Observing Boundaries Between The Lines

[plumtreeblossom]

I'm sitting here thinking about when a reply in e-mail or voicemail is concluded with "Hope this helps."

What it usually really means is "This is absolutely all I'm going to do for you on this matter, do not ask anything additional of me regarding it, do not even CC me on your continued search for a solution because I have no further assistance to offer you."

EXAMPLE:

Q: "Hey, would you have a list of every Indian restaurant in the city, with addresses, phone numbers, and websites? I'm planning a tasting tour for some friends. I think there are like 40."

A: "I have the websites for 3, attached in a spreadsheet. Hope this helps."

Comments

[epilimnion.livejournal.com]

I use and interpret "hope this helps" more literally as well. Sometimes when I use it, it's with an implication of "this is the best I can do for you right now, hope it helps." Over the years, I've become better at being more straightforward about my limits when someone asks me to do a long involved task that I don't have the time or resources available for. I directly ask about deadlines and let the person know how long it would take me.