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I want to ask a question politely to the client. What is the best way to say it?

Could you please let me know when you want to go to a bus station?

Do you think it is a correct way to say it?

FumbleFingers
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    I think either "Could you" or "Can you" will work. "Could you", however, may be a more polite form of addressing. – Alexander Mar 19 '17 at 15:07
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    I'd be slightly more inclined to use *can* if I assumed the client himself already knew what time he wanted to go (i.e. - if I was expected him to give me an answer right now, at time of asking). Because *could* is a more "distancing" form (past tense of can* = not here/now/present)* it seems more appropriate if I'm asking him to let me know later (by implication, as soon as possible once he himself either finds out or decides). But they're both fine, and for most purposes they're equivalent. – FumbleFingers Mar 19 '17 at 17:37
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    I agree with FumbleFingers; I feel like "could you" would be almost too polite and create (un)wanted pressure. I would just say, "Please let me know when you want to go to the bus station." But note that politeness and manners (and over-politeness) are very cultural, so it would help us to know the background of the client, but at the same time, you may just have to wing it and test the waters. – Teacher KSHuang Mar 20 '17 at 09:33
  • Could you please ...? could be an unfortunate choice (though YMMV). For more details, see this answer: Using “please” when assigning tasks – Damkerng T. Mar 22 '17 at 20:01
  • Some of these comments would make good answers. – Jasper Mar 23 '17 at 20:24
  • @Fumble could you please turn that into an answer? This isn't closable as a duplicate now that it has a bounty. – M.A.R. Mar 24 '17 at 08:26
  • @M.A.R.: There's no bounty here, so since we've had quite a few questions on the specific matter of Could/Can you please... I've just picked one to cite as a duplicate. I might have answered if OP here had edited to clarify the context as raised in my comment (does the request expect a response immediately, or later?). But he/she hasn't returned since asking, so I'm not really inclined to engage with it. – FumbleFingers Mar 24 '17 at 12:42
  • @Fumble oh well, it did have a bounty but it was awarded by the time you got to read my comment. Voting to close now. – M.A.R. Mar 24 '17 at 12:44

1 Answers1

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I am a native British English speaker. If you said to me, "Could you please let me know when you want to go to a bus station?" I would not be offended but the tone of your voice would be very important in the message you are communicating as this could sound like a demand.

If you missed out say "Could you" it would sound less formal and less likely to be misinterpreted. "Let me know when you want to go to the bus station" sounds slightly better to me, but to improve it further explain what you will do when they let you know. For example, "Let me know when you want to go to the bus station and I'll telephone for a taxi" or "Let me know when you want to go to the bus station and I'll ask to butler to drive you"

RedPython
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  • I am not an expert on the English language and have no formal qualifications English. I offer my advice as a native British English speaker. I believe the advice of an untrained English speaker can sometimes be beneficial – RedPython Mar 24 '17 at 09:15