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By Soo Kim
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A post about a person receiving an unexpectedly heartwarming response after asking their neighbor to lower the volume late at night has gone viral on Reddit.
The post, shared by Reddit user u/operarose, has gone viral, amassing 84,000 upvotes on the subreddit r/MadeMeSmile since it was posted on February 10.
The caption of the post read: "Had to get out of bed and go ask the upstairs neighbor (whom I've never actually met) to turn it down at about 12:30 am this morning. Found this outside my door when I woke up."
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Attached to the post was an image of a note left by the upstairs neighbor, placed next to a bottle of wine. The note read: "I got too carried away watching recaps from the Superbowl and realized how loud my TV was. I'm so sorry for not being considerate with the volume. In positive news, the cookies you made for Christmas were amazing. Please allow me to return the favor."
Etiquette expert Jo Hayes told Newsweek that the resolution in the viral Reddit post was an ideal example of how neighborly disagreements should be handled.
"This positive outcome absolutely makes my heart sing. As an etiquette expert, I hold this up as Example A of healthy, successful human interactions and conflict resolution. This is the gold standard of how noise complaints should be dealt with and resolved."
Disputes over noise are among the most common conflicts in shared living spaces. A September 2017 survey by market research firm OnePoll, conducted for Homes.com, found that noise was the top reason Americans argued with their neighbors. The study also revealed that one in four Americans had an ongoing feud with a neighbor, while 36 percent had been involved in full-blown arguments over disputes.
'Clear Communication Is Key'
Hayes emphasized that "clear communication is key" when handling sensitive situations such as the scenario highlighted in the Reddit post.
"At all times, in all things, we all do well to abide by the golden rule—'do unto others as you would have them do unto you.' It is this golden rule that allows all human interactions to flourish smoothly and successfully."
Hayes pointed out that even small acts of kindness—such as the Christmas cookies mentioned in the note—can foster goodwill among neighbors.
"Acts of kindness like this help to build positive relationships with neighbors, which help set the tone for more congenial interactions in the future. It helps set the tone for better outcomes when challenging situations like noise complaints arise."
She also applauded the upstairs neighbor's handling of the situation.
"I applaud the upstairs neighbor for the perfect response to this complaint. A clear, sincere apology is necessary, and he did exactly this. Plus a kind word about the Christmas cookies. Plus a gift, as a token gesture of said apology, is the icing on the cake. This would have flooded the downstairs neighbor with warm fuzzies. Good vibes all around."
'Insane'
The unexpectedly kind gesture struck a chord with Reddit users, many of whom were amazed by the neighbor's consideration and praised the interaction as a rare example of neighborly goodwill.
U/boyfromOR commented: "There are good people in the world!"
Another user, u/WriterV, pointed out how rare it is to see such a simple and considerate response, saying: "It's insane just how hard it is to find people who can just be considerate and move on. Too many people double down and get into an endless war."
Other users reflected on how small acts of kindness can lead to positive neighborly relationships.
U/FawnZebra4122 wrote: "It's wild how some people will go out of their way to help just because of a good relationship."
U/Hot_Baker4215 summed it up with: "This is how you neighbor."
U/One-little-pig praised both individuals involved, saying: "Congratulations to both of you for spontaneously demonstrating how to adult. This is how all interactions should be, with each taking responsibility and no one getting butt-hurt that they were having their rights curtailed. I wish we were seeing more of it..."
Others were simply surprised by such a display of civility, with u/anonlgf saying: "I miss civilized society, I didn't realize people were still this considerate these days."
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via the Reddit messaging system.
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