Comments on: "We" vs. "They"

By: Lisa Junker

Lisa Junker — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 15:09:25 +0000

I doubt they’re actually trained to do it–I think it’s an instinctive human sort of thing. “No, really, I’m on your side. Don’t be mad at me, be mad at someone else who isn’t here right now.” …

By: Wes Trochlil

Wes Trochlil — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 20:00:08 +0000

Lisa, interesting point about the customer service person. If they were actually trained to do this, I would be appalled. That would be pretty devious.

By: Lisa Junker

Lisa Junker — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 18:42:00 +0000

I definitely agree with you that calling your organization “they” can be a sign of disaffection or lack of team spirit. I think it’s also sometimes used to create a sense of camaraderie between a customer service person and an angry customer. “They” are the bad guys, but I will do my best to help you.

I’ve actually been thinking about this issue myself … because right now I use “we” to refer both to my current association and the one where I worked previously. I’m sure that my former coworkers find it a little annoying when I say “we” about an association where I no longer work! But after seven years there, it’s really hard for me not to having a “we” feeling about the very wonderful people there, even as I also have a “we” feeling about the wonderful people here.