As you probably know the English are generally enormously polite and back in 2008 I commented on this lovely soft way of advising parking restrictions…
When I saw this polite traffic notice in London it made me think that perhaps soft words would work better than normal authoritarian instructions like “No Parking”. Maybe it’d be an idea to review the instructions you give customers, clients and patients to see whether you could put stuff they need to know in softer terms.
So, recently, when I saw this sign on a small snack van explaining why they wouldn’t be able to help with change for car parking I was enormously impressed. It follows that lovely approach of “giving reasons why” which is always a great way of getting a message across.
Mind you I’m not sure that people desperate for car park change would take the time to read it before asking but it does give the van operator a nice way of saying “no”. They can just say “sorry” and refer them to the sign.
The point for us to take away is that courtesy and politeness cost nothing and can be applied in any situation.
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