Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Répondez S'il Vous Plaît

More commonly known as "Respondez S'il Vous Plait" or, simply, "RSVP." When did it become acceptable to ignore an invitation with the assumption that you are either too important to respond, or that the host or hostess will call you to confirm your attendance or absence? After recently planning a bridal shower I was astounded to find that less than half of the invitees responded to me at all. I was left to call everyone else on the list and badger them for their answer. And while this may be acceptable behavior if the invitation states "Regrets only" or "Acceptances only" this was not the case. Not to mention with the lack of responses at all how can one rely that their responses are a true figure of the regrets or accepts only?

There was a time when if you received a written invitation, you would sit down and reply, in writing to that person with your response, things have modernized these days to include emails, telephone calls, and pre-printed and stamped response cards, and yet, with all of these "modern conveniences" the response is still dismal. It is not the host or hostess' job to track you down and beg you to attend his or her soirée, so, ladies and gentleman, please, take to your pens, your computers, your telephones, your mobiles, and please, Répondez S'il Vous Plaît!

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