--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The poorest service is repaid with thanks." description: "\"The poorest service is repaid with thanks.\" — William Shakespeare" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/william-shakespeare-4_gratitude_the-poorest-service-is-repaid-with-thank_2555742.jpg" --- # The poorest service is repaid with thanks. ![“The poorest service is repaid with thanks.” quote by William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/william-shakespeare-4_gratitude_the-poorest-service-is-repaid-with-thank_2555742.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/william-shakespeare-4_gratitude_the-poorest-service-is-repaid-with-thank_2555742.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/william-shakespeare-4_gratitude_the-poorest-service-is-repaid-with-thank_2555742.jpg) > “The poorest service is repaid with thanks.” [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even the poorest service is valuable when met with gratitude. **In simple terms:** Thanks honor any service. Key Takeaway Show gratitude regardless of status. Themes gratitude humility service Mood respectful thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - customer service - volunteer work - team collaboration - family help Key Concepts social reciprocity class dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How does gratitude change power dynamics? - When do you express thanks most genuinely? A Different Perspective Gratitude may be insincere if forced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gratitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratitude/) [Poorest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poorest/) [Poorest Service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poorest-service-1559740/) [Repaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/repaid-973560/) [Repaid Thanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/repaid-thanks-1559741/) [Service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/service/) [Service Repaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/service-repaid-1559739/) [Thanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thanks/) ## Related quotes > [“Our basest beggars are in the poorest thing superfluous: Allow not nature more than nature needs, man's life is cheap as beast's.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/our-basest-beggars-are-in-the-poorest-thing-superfluous-allow-not/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Bitterness is repaid more often than kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/bitterness-is-repaid-more-often-than-kindness/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [Put God in your debt. Every stroke shall be repaid. The longer the payment is with-held, the better for you; for compound interest on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/put-god-in-your-debt-every-stroke-shall-be-repaid-the-longer-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I hope I have repaid Australia for the humanity it showed me, as it has shown to so many others over the years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-yu/i-hope-i-have-repaid-australia-for-the-humanity-it-showed-me-as-it/) [John Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-yu/) > [Debt is always repaid, either by the borrower or by the lender.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-grant/debt-is-always-repaid-either-by-the-borrower-or-by-the-lender/) [James Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-grant/) > [“Freedom is a gift that can never adequately be repaid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-r-ford/freedom-is-a-gift-that-can-never-adequately-be-repaid/) [S.R. Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-r-ford/) > [“I love what Jesus said in Luke 19:29-30: “Everyone who has given up house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/i-love-what-jesus-said-in-luke-19-29-30-everyone-who-has-given-up/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [No man ever did me so much good, or enemy so much harm, but I repaid him with interest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sulla/no-man-ever-did-me-so-much-good-or-enemy-so-much-harm-but-i-repaid/) [Sulla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sulla/) > [“She would but be repaid by my taking her to wife, and that I could not grant her, for love cometh of the heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-s-holland/she-would-but-be-repaid-by-my-taking-her-to-wife-and-that-i-could-not/) [Rupert S. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-s-holland/) > [“Ralph Waldo Emerson had this truth in mind when he said (in his essay on Compensation), “If you serve an ungrateful master, serve him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/ralph-waldo-emerson-had-this-truth-in-mind-when-he-said-in-his-essay/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [“You are necessary to that end, and to me...you are all I have of the garden. You are the image of me and of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tosca-lee/you-are-necessary-to-that-end-and-to-me-you-are-all-i-have-of-the/) [Tosca Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tosca-lee/) > [If grace is to be free - which is the very meaning of grace - we cannot view it as something to be repaid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/if-grace-is-to-be-free-which-is-the-very-meaning-of-grace-we-cannot/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [Investment in AIDS will be repaid a thousand-fold in lives saved and communities held together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-piot/investment-in-aids-will-be-repaid-a-thousand-fold-in-lives-saved-and/) [Peter Piot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-piot/) > [No friend ever served me, and no enemy ever wronged me, whom I have not repaid in full.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sulla/no-friend-ever-served-me-and-no-enemy-ever-wronged-me-whom-i-have-not/) [Sulla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sulla/) > [“A life for a life. All debts have to be repaid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-london/a-life-for-a-life-all-debts-have-to-be-repaid/) [Alex London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-london/) ## More by William Shakespeare > [Let us kill all lawyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/let-us-kill-all-lawyers/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [O tiger's heart wrapped in a woman's hide!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-tiger-s-heart-wrapped-in-a-woman-s-hide/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Divers philosophers hold that the lips is parcel of the mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/divers-philosophers-hold-that-the-lips-is-parcel-of-the-mouth/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Short time seems long in sorrow's sharp sustaining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/short-time-seems-long-in-sorrow-s-sharp-sustaining/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs; Being purg'd, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes; Being vex'd, a sea nourish'd with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/love-is-a-smoke-made-with-the-fume-of-sighs-being-purg-d-a-fire/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I, measuring his affections by my own, Which then most sought where most might not be found, Being one too many by my weary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-measuring-his-affections-by-my-own-which-then-most-sought-where/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Ask God for temp'rance. That's th' appliance only Which your disease requires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/ask-god-for-temp-rance-that-s-th-appliance-only-which-your-disease/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Thou hast no figures nor no fantasies Which busy care draws in the brains of men; Therefore thou sleep’st so sound. Julius Caesar (2.1.248-251)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/thou-hast-no-figures-nor-no-fantasies-which-busy-care-draws-in-the/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Truth needs no color; beauty, no pencil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/truth-needs-no-color-beauty-no-pencil/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Have you not heard it said full oft, A woman's nay doth stand for naught?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/have-you-not-heard-it-said-full-oft-a-woman-s-nay-doth-stand-for/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Omittance is no quittance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/omittance-is-no-quittance/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Yes, madam: yet I cannot choose but laugh, To think it should leave crying and say 'Ay.' And yet, I warrant, it had upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/yes-madam-yet-i-cannot-choose-but-laugh-to-think-it-should-leave/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I take thee at thy word: Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; Henceforth I never will be Romeo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-take-thee-at-thy-word-call-me-but-love-and-i-ll-be-new-baptized/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) [Explore all 5,604 William Shakespeare quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## More Gratitude quotes > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One can put some trust in the gratitude of a sovereign, and also in that of his family; under certain conditions, one can even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/one-can-put-some-trust-in-the-gratitude-of-a-sovereign-and-also-in/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [“A treacherous President stood in the way; and it can be easily seen how reluctant good men might be to admit an apostasy which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/a-treacherous-president-stood-in-the-way-and-it-can-be-easily-seen/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) [Adam Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ant/) > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [I listen to heavy metal thanks to my son. When I argue with him on the kind of music he is listening to, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeenat-aman/i-listen-to-heavy-metal-thanks-to-my-son-when-i-argue-with-him-on-the/) [Zeenat Aman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeenat-aman/) > [“Thanks for teaching us to talk. Thanks for teaching us to be of the world and in the world and to make our way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-isay/thanks-for-teaching-us-to-talk-thanks-for-teaching-us-to-be-of-the/) [Dave Isay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-isay/) > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I want to thank each and every one of you for having extinguished yourselves this session.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gib-lewis/i-want-to-thank-each-and-every-one-of-you-for-having-extinguished/) [Gib Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gib-lewis/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Be in a state of gratitude for everything that shows up in your life. Be thankful for the storms as well as the smooth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/be-in-a-state-of-gratitude-for-everything-that-shows-up-in-your-life/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [“Good Seeds! Gratitude is the Greatest Attitude that has no Substitute.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-kelvin-clive/good-seeds-gratitude-is-the-greatest-attitude-that-has-no-substitute/) [Bernard Kelvin Clive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-kelvin-clive/) > [Man has an almost infinite capacity for taking things and people for granted and thereby missing out on the pleasure of being grateful that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/man-has-an-almost-infinite-capacity-for-taking-things-and-people-for/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“and man, though idiotic, and knowing not what he does, yet full of the sweet things of love and gratitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/and-man-though-idiotic-and-knowing-not-what-he-does-yet-full-of-the/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) [Browse all 9,111 Gratitude quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratitude/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The poorest service is repaid with thanks.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Shakespeare" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/the-poorest-service-is-repaid-with-thanks/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Gratitude" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/the-poorest-service-is-repaid-with-thanks/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/william-shakespeare-4_gratitude_the-poorest-service-is-repaid-with-thank_2555742.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/william-shakespeare-4_gratitude_the-poorest-service-is-repaid-with-thank_2555742.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/william-shakespeare-4_gratitude_the-poorest-service-is-repaid-with-thank_2555742.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The poorest service is repaid with thanks.” — William Shakespeare", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "William Shakespeare", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The poorest service is repaid with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/the-poorest-service-is-repaid-with-thanks/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/the-poorest-service-is-repaid-with-thanks/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```