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Closing email with “thanks” gets the most replies

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Re: Closing email with “thanks” gets the most replies

#81

Post by vidarh »

mellavora wrote: post #73
ineedasername wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Best" what? These things may be somewhat culturally determined (including office/corporate culture). To me, "best" reads as mindless as any other. In fact, they all read as mindless to me, probably because in most cases they literally are mindless. You choose one and write it automatically in nearly every message. That's not to say they're useless . Politeness in social interactions is filled with formulaic, almost…

> I just don't think there's all that much difference in meaning between these common formulaic responses. My father agrees, and for a time his standard greeting to colleagues were these words: "Friendly Noise" I've tried it a few times. I get strange looks at first, but people adopt.

On moving to the UK and for the first time using English "full time" it took me longer than it should have to get used to "how are you?" as merely a "friendly noise".

At first I found it incredibly rude how people would ask me a question and then keep walking while I stopped to start answering their question.

Re: Closing email with “thanks” gets the most replies

#82

Post by exclusiv »

zerocount wrote: post #78
mjfl wrote: post #3

Doesn't "thanks" imply a request was made, and "best" imply the end of a conversation? Did they just analyze a bunch of emails blind?

I've never seen 'best' in an email, but I have seen 'cheers,' which I always think is odd. I end all emails with 'thanks,' regardless of content.

I use cheers and I think it's more versatile.

- got your fire drill and I'm handling it... Cheers (don't worry about it)

- won your business, thank you so much... Cheers (celebrate)

- scheduled a meeting for next week. looking forward to talking to you... Cheers

To say thanks after everything seems odd to me. Kind of means nothing in many contexts.

Cheers at least reinforces your tone and personality (assuming that's how you are) in really any context and how you conduct business.

I still use thanks of course to be thankful, but almost always close with Cheers.

Re: Closing email with “thanks” gets the most replies

#83

Post by Fissionary »

bavell wrote: post #59
civilized wrote: post #7

I hate it when people use thanks for everything . What, you're thanking me for reading the email announcing the re-org? It reads as mindless and weird. I'm a "best" guy. It's never inappropriate. Whether I'm promoting you, firing you, reporting up on progress or problems, "best" always works. (I'm not saying it's the best closer in all situations, but if you hate thinking about closers, it's the best generic choice.…

Totally agree but instead I use "Regards". Always works and I never have to think about it. Regards, Another guy on the internet

My English teacher thought that "Regards" sounds rude (like starting your emails with "John," instead of "Dear John,") and that one should always use "Best regards" instead.

Seems like there's a lot of nuance here.

Re: Closing email with “thanks” gets the most replies

#84

Post by laurent92 »

noduerme wrote: post #29
pottertheotter wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I always laugh a little when I get emails from someone still in college. They are so formal, even after I reply in a less formal manner. I don’t blame them as I did the same thing.

I'm still pretty formal with new clients. It takes me years to leave out a valediction with some. But on the other hand, my favorite valediction is usually "Cheers," since it seems the most casual and least demanding. Still, I always worry this gives away the fact that I'm an alcoholic. My runner up is "Yours," which I see didn't make the list.

I still feel very much on the hook when a customer raises a support request. That means we have a bug. If we talk often, that means they are a very good customer but we have a lot of bugs…

Therefore I stick to “Best regards” mechanically. Note that I’m French, not native in English, so I’m not mastering colloquialities. Would it be appropriate to be more relaxed?

Re: Closing email with “thanks” gets the most replies

#85

Post by exclusiv »

suchow wrote: post #5

This is an excellent example of why inferring causation from an observed correlation requires great care. Note that the study did not randomly assign valedictions to emails and observe the causal impact on response rate. Rather, they observed a correlation between the sign-off chosen and the response rate. "Thanks" garners many responses because people use it in emails that make reasonable requests with a good chance…

I had someone tell me on the phone and email - "I kiss the ground you walk on". I thought it was just weird and it caught me off guard on the phone the first time.

Candidly - your colleagues most likely don't appreciate it as you do, whether they know the meaning or not.

As I'm sure you're aware, in some countries, servitude is the greatest honor. But in many, it isn't; it signals 1) that you are lesser than or 2) you are very malleable person who may make a good fall person or dirty deed underling or 3) they don't believe your words and just think it's kind of creepy

I really appreciate that some countries consider it an honor, and I don't know where or who you work with, but there's a very good chance that your favorite valediction is not only underappreciated, but not appreciated at all.

Hope that's not the case but your closing comment sparked me to be candid about it for consideration.

Re: Closing email with “thanks” gets the most replies

#87

Post by exclusiv »

lai-yin wrote: post #48

Any good synonyms for 'thanks in advance' to mix it up? "Look forward to your thoughts" etc.

I think it's ok to notify an email thread and say something like "Based on our last discussion regarding ____ , Bob is going to _____ . Thanks in advance for setting that up for us @Bob"

But yeah, thanks in advance can be a very passive aggressive thing.

A more flexible alternative would probably be "appreciate your expertise in setting this up for us"

Re: Closing email with “thanks” gets the most replies

#88

Post by hdjjhhvvhga »

vidarh wrote: post #81
mellavora wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I just don't think there's all that much difference in meaning between these common formulaic responses. My father agrees, and for a time his standard greeting to colleagues were these words: "Friendly Noise" I've tried it a few times. I get strange looks at first, but people adopt.

On moving to the UK and for the first time using English "full time" it took me longer than it should have to get used to "how are you?" as merely a "friendly noise". At first I found it incredibly rude how people would ask me a question and then keep walking while I stopped to start answering their question.

Well, because it's not a question.

Re: Closing email with “thanks” gets the most replies

#89

Post by bryanrasmussen »

LeoPanthera wrote: post #17
suchow wrote: post #5

This is an excellent example of why inferring causation from an observed correlation requires great care. Note that the study did not randomly assign valedictions to emails and observe the causal impact on response rate. Rather, they observed a correlation between the sign-off chosen and the response rate. "Thanks" garners many responses because people use it in emails that make reasonable requests with a good chance…

"&c" is the archaic form of "etc", the ampersand being a ligature of "et" - Latin for "and". As far as I can tell the "&c." version was popularized by the 1944 novel "Anna and the King of Siam". So it literally means "I am, etc.", which I assume only expands to "I am your humble and obedient servant" in a humorous way. Might be taken the wrong way.

>Might be taken the wrong way.

My wife might be offended if I implied being her humble and obedient servant was only an etc.

Re: Closing email with “thanks” gets the most replies

#90

Post by sealjam »

tpxl wrote: post #67
Jach wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Cheers" is my favorite too, even though I don't drink alcohol. Some people probably take it the wrong way, but whatever.

"Cheers" is sometimes used instead of thank you in Great Britain I think.

Can confirm, I’m British and often use “cheers” to mean “thank you”.
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