Toot your own horn!

[Anonymous]

*bump*

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't purposely hit people with my car.

And I try to show people gratitude whenever I can - I'm a big "thank you so much" with a genuine smile type person. And I'm a very generous tipper. We don't go out to eat much anymore so I try to tip the nice folks at Starbucks. I think they have really nice customer service and I know they must get tired of making fancy coffee drinks all day. I try to tip them when I pay cash.

What?? You don't purposely hit people with your car? Who intentionally hits people with their car? I don't get it...

[Anonymous]

Think the car hitting thing was probably a joke

[MamaLlama]

I make it a point to be exceptionally nice to taxi drivers and random people in the elevator in my office building. Also the people in my IT department, who have a really crappy job (no one's computer crashes when they are just fooling around; it's always when you were just about to send out that time critical thing). And I bite my tongue in the up elevator every time I am tempted to ask, "Really? Floor 2???"

[Anonymous]

I like this thread.

I give the leftovers from the restaurant to homeless people outside when I'm in the city (instead of just leaving it there at the restaurant).

I try to give moms that I know with a newborn a nice hot homemade meal that I deliver to their house.

I try to praise my kids for the good things they do, even when I don't feel like it.

I give the mail carrier a present every year in the mailbox, even though I don't know him/her.

[Anonymous]

Speaking of horns, I don't honk. Unless of course it's a genuine emergency. I don't use it as a substitute for the brake. When we were in Hawaii I never heard anybody honk and it was so pleasant. I've never forgotten how great it felt to have less noise pollution.

[Anonymous]

I compliment people all the time, esp pregnant ladies who look like they need it.
I thank everyone who helps me.
I shake hands and make eye contact to show respect.
I am friendly to everyone and let a lot go.
I tip all the time, because I know how hard it is to work behind a counter and with the public.
We don't make much $$$, but I donate $$$ and items to charity and to individuals.
A few months ago I had just gone to the ATM and as I was leaving I saw a homeless vet on the sidewalk. On impulse, I gave him a crisp $20. Homeless vets break my heart.

Basically, I try to treat everyone with kindness and teach DS to do the same.

[Anonymous]

I give compliments to people who look like they don't often receive them. I make sure to smile warmly at the kind of people who often get ignored. I try to remeber personal details about service employees with whom I regularly interact, and follow up later by inquiring about their new dog/child/project, whatever. I try to throw in some decent human interaction when I see a person who looks lonely.

[Anonymous]

I always say hello or good morning to everyone I have an encounter with, including secretaries, security guards, the woman handing out the paper at the Metro, the people checking me out at Target, the grocery, etc.

I ALWAYS yield for pedestrians in crosswalks or standing on the curb waiting to step into the crosswalk, particularly on the busy streets near my home.

I have become a much more patient driver, much less aggressive, and I don't worry so much about being first or fastest. I let people merge in front of me or pull out of driveways/parking lots onto busy streets instead of blocking them.

I take turns with my neighbors watching our kids play so the other moms can get some stuff done.

[Anonymous]

I say something nice or commiserate with harried cashiers at the grocery store - I did that job years ago and know how long those days are and how tiring it is to stand on one's feet all day long.

I thank the daycare teachers daily when I pick up DS, and write personalized thank you notes mentioning what special skills they have when he moves to a new classroom.

I occasionally buy our cleaning lady a $30 metro card to help with her expenses.

[Anonymous]

When I get exceptional service from someone, I tell their supervisor. Sometimes they are surprised that anyone would take time to offer a compliment about a worker, since they are used to hearing more from people with complaints.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When I get exceptional service from someone, I tell their supervisor. Sometimes they are surprised that anyone would take time to offer a compliment about a worker, since they are used to hearing more from people with complaints.

I love this it can make a HUGE difference for someone who is working a service job since some people find the littlest stuff to complian about. When I used to wait tables I once had a guy who almost seemed out for a fight "I asked for two prices of ice in my drink do you not know how to count?" was just the start of it. The table next to him told the manager how good of a job I did handling the insane demands and it made me feel a lot better. This was a while ago and I still remember it.

It's really interesting how some small random acts of kindness can make a differnce.

[Anonymous]

-I contain no whale products

-I'm a good shit-izen, meaning that my dog's poop is no one else's problem but my own

-I give about 200 hours/year pro bono to an organization that provides academic help to poor DC kids

-I compliment people to their supervisors too

-When I was still at my old org (I work on my own now), I regularly passed up my own annual raises so that my team could get better raises, and I gave them holiday bonuses ($200 each) out of my own pocket (and this is making less than 6 figures so it's not like it was throw-away money)

-I help my elderly neighbor with snow, weeds, and garbage

-I use an after-school playdate as a way to give a stressed-out mom friend some "me" time

-I pay attention to the elderly/disabled seat assignments on metro

-I thank bus drivers