Have you noticed the new substitute word for “thank you”?
For several years now young people have commonly said “No problem” instead of “You’re welcome.”
“Thanks for serving me this food.”
“Thanks for taking my payment over the phone.”
“Thanks for retrieving my car.”
“No problem.”
And more mature folk seem fairly universally offended by it. Though I am clearly in the “more mature” category, this has not bothered me at all. “No problem” seems shorthand for “It was no problem for me to help you,” and that seems like a lovely sentiment. It is not “You’re welcome,” but it strikes me as carrying the exact same message. It’s different, but language is dynamic, and each generation creates its own signature phrases. When looking for “These-kids-today” things to be offended by, this should be well down the list.
But in the last months, there has arisen a parallel substitute for “thank you” – “Perfect.” And this I hate!
When I give my mailing address to someone over the phone, and instead of “thank you” I hear “perfect,” I think “you have no idea if that was ‘perfect.’” I mean, if I was confirming my address, and the young service provider was reading my address off the screen, then my utterance might have been “perfect.” But if I am telling someone my address, or I am volunteering what tickets I wish to buy, or I am ordering a meal from a waitperson, they have no idea if my utterance was “perfect.”
Even Siri is using “perfect,” when “she” has no idea if my response was right or not.
So, I would like to ask these kids today to stick with “thank you,” at least until they come up with some new word or phrase that is truly synonymous.
Copacetic?
