No one is arguing that “No problem” means “Oh, I’m just doing my job”. Those who support its use think that it is synonymous with “You’re welcome”. I happen to think that it implies that doing one’s job might conceivably be a problem, but not in this case. In your scenario, which is quite different than the OP, the people approaching you are implying that they are asking you for something special, and you are reassuring them that they are not. It’s part of the social dance, the way that we get along with our fellow employees.
In the OP, on the other hand, the implication is that asking someone to do something that they are being paid for (such as running a cash register and giving correct change) is an incovenience that the employee is magnanimously willing to overlook when they say “No problem”.
Goshawmighty! No need to use all the straw in that scarecrow! At one point did I ever refer to or imply that service employees were inferiors or serfs, or that I was better? I know that I did state that I have been employed in any number of minimum wage positions, both service and non-service. And I still work in a position where courtesy is paramount. Try reading for comprehension. If it still doesn’t sink in, ask a doctor if Ritalin is right for you!
But here we have it, don’t we? The attitude that courtesy and etiquette should not be expected from a lower paid employee. The implication that it is only something that the well-heeled extend to one another. And by extension, something that lower paid employees are either unable to extend to others. Say what you will, that smacks of elitism one fuck of a lot more than whatever it is that you are accusing me of.
You can’t be serious.
I generally like VT’s input, but it was a ludicrous response and you know it. See my note above about strawmen and “Inferiors”. If you want to argue on logic or emotion, then I am up for either one, but addressing comments like that is a waste of electrons.
First, you happen to be wrong. Nobody who says “no problem” is implying anything like what you said. Nobody. That’s just not how it’s used, any more than someone who says, “nothing to it” is implying that no object actually exists to be referred to, or someone who says, “Thank you” is issuing a command that you show yourself gratefulness. You’re misunderstanding the idiom, and since the idiom has been explained to you, you’re misunderstanding it deliberately. That’s the opposite of nuance or of courtesy.
But put all that aside. Let’s pretend for a moment that you have encoutnered someone who’s implying that doing the job of serving you might conceivably be a problem. Well, of course it might be. Conceivably, you could have been completely rude and abusive to them. You could have been talking on your cell phone during the entire exchange, looking up only to make snide comments about what a dummy they are, and otherwise been awful. Then it would have been a problem. They’re telling you that it wasn’t.
[ol][li]Also, no sweat; not to worry. There’s no difficulty about this, don’t concern yourself. For example, Of course I can change your tire no problem, or You want more small change? no sweat, or We’ll be there in plenty of time, not to worry. The first of these colloquial terms dates from about 1960 and the second from about 1950. The third, originating in Britain in the 1930s and using not to with the sense of “don’t,” crossed the Atlantic in the 1970s.[/li]
[li]You’re welcome, as in Thanks for the ride, Dad.No problem. [Late 1900s][/ol][/li][/quote]
Gratitude and “you’re welcome”. No sign of superiority or other demeaning characteristics.
Then, given that “you’re welcome” is only 100 years old, itself, as has no special provenance or specific meaning, (the O.E.D. simply notes that it is a response to “thank you” without indicating a stand-alone meaning or etymology of its own), attributing a claim that the expression is being unnecessarily (perhaps, even sarcastically), “magnanimous” is simply not justified.
Explain to me how I misunderstood. The problem is in the interpretation. Seeing that I, the OP, and several others here feel the same way, I would hardly say that “nobody” feels that way.
No, there was no misunderstanding, either deliberate or accidental. And as you used the word nuance, I assume that you read my previous statement. I will assume that your misinterpretation was not deliberate. But put all that aside.
With respect to your example: As I recall, there was nothing about a rude customer in the OP, so I’m not sure how this moves us along. Shall we posit a completely new scenario with a harried service person and an abrasive and abusive customer?
Damn. :smack: My apologies. A mistake that I correct in others, yet one I still manage to make. Of course I meant it could be inferred, and that may be the major source of irritation here. Again, apologies.
However, with respect to your definitions, I would like to offer one of my own. I recognize that Wiki articles are not always definitive, but it agrees that there are alternative interpretations of this phrase.
I notice that they also use the word “implies”, but I’m agreeing that it is more in the interpretation than the intent.
Another site that indicates that there are others who feel the same as I do.
And I will argue again that I believe a colloquial phrase acceptable among friends and family is not necessarily acceptable in a business setting. A sweat suit might be fine for sitting around the house, but one would hardly wear one to a board meeting. It just seems curious and telling to me that, given the plethora of possible responses, an individual would choose one that (linguistically) put the onus on the customer. With the richness of the English language, this just seems like laziness.
You keep pretending that you’ve actually demonstrated something logically and scientifically here. You haven’t.
As i said earlier, if “No problem” is a conditional response (as you insist on calling it), then so is “You’re welcome.” Both hold open the possibility of alternative scenarios.
If you don’t like “No problem,” that’s fine. I’m not asking you to like it. Just don’t pretend that you’ve demonstrated that it has any objective linguistic inferiority in the situation being discussed
You’ve already picked up on the “imply” thing. That was indeed the part I was getting; I didn’t realize that by imply you were implying infer. I was inferring that you were implying imply.
Indeed there was nothing about a rude customer in the OP. That’s why it wasn’t a problem. Had there been a rude customer, it would have been a problem. The cashier (if we’re pretending they’re implying what you’re inferring) would, by saying “no problem,” be reassuring the customer that they’re not a problem customer.
In computer games like World of Warcraft, “no problem” is the most common form of “you’re welcome.” One of the main reasons is that it is often shortened to “np,” which can be typed easily with one hand. So an exchange would end up looking like this:
<Player 1>: ty <---- (thank you)
<Player 2>: np
Considering that most retail people are younger, it makes sense that they might be into computer games, where “no problem” is the expected response to a thank you.
ETA: And now that I realized this thread had gone on three pages, I apologize if I just said what someone else said on pages 2 or 3.
Oooo. Where’s our pretense of social niceties now? Did you ever see Upstairs, Downstairs? None snootier than those ‘below stairs’.
No, since you seem to be so deeply vested in issues around comprehension; the point is that people may not have had the benefit of your exalted education and therefore may not be able to parse English to the (coughextremelyanalcough) level you can and so may not be able to tease out the (coughirrelevantcough) fine distinction that you have from two words.
My, my. Still insisting you are the epitome of civil communication?
Not in the least. You’re picking nits - VT pointed out a whole herd of nits you’d completely overlooked. I believe you owe VT a debt of gratitude.
My last major customer-facing job was working at a box office for the university theater. I’d be closing transactions that were frequently hundreds of dollars and sometimes thousands. I nearly always ended calls with pleasant customers with “No problem.” My saying that has never been a problem, and in fact my supervisors loved me because I was informal and friendly with the customers and gave them a pleasant experience instead of being a by-rote monkey.
Granted, that’s a case where I frequently engaged the customer in conversation and could thus get a read on their personality and respond accordingly. Even so, when it’s a shorter transaction made at the register of a fast food or retail store, I still don’t see it as an issue.
Really, IMO it just boils down to informality being mistaken for rudeness. I prefer to connect with customers on a person-to-person level than a servant-to-master level, which in no way precludes politeness.
I do not like it when retail workers or wait staff answer with 'No worries ’ or ‘No problem’.
They usually answer like that when I say ‘Could I have a beer please?’ or in a shop ‘Could I have this in blue?’
The correct answer is ‘Certainly. I will get it for you.’
The people do not know the 'Do not say [DON’T PANIC] because people only hear ‘Panic’. It is similar with people saying ‘No problem’. I hear the word problem.
I annoy these people by replying with ‘Why would there be a problem?’
That usually stop them in their tracks
This thread has made me realize that I frequently respond to routine uses of “thank you” with an equally routine “Not at all”—intended to be equivalent to de nada, pas de quoi, or “you’re welcome”. I wonder where on earth I picked that up, and how many people it’s pissing off.
I can’t imagine the degree of self absorbtion one would have, that would cause them to feel indignat when not thanked after a simple transaction. Rudeness is clearly unacceptable. I just don’t see how a polite “no problem”, “have a good one”, or “have a nice day” could be considered to be negligent.
Well played, sir. 