Do you say Thank You?

After retiring from the Air Force I owned and operated a small retail business. One day a young lady was hanging around the counter, just observing. Of course I had to ask what she was doing; she was doing a research paper and observing the language patrons used when placing orders. Well I started paying closer attention and realized "give me" or "I want" were used much more often than "please" as the first words for ordering. Now I never place an order without putting a please in somewhere.
As for questions from Audiogon members, I think very rarely has my correspondence ended without a courteous farewell.

Ah, I do miss the good old days when etiquette and common courtesy were the rule of the day. I also was raised to be well-mannered. Lots of please, thank you, you're welcome, yes sir, yes ma'am. Table manners were also of the utmost importance. We actually used to eat regular meals together as a family. Do families do this anymore? I try to be considerate in my e-mails and usually say not only thank you or you're welcome, but have a great day or weekend. By the way,Grant. Have a great weekend. Happy St. Patrick's day as well. Give my regards to the family and happy listening.

I'd settle for correct spelling and grammar ;--) but this reminds me of an incident that took place in Filenes Basement (department store) in Boston. A customer, a woman, took an armload of merchandise up to the cashier who folded it nicely, packed it all in bags, swiped the woman's credit card, and handed her the receipt -- all WITHOUT A WORD, SMILE, OR EYE CONTACT.

As the woman gathered up her purchases, she turned to the salesgirl and said, "A 'thank you' would be nice . . ." to which the salesgirl replied, without missing a beat, "It's printed on ya receipt!"
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I've almost always been thanked for responding to questions, and I sure hope I've remembered to thank everybody I've asked questions of. But here's the real question, perhaps: If you get a query, answer it, and then get a thank you in reply, should the etiquette be that you then have to send the final email saying "You're welcome"?...

There's been a few more responses since I piped in yesterday. First, I'm with all who are annoyed at the folks who don't include even a first name (or puncuation for that matter). Second, the only people who really spark a hair on my neck to start on fire ( for lack of courtesy) are those who refuse to even acknowledge my presence when I hold open a door. I hold doors consistently for others (looking to see if anyone is behind me is standard in exiting a building), often waiting a minute or so for elderly. A nod or quick thanks happen about 75% but some people just act "entitled" to my act and ignore me completly.