# Whatever happened to You're Welcome? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 9, 2011, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-youre-welcome/581229 "2011-05-09T03:05:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Meyer6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@Meyer6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meyer6)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-youre-welcome/581229/61 "2011-05-11T18:27:03Z")
> [@colonial](#): > > You could and should have tried to defuse the situation smiling with all the > sincerity you could muster, and saying “I’m sorry, M’am, and I promise you > that you _are_ welcome, and I appreciate your business”, and… > …and how much money you were making doesn’t have a damn thing to do > with it. I can tell how sorry you felt for yourself. Poor dude! Lif’e’s a bitch > and then you get a 25-cent an hour raise, eh? Noooo problem! You’ve got to be kidding. You are seriously going to defend the idea that it’s perfectly legit to berate somebody who has been nothing but pleasant and helpful to you because they didn’t utter exactly the words you’d like to hear? You think it’s just fine to scream at someone and humiliate them in front of others in the name of making society more polite? And you see no irony in this? And I’m sorry to tell you this, but how much money you make certainly does have to do with it. You do know that the wage of the workers is reflected in the price of the product or service, right? You get what you pay for. That’s why the service is better at Chez Fancy-pants than it is at McDonald’s. Contrary to the opinion of some, the average retail worker is not there to be your personal slave and does not just have to stand there and smilingly take whatever bullshit you happen to feel like dishing out. You’d have to pay me a lot more than $8 an hour to kiss someones ass after they have insulted me and told me I was raised poorly when I have done no wrong. And before you ask, my boss knew all about this and was on my side. > [@](#): > > May I ask did you learn from the expereince and put your learning into practice? Yeah, I learned that I’m glad I don’t have to work retail any more. And I learned that some people are impossible to please. This was a hardware store - I had spent a long time with this lady, helping her get exactly what she needed, carefully explaining the difference between different products without pushing her to buy the most expensive, and giving her detailed information about how to use the products to fix her problem. If you’d rather go to a store where they just throw one product at you but then follow the script you want to hear, then fine - but that was above and beyond the usual customer service you get in hardware stores and she was completely unappreciative. > [@](#): > > Frankly I hope you have grown up a lot in the > last 10 years, but I see no evidence of it from your post. Classy. Look - I’m glad your mother taught you that there was only one possible answer to “thank you” and that if you didn’t it hear you should scream blue murder. My mother taught me to judge people on the quality of their character and not on whether or not they could read your mind and obey your every childish whim. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Michael.kostner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@Michael.kostner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael.kostner)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-youre-welcome/581229/62 "2011-05-11T18:41:27Z")
“You’re welcome” is an always appropriate response to “thank you”. If the person thanking me helped me as much or more than I helped them, I’ll reply “no, thank _you_”. Never appropriate, and rude, are ok, yup, hmm hmm, and silence. ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-youre-welcome/581229/63 "2011-05-11T18:50:41Z")
Wow. I say “no problem” and I’m a far cry from being a Valley Girl. I sometimes also say “you’re welcome.” I guess I use the former for something I volunteered to do, and the latter for something I was required to do (as part of a job, etc.). I know that the word “problem” itself is a word that shouldn’t be used lightly; I’ve seen etiquette articles where we are directed to use the word “issue” instead. But when something is actually _not_ a problem, I don’t see an issue 😉 with using the word. Now, when I thank the nurse for changing out my IV and she replies with a “thank _you_,” now that is just silly. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-youre-welcome/581229/64 "2011-05-11T18:53:58Z")
> [@Michael.kostner](#): > > hmm hmm Is this a recent phenomenon? In the last couple of years, I’ve called my company’s US office, which is in the midwest, the phone staff always say this. If it had been happening before that I’m sure I’d have noticed. Me: Hi, [name], please could I talk to so-and-so? Them: Sure! I’ll put you through. Me: Thanks. Them: Mmm hmm. Me: 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-youre-welcome/581229/65 "2011-05-11T19:09:31Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Is this a recent phenomenon? In the last couple of years, I’ve called my company’s US office, which is in the midwest, the phone staff always say this. If it had been happening before that I’m sure I’d have noticed. > > Me: Hi, [name], please could I talk to so-and-so? > > Them: Sure! I’ll put you through. > > Me: Thanks. > > Them: Mmm hmm. > > Me: 😕 Recent? No, it’s been going on for at least 15 or 20 years. That’s when I started to notice it at least. I always say “you’re welcome.” Well, mostly always. Also, I never greet people with “how you doin’?” either. My standard is “hello.” To which the person responding will say “not bad, you?” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-youre-welcome/581229/66 "2011-05-11T19:22:03Z")
I usually prefer “anytime” with the implication that I would do whatever it was again if needed/wanted/whatever. That said, “You’re welcome.” is perfectly fine and anyone who finds it pretentious should consider what it actually means. “You are welcome to…[my time|my assistance|whatever]”. As in, “I freely make my services available to you.” Doesn’t get a lot more polite than that, if you ask me. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-youre-welcome/581229/67 "2011-05-11T19:25:10Z")
> [@campp](#): > > Well, my parents really screwed me up. I’ve learned in the last couple of months on SDMB: > > 1. Holding a door for women is sexist and unnecessarily forward. > > 2. Using someone’s name from their name tag even _once_ is creepy. > > 3. Saying “You’re Welcome” is considered being a jerk. > > WTF? Now you have a fuller understanding of how special Dopers are… You’re welcome! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Meyer6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@Meyer6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meyer6)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-youre-welcome/581229/68 "2011-05-11T19:28:36Z")
> [@Michael.kostner](#): > > “You’re welcome” is an always appropriate response to “thank you”. If the person thanking me helped me as much or more than I helped them, I’ll reply “no, thank _you_”. > Never appropriate, and rude, are ok, yup, hmm hmm, and silence. Once again, I don’t think a single person in this thread has said that they don’t think ‘you’re welcome’ is appropriate or polite. Just that some people prefer to say something else, or to just mix it up now and then. I agree with you that yup or mmm hmmm or silence are all rude though. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-youre-welcome/581229/69 "2011-05-11T19:30:07Z")
A few years ago, one of the “All Things Considered” hosts read a letter from an NPR listener making the very same complaint. (It wasn’t you, was it, **velvetjones**?) He congratulated an interview guest who _had_ responded with “you’re welcome,” saying that it was refreshing to hear the “correct” response instead of a returned “thank _you_.” I thought it was a petty gripe at the time, and haven’t changed my mind. ---
**Author:** ![Meyer6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@Meyer6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meyer6)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-youre-welcome/581229/70 "2011-05-11T21:04:57Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > A few years ago, one of the “All Things Considered” hosts read a letter from an NPR listener making the very same complaint. (It wasn’t you, was it, **velvetjones**?) > > He congratulated an interview guest who _had_ responded with “you’re welcome,” saying that it was refreshing to hear the “correct” response instead of a returned “thank _you_.” I thought it was a petty gripe at the time, and haven’t changed my mind. Reminds me of this [classic Straight Dope column](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1123/is-acting-strangely-grammatically-incorrect) - still one of my favourites. Some people just can’t handle language changing. Or regional variations for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-youre-welcome/581229/71 "2011-05-11T21:26:17Z")
> [@Meyer6](#): > > You’ve got to be kidding. You are seriously going to defend the idea that it’s perfectly legit to berate somebody who has been nothing but pleasant and helpful to you because they didn’t utter exactly the words you’d like to hear? You think it’s just fine to scream at someone and humiliate them in front of others in the name of making society more polite? And you see no irony in this? I did not say a word in this person’s defence. I do wonder if there is not more to it than you have let on, because I cannot imagine anyone flying off the handle as she did. > [@Meyer6](#): > > And I’m sorry to tell you this, but how much money you make certainly does have to do with it. You do know that the wage of the workers is reflected in the price of the product or service, right? **You get what you pay for.** Oh really? i wonder if a little bit of that sneering attitude was not transmitted when you said “no problem” to the old lady. And I do not mind telling you that i worked a bunch of minimum and near-minumum wage jobs in my time, and I gave them my level best all day, every day. > [@Meyer6](#): > > That’s why the service is better at Chez Fancy-pants than it is at McDonald’s. With one exception i have never had any problem with the service at any McDoanld’s. That one was probably the one where you worked. I stopped going there, and have never returned. > [@Meyer6](#): > > Contrary to the opinion of some, the average retail worker is not there to be your personal slave and does not just have to stand there and smilingly take whatever bullshit you happen to feel like dishing out. You’d have to pay me a lot more than $8 an hour to kiss someones ass after they have insulted me and told me I was raised poorly when I have done no wrong. And before you ask, my boss knew all about this and was on my side… > > …This was a hardware store - I had spent a long time with this lady, helping her get exactly what she needed, carefully explaining the difference between different products without pushing her to buy the most expensive, and giving her detailed information about how to use the products to fix her problem. If you’d rather go to a store where they just throw one product at you but then follow the script you want to hear, then fine - but that was above and beyond the usual customer service you get in hardware stores and she was completely unappreciative. Again, I have a hard time believing it was merely the words “no problem” which set this off. If, however, you were as angelic as you make yourself out to be then I agree you were abused. In the interest of basic, fundamental PR you should still have smiled for all you were worth, and said “you’re welcome” Why you and so many others would obviously rather have half your teeth pulled than use that nice, simple little expression really and truly mystifies me. > [@Meyer6](#): > > Yeah, I learned that I’m glad I don’t have to work retail any more. And I learned that some people are impossible to please. Sounds like you might not be cut out to work with the public. > [@Meyer6](#): > > Classy. Look - I’m glad your mother taught you that there was only one possible answer to “thank you” and that if you didn’t it hear you should scream blue murder. My mother taught me to judge people on the quality of their character and not on whether or not they could read your mind and obey your every childish whim. YMMV. Ha ha- My mother is much more polite than me, and has never, I am sure, ever screamed at anyone. I almost never have either, except in these chat rooms. But the fact is, when I was growing up “you’re welcome” was the only reply which ever occurred to anyone. I never heard anything else. This “no problem” shit, (and shit it is for the reasons i have given) started popping up I guess in the 1980s.I thought it was a passing thing. I am appalled that it has become universal, because it is a cheap-sounding cheap-feeling tawdry substitute “you’re welcome” which is the only reply with any class. ---
**Author:** ![Meyer6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@Meyer6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meyer6)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-youre-welcome/581229/72 "2011-05-11T21:52:39Z")
> [@colonial](#): > > I do wonder if there > is not more to it than you have let on, because I cannot imagine > anyone flying off the handle as she did. And I do wonder if you’ve ever worked with the public, because there are some straight-up crazy bitches out there. There is nothing more to the story than what I related. > [@](#): > > And I do not mind telling you that i worked a bunch of minimum and > near-minumum wage jobs in my time, and I gave them my level best > all day, every day. I did my best in the situation. If you think that helping someone out and answering all their questions and being overall polite to them is entirely negated by simply substituting one perfectly commonly acceptable phrase for another - well, I wonder if you might just be too delicate to go out and buy your own hardware. > [@](#): > > Sounds like you might not be cut out to work with the public. I worked with the public just fine - this store had been owned and operated by the same family since 1946. We had generational customers who would literally not shop for hardware anywhere else. If I had done anything to jeopardize their hard-earned reputation for customer service (their only real edge over the big box stores), I would have been out on my ass. My boss (who was in his 60s) watched me work on many occasions, certainly heard me say ‘no problem’, and had nothing but nice things to say about my work. I received several promotions while I was there. > [@](#): > > But the fact is, when I was growing up “you’re welcome” was the only > reply which ever occurred to anyone. I never heard anything else. > This “no problem” shit, (and shit it is for the reasons i have given) > started popping up I guess in the 1980s.I thought it was a passing thing. > I am appalled that it has become universal, because it is a cheap-sounding > cheap-feeling tawdry substitute “you’re welcome” which is the only > reply with any class. Well, I’m guessing you grew up a long time ago. Things change, language changes, etiquette changes, and the fact is that many alternatives to ‘you’re welcome’ have become perfectly acceptable. If you find it cheap sounding or tawdry, then don’t say it, but to judge other peoples ‘class’ because they dare to use a different expression than one you would choose is pretty baseless, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-youre-welcome/581229/73 "2011-05-11T22:10:09Z")
> [@Meyer6](#): > > When I worked retail I usually replied to customers thanks with ‘no problem’ rather than ‘you’re welcome’ - saying ‘you’re welcome’ implies that I had just done them a huge favour out of the goodness of my heart, when the reality was that I was being paid to serve them and we both knew it. To me it makes more sense to convey the message “it’s not a problem for me to help you since I’m here anyways and this is my job” rather than “I’ve taken time out of my busy schedule to help you so you’d better thank me”. > > Of course there were a few customers who objected to it - usually in the 50+ female demographic (which everyone who works retail seems to agree are the most likely to have some kind of unreasonable issue with you). I distinctly remember one lady making a big scene when I said ‘no problem’ even though I’d been assisting her for about half an hour, patiently answering all her questions and so on. She went on and on very loudly about how rude young people today were and how I was clearly not brought up properly. Right lady, because yelling at a minimum wage employee in front of other customers and co-workers after I had been nothing but nice to her is soooo much less rude than daring to say ‘no problem’. Grrr, it still makes me angry thinking about it and that was probably 10 years ago! As an older person I can say that “No problem” isn’t my first choice but if you’d been helping me for 1/2 an hour I sure wouldn’t complain. Worked retail a lot and I always notice as a shopper the little details that bug me. There’s nothing condescending about you’re welcome, but I get you’re point. When I worked retail I often responded to “thank you” with “my pleasure, thank you for shopping with us” or “glad we could help you today” I had a cashier that wasn’t in the habit of counting out people’s change and one older lady complained. She was a little offended by the lady’s complaint but I told her the lady was correct. Especially since she’d given her a hundred. You don’t just hand someone a bundle of change. You count it out almost every time. I agree that your lady overreacted and there are indeed random crazy people out there when you work with the public. ---
**Author:** ![Meyer6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@Meyer6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meyer6)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-youre-welcome/581229/74 "2011-05-11T22:33:09Z")
> [@cosmosdan](#): > > As an older person I can say that “No problem” isn’t my first choice but if you’d been helping me for 1/2 an hour I sure wouldn’t complain. Worked retail a lot and I always notice as a shopper the little details that bug me. For the record, I can understand that some people would not personally choose to say ‘no problem’, and if everything went their way they wouldn’t hear it either. But, as you say, as long as the overall experience is positive I don’t see the point in raising a stink about it. If I were in charge of the universe, I would never get change handed back to me with the coins on top, I would never be ‘greeted’ in Walmart, and I would never have a waiter ask “how are we doing here?” (we? are you eating with us?). But I’m not in charge of the universe, and I can recognize that none of those things are really rude in the way that being generally surly or telling someone to fuck off is. Also, I don’t see the point in getting all bent out of shape because things aren’t going just exactly my way. Yelling at a shop worker and telling them that all young people are terrible and rude and that their mother obviously didn’t raise them right is so wildly out of proportion to the ‘crime’ of not using the right phrase that I am amazed anyone would defend those actions. Or recommend that the correct course of action is for the worker to then suck up to the customer and grovel for their forgiveness. Believe me, very few people are such special customers that a store needs to put up with that kind of abuse of its employees. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-youre-welcome/581229/75 "2011-05-11T23:10:36Z")
I often reply to “thank you” with “sure thing” I find. I don’t really think about it, it just pops out. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-youre-welcome/581229/76 "2011-05-12T02:57:51Z")
> [@Meyer6](#): > > I agree with you that yup or mmm hmmm or silence are all rude though. I reflexively say, “thank you” to my employees many times each day. Thanks to this thread, I’ve noticed that their replies are “yup” or “mmm hmmm” or just a smile. And there is warmth behind them all. I’m happy.😉 ---
**Author:** ![Meyer6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@Meyer6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meyer6)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-youre-welcome/581229/77 "2011-05-12T05:26:56Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I reflexively say, “thank you” to my employees many times each day. Thanks to this thread, I’ve noticed that their replies are “yup” or “mmm hmmm” or just a smile. And there is warmth behind them all. I’m happy.😉 Fair enough. I think the underlying message is that it makes a hell of a lot more sense to judge people on their demeanour and on the clear meaning behind their words rather than just rigidly demanding that people should always say certain things. Apart from anything else, a lot of these concepts of politeness vary from place to place. I’ve lived in places where holding the door for someone is considered absolutely obligatory, and places where it is rarely done. The use of ‘sir’ and ‘ma’am’ is clearly more common in the south and isn’t heard up here all that much (I hate being called Ma’am myself). In Australia ‘no worries’ is common, in Britain you hear ‘cheers’. The idea that there is only one acceptable polite response to \*anything \*is incredibly absurd. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-youre-welcome/581229/78 "2011-05-12T05:49:02Z")
> [@sitchensis](#): > > I usually use “no problem” but from what I‘ve heard some “get of my lawns” don’t like it. Saying “you’re welcome” seems too formal. I like “no problem” as well and I’ve never understood the vitriol from people who don’t like it. That whole, “Of COURSE it’s not a problem, you should live to serve me!” attitude weirds me out. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-youre-welcome/581229/79 "2011-05-12T06:13:38Z")
If I didn’t just cross your threshold as a guest, don’t tell me I’m well come. Oh, I’m sorry, I thought this was the needlessly pedantic section. It’s a vocalization to register that you appreciate someone taking the time to appreciate something you did for them. What that vocalization actually is is, frankly, irrelevant. Don’t make it a bigger deal than it is. ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-youre-welcome/581229/80 "2011-05-12T13:40:23Z")
> [@Meyer6](#): > > And I do wonder if you’ve ever worked with the public, because there are some straight-up crazy bitches out there. There is nothing more to the story than what I related. I spent five years working with the public daily as an insurance adjuster. Craziness was not a problem, despite the stress of that particular business environment. Frauduent claim-padding was, but that is not relevant to our discussion. As far as retail goes I did about six months duty in a curb market at about minum wage plus 50 cents or a dollar. Again, craziness was not a problem, and in that job I saw more drunks (since I always worked at night) than most other retail. Then again, I was careful to thank each customer no matter how small the purchase was, and it may not have hurt that I always said “you’re welcome” or “thank _you_” in reply to a customer’s thanks. > [@Meyer6](#): > > I did my best in the situation. If you think that helping someone out and answering all their questions and being overall polite to them is entirely negated by simply substituting one perfectly commonly acceptable phrase for another - well, I wonder if you might just be too delicate to go out and buy your own hardware. I have said before that if all transpired exacly as you relate then there was no reason for the customer’s outburst. Although I am always tempted to correct someone who answers me with “no problem” I never have. I may yet, but if I do I won’t make a scene about it such as the one you have described. > [@Meyer6](#): > > I worked with the public just fine - this store had been owned and operated by the same family since 1946. We had generational customers who would literally not shop for hardware anywhere else. If I had done anything to jeopardize their hard-earned reputation for customer service (their only real edge over the big box stores), I would have been out on my ass. My boss (who was in his 60s) watched me work on many occasions, certainly heard me say ‘no problem’, and had nothing but nice things to say about my work. I received several promotions while I was there. OK. > [@Meyer6](#): > > Well, I’m guessing you grew up a long time ago. Things change, language changes, etiquette changes, and the fact is that many alternatives to ‘you’re welcome’ have become perfectly acceptable. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it, and that goes for the etiquette that was standard when I was growing up. It also goes for transmongrification in language changes, where tawdriness attains status it does not deserve. > [@Meyer6](#): > > If you find it cheap sounding or tawdry, then don’t say it, but to judge other peoples ‘class’ because they dare to use a different expression than one you would choose is pretty baseless, IMHO. I was always consider those who say “You’re welcome” to be higher class than the “no problem” crowd. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-youre-welcome/581229.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-youre-welcome/581229.md?page=5)