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Miss Manners: People don't say "Good Morning" when texting
Dear Miss Manners: When texting or emailing friends or clients, I often start off with “Good morning” or “How are you?” and end with “Have a great day.”
I always get short, right-to-the-point answers back, like “Okay,” and they don’t usually start with “Good morning” or end with “Have a good day.” So sometimes, I sarcastically reply “Good morning to me, too,” which I know people don’t like.
Am I too sensitive? I am old school and I just think people are being rude. They can say a little more than “Be there” or something like that. Maybe my expectations are too high and I won’t expect as much anymore.
Miss Manners: An excess of sensitivity would not be the diagnosis from Miss Manners after you admitted to the sarcastic barb. In the hope of preventing the next one, let her point out that different methods of communication carry with them different expectations about brevity.
While she agrees it would be unmannerly not to say hello to someone to whom you have just been introduced in a social setting, she would prefer to dispense with the prelude when warning someone about a fast-approaching car. Texts fall somewhere in between.
I always get short, right-to-the-point answers back, like “Okay,” and they don’t usually start with “Good morning” or end with “Have a good day.” So sometimes, I sarcastically reply “Good morning to me, too,” which I know people don’t like.
Am I too sensitive? I am old school and I just think people are being rude. They can say a little more than “Be there” or something like that. Maybe my expectations are too high and I won’t expect as much anymore.
Miss Manners: An excess of sensitivity would not be the diagnosis from Miss Manners after you admitted to the sarcastic barb. In the hope of preventing the next one, let her point out that different methods of communication carry with them different expectations about brevity.
While she agrees it would be unmannerly not to say hello to someone to whom you have just been introduced in a social setting, she would prefer to dispense with the prelude when warning someone about a fast-approaching car. Texts fall somewhere in between.
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That being said: Texting is an asynchronous communication style. As such, it does not require openings ("Hello & good morning!") or closings ("Have a great day!"/"Bye!"/"Catch You Later!"). Nor does it require you to disclose "Have to go to work, I won't be able to respond for a while." If someone is expecting a real time response, that conversation should be a phone call. All other communication, it's assumed the other person may not respond back for a while due to prior engagements.
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Them, Monday 7PM my time: Hello
Me, Tuesday 9AM: Hello, did you have a question?
Them, Tuesday 7PM: Yes, it is ___
Me, Weds 9AM: The answer is ___
So they get the answer Weds evening my time, wasting a day by not just asking the question in the first text. Yes, we did tell them. No, it didn't take.