This article reviews Klaus P. Schneider's (2005) cross-varietal analysis of responses to thanks in Ireland, England, and the U.S.A., now based on natural data collected via Labovian-style fieldwork. Results underline the existence of regional variation in the use of this speech act in spontaneous real-life interaction, and proposes the term imbalance reducer after thanks (IRAT) as a more fit name for the speech act of responding to thanks.