Recently I have heard a couple people around the office say how they can’t stand it when someone answers a “Thank you” with “No problem!” rather than “you’re welcome” or etc. An example given was asking a server for water or the check: “No problem I’ll bring it right out”.
It got me to thinking how often I say this myself! I’ve put a little note on my desk to try to remind me to not say this so much but I’m finding I’m not very successful so far. I seem to say it as a gut response to a “Thanks”.
I’ve found there are a few instances where the “No problem” response fits:
Someone politely interrupts me to ask a question…something along the lines of, “Do you mind taking a look at this to see if I’ve done it right?” My response would be “No problem, I’ll take a look”.
Or someone might say, “I’m sorry to ask you to do this, but I need your help”…I might respond, “No problem, what can I do?”
In these instances the person is asking me to make an exception to what I would normally be doing, so it would maybe be a problem for someone else, but for me it’s “No Problem”.
But I can see where “No problem” is just not the right response to a “Thank you” or to a request for something you should be doing anyway.
In Spanish, the usual response to Gracias (thank you) is De Nada (It’s nothing). No problem is just the English version of that. I don’t see why this is annoying.
“Fuck you, you insufferable prick” - now, that would be a pet peeve response
I say “No problem” all the time. I don’t see why anyone should have a problem with “no problem”. Some people seem to go out of their way to look for reasons to get offended or annoyed. :rolleyes:
“You’re welcoem” and “No problem” are, to me, both just arbitrary social rituals. They’re both just a way of saying “I heard your thank you and I am acknowledging it in an effort to be polite”. I guess I see it as much like the phrase “How are you?” - people just use it as a ritualized way of saying “I have noticed you are in the vicinity and I am acknowledging you”, and aren’t truly asking how you are really doing. The wording really doesn’t mean anything; it’s the intent of the ritual.
I see no reason to be uptight about the terminology used for our little polite rituals.
I’ve thought about this a little more. When these highly offended cow-orkers say “Thank you”, just point at them with two index fingers, give an exagerrated wink, make a clicking noise with your mouth, and say “right back atcha”.
They’ll be happy to hear “no problem” going forward.
But it’s not about believing them. It’s about accepting the response. If someone tells you ‘it’s not a problem’ then they are freeing you from the guilt of having caused them a problem whether it is a problem or not.
Edit: In the context of people asking me to do something I am being honest when I say ‘not a problem’. If it is a problem then I won’t say that.
In the context of replying to ‘thanks’ I will say ‘no problem’ because it is more informal than ‘you’re welcome’ and in my culture being formal is rather old-fashioned/out of fashion.
Just to clarify, it doesn’t annoy me, but I’ve heard enough people around me lately saying that it’s a pet peeve of theirs that I’ve been more self concious of saying it.
I agree with most people here that it is a casual response in the along the same lines as “You got it!” or “Anytime”, etc. in response to “Thanks!”
I’m just wondering why my co-workers are so uptight about it!
I like “No problem.” It kinda makes it feel like someone would’ve helped whether it was required of them or not, because they don’t see it regardless of any big deal.
And for the record, I say it and “You’re welcome.” both.
I use “No problem” when people are a little too thankful for a favor or if it’s something the favoree might think is a big inconvenience to me. I usually say “Oh, it’s no problem”. Usually I use “You’re welcome”.
“No problem” catches my ear in a funny way. In the sense of its literal content, it’s the same as saying “I did it without minding or resenting doing so”. When somebody who is waiting tables says that to me after I thank them for bringing something, it usually crosses my mind that I was already presumptive on the point that they would not mind or resent bringing the item, that they had knowingly sought out a job in which they would regularly and frequently bring items to customers. Having them tell me that I didn’t invoke their anger or disapproval by requesting food at a restaurant just seems bizarre.
But, of course, people haven’t been saying “no problem” in the place of “you’re welcome” for very long. When they are doing it in an automatic way, they don’t mean to react in a bizarre way to thanks.
Now, in some situation where there might actually have been a problem, it’s more meaningful. Calling a friend for a ride in an emergency, for instance, could be putting them out, which maybe sometimes you still kind of have to do. But if they weren’t busy and already needed to run an errand over this way anyhow, it’s gratifying to hear that it was no problem.
