Do you get more respect being nice or being abrupt and straight to the point?

Question

For example if something broke that you bought, and you were returning it to a store for a refund

Answer 1

Nice. Ever heard the phrase "you catch more flies with honey"? It holds true in every aspect of our lives. You can be nice and to the point. You don't have to be a *****.

Answer 2

Depends on the person doing the 'respecting.' Some people respect a jerk... maybe because they are jerks? WHen returning something to a store, resort to being pushy and abrupt only after your niceness and charm get you nowhere. If you ask to speak to a superviser at this point, usually that's all it takes. Never take cr@p from store clerks who try to 'lord' it over you because they can. But always give them the benefit of the doubt first -- usually they only want to help! :-)

Blessings

Answer 3

It all depends on the person. If your talking to someon who is arrogant and hard headed you might want to be abrupt to get your point across. If its a little child who reacts upon other emotions you might want to be kind and gentle so that the kis will appropiately respond to you. If your doing business with someone who is very serious you want to get straight to the point. It all about the person. This is why when you meet somebody you feel them out inorder to see how you should approach them in certian situations. You might approach your mom in a different way than you approach you friend.

Answer 4

Being nice straight and to the point is good..who said you cant do it all..no need to be a *****..just be respectful and you'll get it back..well your should unless your dealing with a *****..then you got to give to them straight..

Answer 5

for that particular example..... be nice at first, if they start to screw you over then you become mean.... forget about being straight to the point... tell them you will report them to the better business bureau... customer service is at an all time low... no one smiles anymore when they scan your stuff.. if you have a question they act as if y oure interuppting their gossiping... ugh

Answer 6

Be polite, but don't let the customer service person push you around.

Stand your ground, and let them know - in a nice way - that you're not going to accept defective merchandise.

Answer 7

I would start being friendly with the patront then say your bummmed that such and such broke and you know it's not there fault..talk to them as if they were a buddy whom you can relate to rather than someone whose doing you a favor...

Answer 8

both....it depends on the person that you are talking to.
If i broke it after i bought, it i would not return it because then it was my responsibility.
But if i bought it then found out someting was broken i would return it. But always inspect objects before you buy.

Answer 9

Unfortunately, being blunt probably gets you more respect, but I believe that courtesy is important even though in today's world people will percieve it as weakness.

Answer 10

i repsect those who are straight forward and honest. may not always be pleasurable but at least you can't downplay their honesty. but in this day and age i think it would be considered "too mean" and "arrogant" to act that way. people nowadays like to have their egos stroked regardless of whether or not they are right or wrong. people just want to feel better and be around those who feel better.