Thanks… But I Had Nothing to Do With It
April 30, 2007
The nice thing to do when someone compliments you is to say “thank you”, right? But what do you do when the thing they’re complimenting you on isn’t really something you can take credit for? This was the question asked by one of the characters in the book I’m reading… and it’s a really good one!
- Nice car! (you didn’t make it… you just bought it)
- Nice haircut! (you didn’t cut it yourself … someone else did… usually)
- I love your hat! (again… you just bought it)
By habit I still say “thank you” to these types of compliments. I mean… it’s the polite thing to do, right? It would be rude not respond.
But is “thank you” really the best response?
You could explain the situation: “I’m glad you like my car. I didn’t make it, but I did spend my hard-earned money on it. I’ll let Nissan know that you enjoyed my vehicle”.
But that’s a little strange.
Maybe we should start making a conscious effort to decide how we’re going to tell someone that we like their stuff. Instead of saying “nice car”, you could say “I like those Nissan Altimas”… or instead of telling someone that you like their haircut, you could just say “the lack of hair makes your head look much smaller”.
Never mind. That’s a little strange too.
How do you think this situation should be handled? Am I “mountain-out-of-mole-hilling” this to death? Should I just shut up and keep saying thanks?
Or is there a better way?
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May 11th, 2007 at 4:54 pm
I think when someone compliments something about you, like a shirt, a hat, or a car, they’re pretty much saying “I like your choice” or “I like what you bought” or “that looks good on you”, rather than actually implying that whatever you bought is generally good.
There are cases though where this happens (i.e. a Ferrari will probably get a “nice car” no matter who just bought it).
May 12th, 2007 at 8:50 am
Hey… that’s a really good point. Haha. I hadn’t thought of it that way. But I guess that’s what I’m saying when I compliment someone’s hat or clothes or something.
June 10th, 2007 at 6:41 pm
Hahaha! This reminds me of those married guys at work who get dressed up once in a while on those special occasions but end up with comments from their co-workers like “You look very nice today. So your wife must have dressed you up, huh?” Then they try explaining that it was their own doing and the response from their co-workers would be, “Uh-huh, understood. Must be laundry day, right?” Nope, no credit gain for those married guys! :)
June 11th, 2007 at 8:34 pm
Haha. I guess that’s another benefit to not being married I can add to my growing list: credit for my own dress.
Of course… sometimes it’d be nice to have an excuse for some of the things I wear. LOL!