The Power of “Thank You”

I know.  I know.   I’ve said this before but now I have the ultimate story to reconfirm it:  Saying “Thank You” is incredibly powerful.

I had to go in for a one-day operation in the hospital a few months ago.  I’ll spare you the details.  It wasn’t life-threatening (although, that would make it a better story so … nah, … I’ll just tell it like it really happened).  However, it was a bit tricky and there was no guarantee of success.  If it worked as my Doctor hoped, it would be noticeable rapidly and would really improve my quality of life.

Well, the good news is that it apparently worked.  And I did feel much better, almost immediately.  After about six weeks, I went in for a follow-up with my Doctor and he checked me out with all his machines and agreed that it appeared to work well.  As he was doing it, he asked me, “So, are you happy that you had the operation done?”  And, although there were some expected but minor side effects, I replied affirmatively.

About five minutes later, the Doctor asked me again if I was happy that it was done.   Again I said yes.  As we were finishing up, the last thing he asked me was “So you’re happy?”  By this time, I was thinking it was kind of weird that he kept asking me that.  But, since I am sort of a low-key guy, I simply replied, “Yes, I’m glad I had it done.”   Strangely, he seemed a bit let down but the appointment was over so I left.

It wasn’t until I was back in my car that it hit me.  He was fishing for a compliment.  He wanted me to thank him.  Yes, it was a bit of a tricky operation but, hey, I was paying him thousands of dollars to do it so, of course, I assumed that there was a reasonably high chance for success and he did get thanked in hard greenbacks.  What could be better than that?   But, today, I realize I never said THANK YOU.  It wouldn’t have been hard to do.  I was grateful so it would have been genuine.  And he needed it.  The power of those two words is enormous.  Never underestimate how big an affect you can have on an employee or any person with a heartfelt and genuine “Thank You”.  Even professionals need a pat on the back now and then.