm alone in that regard. It was a reference from elsewhere to this site (for advice/help) an age ago that got me here; and in time able to offer some help from time to time...
So again - don't give up, hang in there etc., keep the faith... and keep on doing what you duz with good grace... There are many who do appreciate it even if you don't know about them, or they don't always tell you... Do it for them... and for the joy of helping them along their road to wherever.
0
trvlr:
Thanks for the emotional support!
re: Personal emails
I agree 100% with you. If I get a PM with an Office related question, I have a standard response about posting in the forum for all the reasons you stated. Sometimes the OP does, sometimes they don't. If they don't, it's their loss.
I only resort to email support when all efforts via the thread have been exhausted and I need to see the file in order to help further. The 2 cases that started this thread fit that need.
Whenever possible, if it makes sense, I will close out the thread by posting what I found after seeing the document so that others can share in the solution.
Side note: The ones that phrustrate me the most are the ones where I offer a solution in the thread, the OP says it doesn't work, they send me the spreadsheet and I find that they did not implement my solution.
Now, be vewy vewy quiet, I'm hunting wabbits.
0
trvlr has expressed my sentiments precisely.
Just yesterday I received a PM from someone that is asking for help. I generally ignore those or tell them to post in the open forum.
0
Not to mention this customer service scenario:
You: Good Morning. How can I help you?
Caller: Hi. Can you please tell me what time you close today?
You: Sure - 5:00.
Caller: << Dead silence on the line >>
You: Did you receive my reply?
Caller: no probs
CLICK
0
I'm in the US and to me "no probs" seems more of a way to say Your Welcome, not Thank you.
When I've said Thanks, I often heard "No problem" or "Not a problem" in response.
In addition, the original email ended with "cheers for help" with email address that contained "liverpool" so I assume the sender was not US based.
0
Gotta be a macho style - all action - save the world, or war movie?
Can't see it being from things like Lil' House On The Prairie etc., or the Wozard of Id...
0
mmm: could well be; his characters seldom have much to say or proper command of - like wot we got...
0
A Google search on "no probs" confirms what I said in Response # 17.
http://forum.wordreference.com/show...
I think someone should vote #17 as a great response.
0
mmm - That is one lengthy diskushun... - and partly led and fed from Moscow (the one in Russia rather than USA/Canada...).
0
Don't sweat it. Moreover, this subject has been beaten to death several times already & it hasn't & won't change a thing.
My sig on here years ago was: Non Sibi Sed Aliis. I presume that many of the legacy contributors remaining so far have varying reasons for continuing to donate their time & resources, whatever your is, focus on it or redefine it so you at least have fun doing it. This, IMO, is what keeps you going for the most part. And remember, nobody can make you feel unappreciated without your permission.
Have a good day ;-)
0
Not to hop on the anti-praise bandwagon, but on the forums that post code (namely, Programming and Office), don't you know who will thank you in the end. I can usually tell just by reading the OP, and judging the level of entitlement or the amount of effort already applied.
On the programming forum, those who ask for some code / a script rarely follow through (unless something went wrong), while those who just didn't know the key words for a Google search or needed someone to spot the error typically do give thanks.
DerbyDad03: I PM'd an email address to each of them so I could look at the documents.
Here's your problem. If they can't encapsulate the problem in a public forum, they shouldn't ask on a public forum.OtheHill: I received a PM from someone that is asking for help. I generally ignore those or tell them to post in the open forum.
This doesn't work; they just go away without posting, or bugging you again. I used to say if they want personal tech support, they would pay my tech support rate, but that got old. Now I just ignore it, or respond with, "42." Really, it's the best I can do until Justin Weber allows us to disable PM's.EDIT: I mean really, what do you think the chances are that this guy will thank you?
0
Taking into concideration that I am just not that knowledgable when it comes to computers I don't reply to questions often but when I do it would be nice to know if I gave a proper responce. More often than not I give ideas rather than answers as maybe my idea may not be spot on. Sure would be nice to know if it was though. I don't mind being corrected either. Tell me I am wrong and why and I will learn more.
Likely
Practice makes perfect but only if you practice perfectly!
0
What the heck is so hard about saying Thank You?
DerbyDad03 has helped me before and I said thank you.
And I say it again, thank you.
Must be a lot of twerps with little dicks out there.
The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a little longer.
- Henry Kissinger
0
Razor2.3: Here's your problem. If they can't encapsulate the problem in a public forum, they shouldn't ask on a public forum.
This is not always true.
The OP may be able to encapsulate the problem in a public forum, but sometime the problem has to be seen.
One of the examples I mentioned above (the no probs poster) had a Word document that had a chart that only showed up when the doc was printed. It was an easy problem to describe, but all of the suggestions offered in the forum did not work. Only after I actually had the document in hand was I able to offer a working solution.
I've had issues with Excel spreadsheets that also needed to be seen, not just read about, through no fault of the OP.
That is why my offer to look at documents is only offered after all attempts to solve the issue in the forum have been exhausted.
0
Derby
You are more trusting than I am. I would not download any file from anyone on this forum other than a long time member.
0
DerbyDad03: It was an easy problem to describe, but all of the suggestions offered in the forum did not work.
It sounds like he only encapsulated a single symptom of (I presume) a larger problem, and not the problem itself.Out of curiosity, what was his problem, and how did it prevent him from just deleting the ghost chart and making a new one?
0
Ah I just remembered I am as guilty as these posters we're
moaning about!I seem to recall the code worked perfectly except it stopped
midway through two files, apparently randomly, so I just manually pulled it into MS Access one file at a time.I did mean to post a thank you but I just never got round to it,
apologies IVO if you're reading this!
0
"No probs"
In this respect
Is inconclusive and impersonal.
No matter how you look at it.
And if it had the best connotations it is thankless.
Either way a loser or user made the reponse.
No matter their culture.
Make no excuses.
0
Razor2.3: It sounds like he only encapsulated a single symptom of (I presume) a larger problem, and not the problem itself.
What if all the OP saw was a "symptom" and didn't know what the "problem" was? Or what if the "problem" and "symptom" were the same thing? Where's the line?
Try this: (Actually, just read it and imagine that you've tried it)
1 - Open a Word document and choose Insert...Object.
2 - Highlight Microsoft Graph Chart and click OK.
3 - After the object is inserted, close the Excel-like "spreadsheet" and you'll be left with the graph in your document.
4 - Add a bunch of text around the graph and save the document.
Now imagine that every time you open the document from now on, you will not see the chart, however, every time you print the document the chart will print.
Finally, imagine that you want help with this issue and you describe what's happening in the Office forum:
"When I open the document I do not see the graph but when I print it out, the graph shows up on the printed document." How can I delete the graph if I can't see it?
My questions to you:
Have you "only encapsulated a single symptom" or the "problem itself"?
What do you think the OP should have posted?
0
DerbyDad03: Have you "only encapsulated a single symptom" or the "problem itself"?
What do you think the OP should have posted?
I don't know; I'm unable to replicate the symptom. (Perhaps it's a bug in a version of Word that's not 2K?) How does this counter my point, which was, "Your chance of being thanked by the OP is proportional to the amount of effort the OP put in before asking?"And while we're on the subject of symptom vs problem, my check engine light is on in my car. Care to drive up/down to Ohio and diagnose it for me? :P
0
mmm... - is the car moving; is the engine actually running; is it raining, snowing, blizzard... is there lyfe after death; and finally (as per the late Cronkite...) wot it is the meaning of lyfe?
0
Razor2.3: How does this counter my point, which was, "Your chance of being thanked by the OP is proportional to the amount of effort the OP put in before asking?"
It doesn't, and it wasn't meant to.
It was meant to counter your point that the OP only encapsulated a single symptom of a larger problem.
I can't blame the OP for posting what he posted. That was what he was experiencing so that is what he was asking for help with. If an OP doesn't know what the "larger problem" is how could he detail it in the post?
0
Derby
I regard to your questions in #36. You may be correct about the actual problems the OP has. That said, the OP should at least take the time to read the instructions on how and what to include in their post. Few do that.
0
That was kinda the point of my car analogy. Just because you report on all of the symptoms you observe, it doesn't mean you've reported on the underlying problem.
In the contested example, we have an obscure (I presume) bug in Word that (I presume) no one else was able to replicate. It's not the OP's fault he wasn't able to fully explain the problem. It's not the forum members' fault their suggestions didn't fix the issue. I find it best just to move on. If you need someone to blame, blame Microsoft.
On an unrelated note, I dug out my OBDII scanner, and it reports P0440. Here's hoping a new gas cap fixes the check engine.
0
ROFL derbydads venting 1st post, to quote keano reaves "awesome" . heehe
"England and America are two countries separated by a common language" seems true from here ;D
"no probs" is a local colloquialism, others include, but said less today= 'thats sound', or 'ta laa' which would mean even less outside the UK , but means the same =informal thanks. Unfortunately youve hit a generation where slang & txting is the norm and email is no different.Remember we have English in half a dozen dialects, slang and assoc meanings are common. Dont even ask about Newcastle or cockney slang even i cant understand them.
51st state , Lock stock and two smoking barrels, two films may help Derby dad familiarise him self and they are old films.
Radix ever worked in a call center UK ...? obviously not
You: Good Morning. How can I help you? [read from script]
Caller: Hi. Can you please tell me what time you close today? [actual : what time d u shut mate}You: Sure - 5:00. [actual; bout' 5 mate]
Caller: << Dead silence on the line >> [erhmm okay laa]
You: Did you receive my reply?[ anythng else mate]
Caller: no probs[you: k mate ,bye , laters bye now ] take your pick
42? nooo jam that would be too 80's , try 'Alll righhht Rrr kiiid nice one' if speaking to a manc,and 'Alright Laaad' to a scouser. ffs dont mix em up , mate
:D
0
42 means only one thing...you're about to get creamed.
Big Time...
http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/m...
Skip
0
If you haven't read the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, you owe it to yourself to do so.
Or at least rent the movie.
The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a little longer.
- Henry Kissinger
0
By the time it was published, I no longer cared about the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything. I just wanted my harley back.
Skip
0
Hello 1Stepbeyond, your reply does takes the biscuit. My bespoke call centre script writing career is rather gormless. How daft of me. Horses for courses...
0
Hi Radix
no offense intended btw , but i know people in a call centre , & dailey abuse (of them) is part of the job.
dealing with the UK public has its hi & lows mostly the latter.i had a vision of derbydad dispensing golden pearls of wisdom from a lofty ivory tower to wake up one morning to find some ones robbed his milk bottles.
sacrilege!
0  |
 |
 |
| Login or Register to Reply | |
| Login | Register |
| Ads by Google |
