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In a day and age when some people would just as leave knock you down as say, "Excuse me"or "I'm sorry", I'll happily take, "Thanks" and "No problem" and not question their upbringing or culture. When I was growing up this was not only taught at home but was reinforced in school.....sigh!
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Interesting reading through the responses... "thank you" and " thanks" are both acknowledged as formal or less formal, with "thank you" coming in first.
"You are welcome" is almost never used unless you add a word, i.e. "you are very welcome". "You're welcome" wins out over both alternatives. I suspect that most of us use the contraction rather than the long form without thinking about it. It probably bodes well for "no problem". Language is a living thing. |
Originally Posted by Wonnie
(Post 7295177)
In a day and age when some people would just as leave knock you down as say, "Excuse me"or "I'm sorry", I'll happily take, "Thanks" and "No problem" and not question their upbringing or culture
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I usually write "thank you" because I want the person to know that I really am thankful. "Thanks" just doesn't feel right.
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"Thanks" is for when someone hands you a beer; "thank you" is for when it's 96° and someone hands you an ice-cold Heady Topper.
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I enjoy hearing " my pleasure" when I can see sincerity behind the words. But I have had servers in restaurants that make it their every response. Gets tiring and does not usually come across as sincere. Just MHO.
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What about the word ' please' children have to be reminded to say this word as well as thank you. They should also learn what no means.
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I say thank you and I also say excuse me as I was taught, as well as Please and thank you, I'm sorry. But then to my inlaws .. LOL now that is a different story (especially after I found out our immediate family is gossip fodder!LOL). My inlaws just get a thanks and I move on... LOL
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Originally Posted by bearisgray
(Post 7294864)
I like the "I was happy to do it" response in place of "No problem" - IF I was happy (or at least not grumpy) to do it.
I still balk at saying "I was happy to do it" when I was NOT happy to do it and did not want to; or "No problem" when doing whatever was a major effort or expensive or took a lot of time. If someone not so dear asked me for a serious/major favor, I'd just say, "Sorry but I can't help you." I certainly wouldn't do the favor and then say they were welcomed to it, afterwards. I see no reason to downplay effort, time, or expense when someone not so dear has asked for a serious/major favor. |
If anyone has a problem with my 'no problem' response after a doing a him/her favor, that person will have an even bigger problem because it'll probably be the very last favor I do for him/her. :D
Seriously though, as long as the person speaks from the heart, the words shouldn't matter so much. Why get your britches all bunched, over another person's lack of formality? Are we all so perfect in our speech habits, as to be truly qualified to correct anyone with speech less 'refined' than our own? Even if we are, is it worth hurting the other person's feelings, just for our own inflated egos? |
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