Good ‘Old Fashioned’ Courtesy

Good ‘old fashioned’ courtesy – it’s talked about a lot isn’t it? Usually nostalgically as if some distant long passed relative whose descendants bear little resemblance to the perfection that was.
You’d be forgiven if you thought that I was about to embark on a rambling lament about manners and etiquette – I promise I will neither ramble nor lament!
Courtesy is all about communication and it has changed as the way we communicate has changed. We email, tweet, text, we thank each other via Facebook, via LinkedIn, we facetime – courtesy isn’t a thing of the past, it’s just changed – courtesy has never been so easy!
However, is this new convenient courtesy devalued by the very ease of its delivery – is a ‘thank you’ worth less because the person delivering it hasn’t had to walk over hot coals? Perhaps. Putting it another way – are you more likely to remember and hold dear the hand written, posted birthday card than two line tweet? Me too!
Here’s the opportunity! Where the tweeted courtesy has become the norm, the value of ‘walking over the coals’ has never been greater. The hand written’ thank you’ card has now been elevated to the almost mythical level of that long passed relative!
It’s an approach that Becky and I subscribe to whole heartedly and it has been universally well received. From the hand written ‘thank you’ and ‘congratulations’ cards we send to our candidates and clients, to the freshly made cupcakes we hand deliver to candidates when they start their brand new jobs.
In an age where technology allows us to be more courteous than we’ve ever been – long live good ‘old fashioned’ courtesy!
Richard Guy
Director