[QUOTE=Bosstone]
Never visit Australia.
[/QUOTE]
Especially not if it gets shortened to “no wuckin’ furries” (no kinky sex jokes please, I don’t know how else to spell it 
) and then to “No wuckers”.
Tends to be a blokey thing, but in a male environment like a mechanic’s workshop, you might hear “No wuckers”.
[QUOTE=Stainz]
I quickly scanned the thread, and I’m not sure if this possible reason has been suggested already.
Saying “no problem” has a negative implication, simply because the word “problem” has been said. It can leave a subliminal message in the listener’s mind because the word “problem” is what will be remembered.
I learned this in some sort of team-building communication type seminar. It makes sense to me but I’m not sure if I’m explaining it very well at this moment.
I personally don’t mind if people say it, but ever since that seminar it’s something I’ve tried to keep in mind as a potential turn-off.
[/QUOTE]
It sure as hell sounds like you learned that in a Team-Building, Spirit-Lifting, Communication-Focused Type of Seminar. [TM] No offence to you personally, but I think that’s just way over-analytical - in the Freedom Fries kind of way.
Yes, I work in customer service. Yes, the occasional “no problem” glitch out of me and yes, the only reason it’s not my standby response is because my cue-sheet reads “You’re welcome.” Which sucks, as the equivalent Norwegian phrase sounds awkward and fake.
To me, the “Thank you / You’re welcome” ritual gets stiff. One part proffers gratitude, the other part accepts it or dismisses it. You’re welcome implies that person saying it acknowledges the gratitude, de nada implies he’s dismissing it. Take your pick; mostly my guests hate to trouble me to do things outside what they’re paying for (like borrowing the telephone, having me prepare breakfast for early leavers a half-an-hour before breakfast is supposed to start, having me boil some water for tea after the breakfast is over, that kind of thing) and when they do, I usually reply with “No problem” to indicate that if I’ve got the time to do it, why not do something that makes time go by a little faster? I’ve experienced a lot of times that when I accept the gratitude, people see me as being a bit condescending or that I should have done this anyway, since they’re customers and we rely a lot upon repeat customers. I’ve also gotten a tip, for some reason, which I’m obliged to refuse. (I tell them that if they want to tip, leave it on the pillow for the maids. They sure as hell need it more than I do)
Who’s to say what’s right in this world. Like Duck Duck Goose wrote, the English language is changing. I use “no problem” all the time especially with my boss and he accepts it just fine. I think it may be how it’s said that determines the true meaning. I’ve had some pretty bad “Thank you’s” in my lifetime and welcome anything different that could relay the same meaning.
[QUOTE=Lust4Life]
I’ve no problem with no problem but I hate it when people in the service industrys with low self esteem cant say Thankyou because they find it demeaning and instead say"There you go".
[/QUOTE]
Maybe they just get bored saying the same thing day in day out to hundreds of people? Maybe because 90% of their customers don’t really get worked up when they don’t act servile enough?
So let me get this straight:
You hate it when waiters say ‘no problem’ because it’s an implicit acknowledgement they might have a problem with getting you water? You’re right, those assholes.
Personally, if i were to have surfs, then i’d like them to say ‘no problem’ much like, ‘with elation.’
Seriously, as a ritual for master-servant relationships (or menial-fast-food-worker vs guy-who-eats-at-mcdonald’s) it doesn’t seem like a bad idea. Especially if they have to do it with a smile and emphasize the ‘no’.
Now what we really need to do away with is the ‘thank you’.
[QUOTE=Alex_Dubinsky]
Now what we really need to do away with is the ‘thank you’.
[/QUOTE]
I think the Thais have this one nailed. Save the verbal thank yous and such for big events (you rescued me from a burning building? Thank you!), and for the shopping-type interactions, just smile a lot.