Time for a little quiz, OK?
1) You’re clerking in a department store when a customer approaches and asks you to help her reach something hanging way up high. You do, she thanks you and you say, “No problem.”
Right?
Wrong! Your proper response is simply “You’re welcome.”
Thank you and You’re welcome — they just go together, y’know?
Same thing for flight attendants and waitresses. Customer asks for a refill, you provide it, he thanks you and what do you say?
“No problem.”
No problem? It better not be — that’s your job, isn’t it?
Let’s say it together — “You’re welcome.”
How about this one:
2) You’re a teller at a bank. A customer comes in, deposits a sum of money (doesn’t matter HOW much), and you complete the transaction by handing him a receipt and saying, “Here ya go.”
Right?
NO! This time, it’s “Thank you.”
Work with me here.
3) You’re a receptionist at a doctor’s office and you’re on the phone when a patient walks in. You ignore her until you’re finished with your call.
Right?
Of course not! Acknowledge her presence with a smile and a nod, complete your call as soon as possible, then apologize to the walk-in for making her wait.
Whatever happened to simple manners?
Who’s training employees these days?
Am I the only person bothered by stuff like this?
Admittedly, I’ve not worked in all of these service-type jobs, but common sense alone tells me it doesn’t cost anything to be nice to those you’re interacting with!
Fellow workers and the boss, to be sure, but especially paying customers, clients, patients, whatever.
C’mon, people, unemployment is pushing 10% nationwide (and in many states it’s 14%). Isn’t that a big enough pool that you don’t have to resort to hiring those who are crass, inept, complaining, and downright rude??
Musings by an ND Domer's Mom 
Wow,Debbie, I agree wholeheartedly. These little gestures of courtesy mean so much. It reminds me of that old saying”it’s not the big things in life that count, it’s the little things” Thanks for the reminder and have a good day!
Kathy
http://krpooler.wordpress.com
Kathy, Thanks for reading & commenting! My son would probably accuse me of being “an old fuddy-duddy,” but the wordsmith in me just shrieks when I hear “No problem” in place of “You’re welcome”!!
Yes, the writer in us knows that details are important. I never really thought about it until you mentioned it but it does make sense to me!
Re “no problem”, I used to bristle at that, too, but then I asked a member of generation Y for the logic, and was embarrassed at her answer: she said “we don’t like to make it like it’s a big deal; we didn’t really do anything so it’s a way of saying it was nothing.” Maybe not that smooth, but well intentioned!
Wow, I never looked at it that way!! Just goes to show how, as writers, we need to be well-schooled in the differences in generations for our characters, dialog, story lines, etc. to be believable! Thanks for clearing this up, and I’ll TRY not to be such a stickler for semantics!
Interesting conversation Deb & Lynne surrounding “no problem” and how that is interpreted generationally. This does impact on us as writers writing believable,realistic dialogue with all those little details that matter!