When is it appropriate to use　ごくろうさま?


I've seen お疲れさま and ご[苦労]{くろう}さま used to say "Thank you" after some had done
work of some type. After reading the お疲れさま thread, I realize that the two are
not interchangeable. So when do you use ご[苦労]{くろう}さま?

[When is it appropriate to use
otsukaresama?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/1158/when-is-it-
appropriate-to-use-%E3%81%8A%E7%96%B2%E3%82%8C%E6%A7%98-otsukaresama)




( _First, a note:_ because there is a ご at the beginning of ごくろうさま, that お〜 is
actually not there. :)

I've most often heard ご苦労様{くろうさま} used by people older than myself, when I
have done something for the person (or in some way have helped the person,)
using that phrase. (Besides age, this could also happen in a business
situation, where a senior worker is speaking to a junior worker.)

For reference, more information can be found in the following article:
[御苦労様](http://d.hatena.ne.jp/tinuyama/20060727).




( _First, a note:_ because there is a ご at the beginning of ごくろうさま, that お〜 is
actually not there. :)

I've most often heard ご苦労様{くろうさま} used by people older than myself, when I
have done something for the person (or in some way have helped the person,)
using that phrase. (Besides age, this could also happen in a business
situation, where a senior worker is speaking to a junior worker.)

For reference, more information can be found in the following article:
[御苦労様](http://d.hatena.ne.jp/tinuyama/20060727).

