Is there a problem here?

I recently followed with great amusement an online conversation that played out on a Facebook community page.

A local gentleman indignantly proclaimed how irate he was over an experience he suffered at a local diner. He apparently was greatly damaged when a server said “no problem” in response to his “thank you” for some aspect of his dining experience. He was so angry at what he considered an inappropriate response that he gave the server a piece of his mind. The only acceptable responses were “you’re welcome” or perhaps “my pleasure,” he told the server. He apparently caused a scene, asked to talk to a manager and was ultimately asked to leave the establishment.

To say the comment did not get the Facebook response he expected is an understatement. I guess he expected folks to “tsk tsk” these darn rude youngsters today who show no respect for their elders, peers or the English language. Instead, people pretty much jumped down his throat, told him to get a grip and opined that “no problem” has indeed become an often-used, totally acceptable response to “thank you.” They not-so-politely told the guy he needed to get a life.

Then, the post took on another life, with commenters encouraging support of the diner and the server, who was ultimately identified as a popular, more-than-competent, pleasant, longtime server at the establishment. A movement grew to patronize the diner and request the server with the intent to leave extra hefty tips.

Facebook photo

“No problem” became a battle cry of sorts, with the phrase being worked into almost every angle of the discussion. Even diner management got in on the action. Someone published a picture of the diner’s sign that was emboldened with “no problem” among the other messages on its marquee.

When you really stop and think about it, "no problem" as a response to "thank you" makes more sense than "you're welcome." Welcome is a greeting of sorts, meant to make someone feel at home, comfortable, or perhaps part of the crowd. "You're welcome here" means this is a safe place for you and we're happy to have you here. We're glad to see you. "Welcome" is more appropriate at the front door than it is in response to being thanked for something. In my opinion, of course. "No problem," on the other hand, conveys that the person provided the service, product or help with ease and that it wasn't an issue. It was a service performed gladly.

In Googling the word welcome, and the whole thank you/you're welcome relationship, I came across a list of 17 alternative ways to respond to "thank you." Take a wild guess what number one on the list is!

There are many ways to respond to "thank you!"

Over the years, I admit to disliking certain phrases that morphed their way into common usage. One of my peeves is "have a good one." That phrase evolved from "have a good day." I never understood replacing a definitive one-syllable word with a vague, meaningless one-syllable word. The speaker certainly isn't saving any energy and is instead being less communicative. A good what? A good lunch? Trip? Luck? Bowel movement? Is it so damn hard to say "have a good day?"

Fortunately, thoughts in my mind rarely pass through my lips, and I am grateful that mind police don't yet exist (though I'm sure someone is working on it). I have a couple of like-minded word nerd friends and we routinely trade screen shots of horrible grammar, bastardized English and 500-word rants with absolutely no punctuation. We joke, privately tsk tsk and move on. I never rag on anyone in public, nor do I have the need to correct anyone in conversation. It is not my place to tell anyone else how they should talk.

In the case of the gentleman at the Boulevard Diner, we'll never know what possessed him to believe he could lecture a fellow human on what she could or could not say. Being tossed out of the restaurant should have been his first clue that he was out of line, and he could have let the issue die there. But he apparently felt so sure he was right that he sought solace and support from his Facebook community. When that blew up in his face, he left the group and disappeared into the online abyss.

But his indignant rant provided fun entertainment and some community bonding.  Over the next several days, numerous residents made new posts, proclaiming that they had enjoyed a lovely dining experience at the Boulevard Diner with “no problem.” The phrase was worked into many original posts and almost all comments. It also appears to have provided a financial windfall for the server and a ton of free publicity for the diner.

I’m keeping an eye out for the T-shirt!