What happened to "You're welcome!" as a response to "Thank You"? It's not even included in the canned answers on an apple watch. Have we as a society abandoned it?
What happened to “You’re welcome!” as a response to “Thank You”? It’s not even included the one canned answers on an apple watch. Have we as a society abandoned it? I hear “No problem” far more often.
I’ve used both equally. “Thank you!” when I’m more appreciative about what was gifted/helped, and “No problem” when I just wish to be courteous and acknowledge, or I’m indifferent to, the aid that was given me.
I find np a worse message when taken literally. If I even have to write an email, it’s at least a little problem. yw allows for a problem you solved for somebody without suggesting that it doesn’t come at the expense of other priorities. Both will be interpreted the same way by almost everyone, of course.
If so, here the answer: It is usually used as a polite response when someone thanks you for doing something. It’s a way to acknowledge their gratitude.
I still hear it a lot. Together with so many alternatives, like “no problem”, " happy to help", “don’t mention it”, " glad to assist", “anytime”, “it was nothing”, “my pleasure”, " sure thing"… and I’m sure there are more.
I think OP was asking what it means as in how it came to haventhe meaning you describe. “You are welcome” seems to be a completely arbitrary thing to say and out of context.
Other commenters here explained it’s supposed to mean “you are welcome to my assistance” basically - which makes sense, but in the short form it makes little sense if you arenot familiar with the origins of the phrase (as I was until now)
Years ago, I had to do customer service training for a job, and one thing they said is to always say “you’re welcome” instead of “no problem”, because some people think “no problem” is rude. But I think it’s a generational thing, and it’s kind of the opposite with younger folks.
explanation I got long ago was that “No worries” was reserved when the situation was so bad, nothing you did would change things – sit back, “No worries”, crack a beer, and enjoy the spectacle
For paid service I like the simple “of course” recognizing that is what I’m here for and it’s normal. No faux generosity nor implication of a tolerated imposition.
Implying that it was an effort, but you are welcome to it. Whereas “no problem” denotes that the effort is was not a problem for me to do. I use them interchangeably - “you’re welcome” as a response to a complement, or something where there was moderate effort put into the task; “no problem” when the task was low effort (“Thanks for responding to that email so quickly”) or I feel my effort was obliged (helping pick up after a meeting).
Disagree, no problem is saying that what you are thanking me for was not a problem for me to do.
Honestly, I think this perception is the disconnect between millennials thinking it’s better and boomers thinking it’s rude - two different perspectives of what it means.
Maybe it’s “you are welcome (to ask me for help/favors, as I am neutral to the task. I might even enjoy it.)”
And “it’s not a problem (for me to do what you asked me to do; we have now both acknowledged that I have done something to help you that was not organic to me, but now we can move past it with no further conversation.)”
I bet “no problem” to some people is like seeing someone wear a T-shirt to church. They’d really prefer it if you would put on a suit and tie, even though the purpose of both are the same (cover my body when away from home because that is our current social agreement), because a T-shirt is disrespectful.
Also everyone sucks, it is a problem, and you are not welcome.
When a chic-fil-a worker hits you with that, you gotta one-up them with “No! The pleasure is all mine!” and then hit the gas, peeling out cackling because you stole that pleasure motherfuckaaaaah.
I told a bartender “oh, the pleasure was all ours!” one time just sort of joking around and he said “you have no idea how much”. I wasn’t really sure how to take that.
he hated us in particular (there’d be no reason why though, my gf and I showed up, had a couple glasses of wine, didn’t complain that one had gnats in it, got rained on on the patio, went inside and paid and I had just finished tipping 25-30%)
I had to do one communucation trainung where the trainer saud that saying “no problem” should not be used, because it implies there might’ve been a problem. I was not convinced though.
Someone said that to me just the other day! That saying “no problem” implies there might be a problem. Crazy. I’m thinking of switching to “well it was quite an imposition on my time and energy to help you out, especially given you’re not paying me, but I’ll let it slide this time because you seem like an ok person and I’m in a good mood” just to annoy them.
Wow. facepalm The words literally say there’s no problem, and yet it somehow implies there is a problem? Talk about overthinking what someone is saying.
This is why I often hate neurotypical communication styles. The world would be a lot more straightforward if people just said what they meant. Jesus fucking Christ on a motorbike…
… would be quite a sight to see. Although if He can do all those other miracles, I guess fucking Himself on a motorcycle wouldn’t be impossible. So I guess it’s just a straightforward statement on your part.
I think a lot of younger generation, myself included, prefer casual responses, conflating professionalism with being rude, slimy, or otherwise malintentioned
During my years in retail exactly one customer ever had a problem with me saying “no problem”. He also said he was an assassin. That’s not a joke. This old, fat boomer said I shouldn’t say ‘no problem’ because some people might take it to mean ‘yes problem’ and then told me he kills people for a living.
That’s the stability of people that can’t understand the meaning of words. If I go to a police station and say I am a serial killer vs I’m not a serial killer, I don’t expect them to react the same…
I read somewhere a few years ago that the decline of “you’re welcome” is due to a shifting in definitions or whatever- “you’re welcome” has come to mean “you are always welcome to my free labor” whereas “no problem” says something more like “I don’t have an issue spending my time on you.”
Disclaimer: These are just my dumb thoughts with zero scientific evidence. Consider the opinion accordingly.
I think it’s tied to how overwhelmed everyone is at all times now. Part of it is often “thanks” is said while someone is beelining out the door, so you don’t often have an opportunity to even say “you’re welcome.” Further, “no problem” is far more indicative of “actually, you didn’t inconvenience me at all by getting my help” in a society where everyone is absolutely time-starved due to overwork/underpay. It’s saying to the person saying “thank you” that “it’s okay to have minorly inconvenienced me, it was worth doing anyway.”
Because yes, I am more likely to say “no problem” at this point than “you’re welcome” because most of the time I am dispensing technical information and advice that people usually have to pay to get. That’s the other aspect of it too, we’ve normalized that you have to pay to get anything decent (service or product) and so people offering technical skills and advice outside of a payment plan is definitely viewed differently.
“You’re welcome” is valid but just doesn’t play well in a fast-paced society where everyone expects to have to pay through the nose for decent help and generally doesn’t have the time to give out those kind of favors themselves.
in a society where everyone is absolutely time-starved due to overwork/underpay
“You’re welcome” can almost appear condescending or stuck up in those situations whereas “No problem” comes across as an attempt to be a little more genuine
Languages change over time. As long as the intent is clear, don't get hung up on what is and isn't "correct". "You're welcome" probably was seen as extreme at some point itself.
Giving permission by saying yes to a “would you mind” question is the hill I die on. Usually I say “I would not mind” but if I’m feeling frisky I’ll say no and watch their brain melt.
I mean, I’m fully on board with not getting hung up on what’s “correct”, but these are words that do have a specific meaning and I do find it interesting that the preferred choice of words shifts (even if it is only caused by relatively few people, that actually think about their word choice there).
Specifically, “no problem” is kind of like saying “there’s nothing to thank me for”. And ultimately, it kind of says “I don’t expect something in return”.
Whereas “you’re welcome” acknowledges that yes, I did help you, you are right to thank me for that, and also kind of “I would appreciate you returning the favor”.
My personal theory is that the change in language happens, because we have a lot more contacts with strangers, either in big/foreign cities or online.
When you help a stranger, you know upfront that they won’t be able to return the favor, simply because you won’t stay in contact. So, not only should it definitely not be a personal sacrifice for you to help them, it also feels right to communicate that they don’t owe you anything, so that they can go on in their life.
I don’t disagree with your interpretation of “you’re welcome”. At the end of the day, it is still a phrase which sort of weakens a “thanks”, out of politeness.
I’m saying that there’s a difference between “you deserved that thing already” and “there was nothing I did, which anyone would need to be deservent of”.
And “de nada” is actually a bad example here. Yes, the dictionary will tell you that it’s a valid translation for “you’re welcome”, but the actual words translate verbatim to “of nothing”, as in “you’re thanking me for nothing”. So, “de nada” is very much like “no problem” in Spanish.
I kind of disagree with you, in that when I think about the standalone meanings of the words in each phrase, I think they do say the same thing.
The meaning of the words “You are welcome [to the help I gave you]” implies, to me, that there wasn’t actually anything to offer thanks over. You’re acknowledging their thanks, but telling them that they are welcome to take/use whatever it is you’re talking about. [EDIT: normally when someone tells me I’m welcome to something, I feel less compelled to ask and thank in the future. “You’re welcome to anything in the fridge”, for example.]
It does not imply, to me, that I would appreciate them returning the favour. That might be implied meaning in the phrase, but it’s definitely not what those words mean by themselves.
In any case, “You’re welcome”, “no problem”, “no worries”, etc… are all idioms that mean something different than what their individual words mean. The phrases as a whole carry a different meaning than the words themselves suggest.
Fifteen years ago when I was traveling around California and Nevada, I was weirded out at how sales people responded to “thank you”. They either said “yup”, “ok”, or stayed silent. I assumed it was a regional thing.
In the southeast of Ireland I’ve heard it ‘bodder’, almost like the Danish soft d instead of the th, but it was just a couple of guys so maybe the sample size is a bit off.
It’s too bad Apple don’t think all the thoughts I want to think for me anymore. Oh well. 8GB of RAM is all I need, and I have removed “You’re welcome” from my lexicon.
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