Why saying "No Problem" is a Problem
This past weekend, my family got together for my dad's birthday and went out for a seafood dinner. Not a problem, right? Well, not yet.
Now before I continue, let me just say that my mother is a genuinely kind and courteous woman. And I'm not just saying that because she will likely read this post. She typically avoids confrontation, but will politely speak her mind if she deems it necessary.
Anyway, at the restaurant (which will remain anonymous because I've had other good experiences there, and my point is not to bash the establishment), my dad ordered a baked potato as a side. After ordering over $200 in food, we thanked the waitress as she collected our menus. She replied, "no problem," and walked away.
When she was out of hearing range, my mom looked at me and said, "why would that be a problem? We just ordered over 200 dollars of food."
She had a point. By saying "no problem," one might assume there is a chance this could have been a problem, and forgiveness should be granted to settle it. Should we have apologized for ordering all that food? Should we feel relief because we've been redeemed with "no problem," and now know we're not posing any sort of threat?
I don't know, maybe I'm overthinking it.
Anyway, when the food came out, my dad's baked potato was hard as a rock. Naturally, he sent it back.
About 3 minutes later the chef came out to apologize and inform us that someone had pulled the tray of baked potatoes out prematurely. He offered my dad a few different options: he could put the potato back in the oven, he could microwave the potato, or my dad could choose a new side. Good customer service, in my book.
After the microwaved potato arrived and we all finished dinner, the waitress brought us the check. As she handed it to my mom she said, "Don't worry about the baked potato, we covered it."
Uh-oh. I knew this would be a problem.
"Trust me, I was not worried about the potato - but thanks for covering it," my mom said sarcastically.
Again my mom waited for her to walk away to blow off some steam.
"I just don't get it. We're paying 220 dollars to eat here, and she thinks I'm sitting here worried about the 3 dollar potato that they didn't even cook? Why would I be worried about that?" She chuckled, and paid the bill.
But I thought about it some more and, again, my mom had a point. None of us were worried about the potato. They knew they screwed up, and we knew they'd take care of it. It was their job to take care of it. So at this point there really were no worries. Well, except for my mom's blood pressure, which had clearly skyrocketed.
It's small words and phrases like this that we use everyday. We mean no harm by using them, of course, but perhaps they are perceived the wrong way. Perhaps they insinuate the opposite of their intended use.
The English language has devolved, turning "my pleasure" into "no problem" or "no worries." Essentially, a once-positive phrase now comes with a negative connotation, which could lessen or ruin a customer experience.
Think about how much time we spend building relationships with customers. Consider how much energy we put into making sure our product exceeds all expectations. This day in age, there are millions of competitors in just about every industry - and this person chose you.
So, why not do everything in your power, no matter how big or small, to enhance their customer experience? Why not tweak our construction of these phrases ever so slightly so as to encourage more positivity in our communication? Why not simply say "you're welcome" when someone thanks you? This should not be a problem.
Just a thought.
Hannah