More bloggers are starting to talk about reader appreciation. Maybe the RA Project is starting to be very effective on many levels. We are seeing more people look into it, and we are also seeing more people treat their readers with respective comments.
Should fake appreciation be as respected as real appreciation?
A question arises in my mind every day though: if I see obviously fake appreciation online, should I still respect it, the same way I would respect real appreciation from someone? Is replying to comments simply to fulfill an obligation and give an illusion of caring about the community the same as responding to comments because of wanting to and caring about the community because of a real feeling of care?
Do you care if businesses showed fake appreciation only to get your money?
Imagine going to a dentist where the receptionist thanks you for visiting the dentist that day, and you know it is fake for some various reason, like the receptionist saying that to everyone, verbatim, word for word and outside the office you see that same receptionist telling someone that the dentist office only cares about money.
Would you differentiate between the real and fake appreciation? Or would you be satisfied with appreciation even if it is fake?
Please let me know what you think. Thank you.
Interesting topic. I’d like to put a couple of thoughts here but please don’t take it the wrong way.
Who is the one to judge whether appreciation is fake or real?
How can you tell from text on a screen the real feelings behind what is written?
Is this a choice we the reader get to make, choosing how we interpret this?
I mean, I know I appreciate everything people do for me, I know I appreciate the comments they leave for me, but how can I express that enough just using a keyboard?
This method of communication does not truly have everything we really need to be able to tell whether someone is genuinely appreciative or not. We’re missing body language, tone of voice, eye contact and several other essential ingredients. Pretty much all we have are emoticons. And if you misuse those, guaranteed that’s going to get a reaction.
For example, anytime someone uses that rolly eyes emoticon, I (choose to) take that as a serious personal insult towards the person they are speaking to. If you stop and think for a moment about it
- imagine I was sitting in front of you and I said to you with a serious look on my face – I really liked this article.
- now imagine I was sitting in front of you and I rolled my eyes as I said to your face – I really liked this article.
But some people don’t think of the rolly eyes emoticon the same way I do, and they use them all over the place. Yet here I am reading that as insults every time they do it. That’s my choice. Guaranteed I won’t keep company with the people who use rolly eyes everywhere.
I don’t think you’ll like me saying it but if you’re seeing obviously fake appreciation, that’s your interpretation, just like my interpretation of the rolly eyes. Unless people are telling you that it’s fake?
How do you thank someone as much as they deserve in a text format? How do you truly show appreciation in a text format?
I guess my comment has more questions than answers.
Snoskred – has a new home at -
http://www.snoskred.org/
Bes,
From a customer service perspective, sometimes it isn’t beneficial to differentiate between the two at all. One time I walked into a Wal-Mart and was shocked when someone asked me if I needed help. It was the first time in years someone at Wal-Mart actually provided “customer service”, whether it was fake or not.
When I worked at Safeway, we were told that every customer we encountered was to be asked if they needed assistance. It didn’t matter how close apart the customers were. Did I want to ask all customers if they needed help? No, not really. But I did anyways. Sometimes reader appreciation is the same way.
I see where you’re coming from with this post. It’s like the CEO of a company telling his employees that he has an “open door” policy, yet you must approve an appointment with him through your supervisor and then through the CEO’s secretary. Not exactly an “open door” policy, now is it? That’s an example of fake appreciation, where one is giving the illusion that one is appreciating, but is actually quite far from it.