I have noticed that lately I say “no problem” a lot instead of “you’re welcome”.
I don’t work in retail but sometimes I do something small as a favor for a client and they thank me like I went out of my way to do a huge favor for them. To me saying “no problem” has been my way of saying that it was no problem, the favor wasn’t that big and it didn’t incomvenience me at all.
If the cashier said it to me I would take it as a casual, more friendly version of “you’re welcome”. Too me it is used to say that there is no need to thank me for such a small thing. I think “my pleasure” might work better.
I don’t think “no problem” is a bad response–I encounter it a lot, but I do live in a college town–between young people, at least, it’s considered a respectful response equivalent to “you’re welcome.”
Having said that, blatant rudeness is problematic. I’ve worked retail jobs and can vouch for how dehumanizing and oppressive they can be-but the way I see it, employees don’t check in their basic humanity when they put on their grocery smocks. If you’re a decent human being, you’re going to treat other human beings–who in this case happen to be customers–with respect. If you hate your job, you’re going to feel ill will toward the bosses, multimillion dollar corporations, and others who perpetuate the system of treating employees as expendable and worthless – BUT, you’re going to know the customer has fuck-all to do with that and treat them with respect because that is what decent human beings do.
I feel like you may be overlooking something here. Ideally, capitalism (as best I understand it) is based on the idea of fair trade-- meaning you give them something and they give you something and you both walk away having in essence both contributed to one anothers’ personal well-being. So you would owe them a thank you just as much as they would owe you one, right?
First of all, I think “no problem” is a common enough substitute for “you’re welcome” that the OP is getting all worked up over nothing. A little odd in this context, but it may have just been a reflexive response, kind of like saying “you too” when an airline employee tells you to enjoy your flight.
Second of all, as a society we have decided that cheap stuff is more important than customer service. Which is why we patronize Walmart and Best Buy while stores with trained salespeople go out of business. You can demand great customer service all you want on general principle, but until you’re willing to put your money where your mouth is, it’s not going to make much difference.
I agree. I also agree that I don’t need to be thanked for my patronage of a store. I think that’s stupid, in fact. The transaction has been completed; I obtained goods I want/need and the store gets cash in return. Nobody need thank anyone here. And, really, I don’t want to be the recipient of false sentiment. What’s to be won by someone offering you a ‘thank you’ when, as Dio points out, that person is hardly the recipient of the beneift of your almighty patronage.
Now, if you were to wish to make a case that the shareholders ought to stand at the doors and thank you or that the CEO ought do so, you might gain a yea from me but not on this.
I also love people who rant and rave and froth about the mouth about other humans who do the same thing. Everybody has a bad day. Everybody can be set off (apparently, some far more easily than others) and that you happen to encounter someone who’s not the image of joy and perfection at that moment does not mean the person is habitually rude. It means at the moment you encounter them they may not be doing that great.
Unless you, yourself, have never ever snapped at anyone unnecessarily (and I have trouble believing that anyone has ever been that saintly), you haven’t a right to assume malice on the part of the other person.
Me, I’ve been on both sides of the counter. Whenever I’ve encountered an irate person, I make it my goal to turn them around and consider it a ‘win’ when I leave them smiling.
People who walk about constantly being enraged about how the rest of the world offends them are just gonna die off quicker since anger is bad for the system. My point; you might want to chill. Give the other guy the break you yourself will want someday.
I know who you can blame for the fall in civility. Me, and all the other baby boomers. I was brought up to say “please” and “thank you” and don’t find it any burden. I thank shop assistants when they give me my purchase or hand me my change. If I am handed something at work or at home - a cup of coffee, a fax or anything else I will thank the person handing it to me. If the shop assistant says, “Have a nice day,” I either say “Thank you,” or “You too.”
My sons are both very nice, cheerful and helpful young men but I noticed recently that they don’t do that. If I cook a meal, pour them a drink or get them a snack they will just take it and start consuming it. A few weeks ago when I saw my mother she complained that my elder son never bothers to call them to acknowledge the money he receives for Xmas and birthdays.
Thinking about it after that I realised that I had consciously tried to avoid being like my parents. I had tried to be more “laid back”. My kids got away with saying stuff to me that I would never have dreamed of saying to my parents. And while they learned lots of good behaviours by example, they probably never learned much about “thank you”. I never insisted they say it and they rarely did anything that warranted me saying it to them.
There was a thread a while ago that led me to start observing the interactions of people with the staff that are serving them and the results were far from pleasant. I am amazed at how many people can go through a checkout without exchanging a single word with the person serving them. Even when the well trained staff member provides all the obligatory pleasantries. So I am not at all sure who is making life hell for who.
I know I say “no problem” after a transaction because it wasn’t a problem. I was doing my job. I couple it with a “have a good day/night/weekend” etc. though. And it is said in a cheery manner. I think it sounds odd for the cashier to say “you’re welcome” in response to a “thank you” that was given after a routine and troubleless transaction. To me, “no problem” sounds like the cashier was meaning “you did not make my job harder and you were a nice customer so I am saying this in thanks to you” not as a rude remark.
I think getting a thank you at the end of my purchases is a nice way to end the transaction. However, I will not be at an uproar about it because I didn’t receive one. Being upset to the point of ranting on a message board about not receiving the proper plesantries is indeed evidence of “high expectations”, IMO.
You have a very odd interpretation of the meaning of “no problem.” I can sort of see how you ame to that belief, but I am pretty sure that you are mistaken, (particularly in light of parallel constructions such as “Don’t mention it” that are definitely considered polite).
At this point, however, the phrase “no problem” has already become a reflexive response–just as “you’re welcome” is–that is simply the collection of syllables uttered in a particular social context. Unless someone goes out of their way to say, “Oh, you are very welcome. I was happy to do it.” there is pretty much no thought invested in the expression of either the phrase “you’re welcome” or the phrase “no problem.” This does not mean that the people are rudely reciting stock phrases, it simply means that courtesy, the “lubricant” of “social activity” has a certain number of rote expressions. The person expressing thanks is being genuinely courteous, s/he has simply grabbed a different stock phrase to express that courtesy.
I usually say thank you in return to a retail thank you. It is a two-way street. They hand my stuff to me, provided a service or possibly helped me find an item…whatever. A return “thank you” or a “you’re welcome” are both acceptable. “No problem” is annoying but I guess it’s a new world where words no longer mean what they used to. That’s cool. But a clerk should thank a customer.
Oh fercrissakes…can’t you read? Civil pleasantries are not high expectations no matter how pissed off I am. It’s not about my reaction…it’s about YOUR lack of manners. I said it was a mild rant and that I’m annoyed. The fact that so many of you feel that it’s ok to not greet customers, to grunt when spoken to, or omit a thank you is fucking depressing.
And far superior to ‘uh huh’ that was, for too long, the response to ‘thank you’ - at least there. I never heard it here but did on my visits or phone calls to service people there.
I think your problem was in thanking the clerk first. They must have mistakenly thought you were expressing appreciation for how they did their jobs, rather than simply giving them an opening to express their admiration for your patronage and overall gentility.
I think in the future you should make it clearer by just saying “Well?!?”
Dio, no one is saying that the employee should be fired or the manager should be spoken to because the cashier chose the wrong response to “thank you.” You seem to have this “anything goes” type of attitude when it comes to customer service. I’ve seen it in multiple threads. Almost like us customers should be thanking our lucky stars that the almighty retail drone is willing to complete our transaction and should be grateful for even a hint of politeness.
I worked in customer service for a long time. Throughout that time, I did my best to be friendly and helpful. I also got abused a lot by obnoxious customers. However, asshole customers do not justify asshole employees. Even having gone through what I did in the customer service industry, when I get a sullen or rude cashier now, I get pissed because I don’t feel that I need to treated with distain for making them do their jobs.
Some examples: One time I went through the line at a grocery store and did not get a single word from the cashier through the entire transaction. Not even to tell me how much I owed! I know she had a voice because I heard her speaking to a co-worker before she began my transaction. When she handed me back my change I gave a very sarcastic “your welcome!” before I walked away. One other time I was second in line at the grocery store. The person checking out was another employee. The cashier was going at a ridiculously slow pace while chit chatting with the employee. After the transaction was finished, they continued to chit chat for another couple of minutes while I was standing there waiting to be cashed through. When the employee/customer finally left, the cashier began to scan my groceries without a word. No apology, not even a greeting.
In my opinion there is no excuse for the above behavior. I don’t care how much the cashier is being paid. So, would a complaint to the manager be justified in those situations, or would I be asking for my ass to be kissed?
Your cite that my interpretation is odd is yourself? :dubious: I don’t think I have a “very odd” interpretation. “No problem” is short for “It wasn’t a problem.” Clearly, it wasn’t a problem for the buyer under any circumstances, so it further means “It wasn’t a problem [for me, the clerk, to do it].” This is not the same as “Please don’t mention it” or “De nada,” both of which minimize the work involved and imply a thank you is not even necessary (“oh, it was nothing”). And in never said “no problem” was impolite; I said it wasn’t really the proper response to “thank you” IMO, as for that matter IMO “don’t mention it” isn’t either. But I don’t believe it is accurate to say “no problem” means “you’re welcome.”
I understand this. The question is whether it is an appropriate reflexive response. As Kalhoun pointed out, a grunt is also frequently the “reflexive response” to “thank you” – as for that matter is the belief, legitimately held by some, that no response at all is necessary or should be expected. I disagree with this, obviously. Do I get my knickers in a twist if someones says “No problem?” No. But it is not IMO the ideal response because it sounds apathetic and does not convey to me the equivalent of “you’re welcome” or “thank you” that I think is reasonably expected. IOW, “no problem” may not be discourteous, but it’s not particularly courteous, either. When I hear it, I don’t consider it akin to “you’re welcome,” I consider it akin to “whatever.”
As Ice Wolf observed, “no worries” is very common and universally accepted in places like Australia and New Zealand. Before i moved to the US, i don’t think i had ever actually used the words “you’re welcome” after being thanked for something. Not because i’m impolite, but because it’s not very commonly used where i come from. It always struck me as a very American locution.
Sure, we Aussies and Kiwis know what “you’re welcome” means, and some folks even use it. And we see it enough on TV shows and movies too. But it’s not really the default phrase, at least not in my experience. Depending on the level of formality in the situation, i would hear terms “no trouble” or “no problem” or “no worries” most of the time.
While “you’re welcome” still seems to be the most commonly used phrase here in America, things like “no problem” are quite common. For me, it matters less what the specific words are than the manner in which they are delivered. Believe me, i’ve run across some people who can make “you’re welcome” sound like a mortal insult.
When I worked retail, I never found that “Thanks for shopping at (insert name here)” rolled off my tongue as naturally as “Have a nice day.” I had no idea that despite the fact I gave great customer service, greeted customers in a friendly manner and never grunted when spoken to did not make up for failing to say “Thank you for gracing our humble store.” :rolleyes:
One of the most informative experiences of my life was taking translation class and watching 20 people argue for 90 minutes over the meaning of a four-line paragraph. There is a great deal more to semantics than people realize, I think. Put thirty people in a room and you’ll likely get that many variations in nuance over the definition of any word or phrase.
I guess I’m one of those people who has basically nothing invested emotionally in a retail transaction at Target or the supermarket. Whether the people say “hello” or “goodbye,” “thank you” or “no problem” is a matter of indifference to me. Most of my transactions are in fact wordless, and it would never occur to me to complain to a manager about it. Civility is contextual, and in that particular shopping context, it’s understood by both parties that you’re just getting some household necessities for what you hope is the cheapest price. It’s not a lawn party.
