Here's an interesting question that I'm hoping people will think long and hard about…
The folks in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's "Vent" section somehow think that saying "no problem" is something of a social faux pas when using it in response to some polite praise. For instance…
"Thank you for helping me with this problem. I really appreciate it."
"No problem."
Or something like…
"Thank you for slaving over a hot stove to cook that meal. It was great!"
"No problem."
Apparently to some people, saying "no problem" in response to polite praise is like saying to those people "bite me".
Now I deal with customer service calls all of the time. I say "no problem" when people thank me for helping them out of a tight situation, which is pretty much what I do. For me "no problem" is short for "it's really no extra effort needed to resolve this problem of yours because this is what I do for a living. My whole purpose of drawing a paycheck is to help answer your questions and get you through this kind of a problem."
But I can understand why some folks would feel like saying "no problem" is sort of a brush-off. Honest gratitude is something of a rarity nowadays. Trying to get people to simply say "thank you" is pretty much a hassle. The least we can do is to acknowledge that gratitude with something more than just a casual statement like "no problem".
I'm going to try to refrain from saying "no problem" and instead respond with a polite "you're welcome" or some other social nicety and see if there's a difference. Probably won't be, but I'm just curious if anyone else has any thought on this.
What do you think? Is saying "no problem" a brush-off, a turn-off, or a kiss-off? Please post your replies in the comments section.
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1 comment:
"No problem" is NOT a substitute for "Thank you". I feel it really is a sort of "brush off", and it acknowledges help or assistance without the more personal use of "thank you". It might mean more between friends who are jointly working together on something and one goes out of their way to provide additional help, but it's just way too overused, especially in everyday communication between strangers. Although, however, I must note that it is very common and acceptable and taken as meant with gratitude in Hispanic cultures, where the response to "Gracia" is often responded to with "No problema" or "Por nada" (it is nothing) which are both meant to be polite and thankful responses. With more and more Hispanic culture mixing with the American, just as there must be at least 2 Mexican restaurants in EVERY shopping center, perhaps it is simply the continual evolution of our language. It changes constantly. Just ask anyone from England who comes over to visit, LOLOL. ( Of course, they have their OWN slang over there to contend with!) Seems like it's usually the kids who are constantly picking up new phrases to use to differentiate them from their parents, so now we have everybody saying "My bad" which the kids picked up from sports figures, instead of "Sorry, I did that wrong."
My personal pet peeve with everyday conversation these days is the use of "I need you to....." by everyone from nurses to salespeople to checkout cashiers, as though what THEY need is the reason for what's going on. How many times do you enter a doctor's office, only to be told by the person at the front desk, as she hands you a ream of papers to fill out "**I** need you to complete...etc" When you use your credit card, the clerks all say (as if you didn't realize you would need to sign for the item) "I need you to sign this..." What IS all this, from service people, telling us what THEY need? What happened to "Good morning. Will you please fill out this..." or "Thank you and will you please sign here?"
Language is reflective of the times, and these subtle changes all seem to point to a greater distancing between people, partly, I think, due to the elevation of youth to the point where they feel that the universe is here for their amusement. It's all about what *they* "need". After all, just look at the TV shows, clothing and advertising all geared to their demographics. How much hoopla goes on about American Idol? Their secret code words are soon picked up by their parents, trying to sound as cool as the kids.
Uh, did I just say "cool" ?? ;-)
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