Thank You

October 30, 2008 in Unsolicited Advice | View Comments

My mom raised my siblings and I always to say “please” and “thank you.” I’m very good at please and thank you, but only recently have begun thinking about my post-thanks response. When someone thanks you, traditionally you respond. There are many different acceptable responses:

“You’re welcome.”

“No problem.”

“Absolutely.”

My response of choice has been, “Sure.” I mean to convey “you’re welcome,” “no problem,” and “glad to do it,” all in one phrase. The other day, though, I heard someone snort a derisive “sure” in response to a thank you, and the uh-oh bells went off. What if people think I’m being sarcastic when I say “sure” after they thank me? What if they think I’m dismissing their thank-you as insincere or as not a big enough repayment? I definitely do not want that.

The employees at Chick-fil-a always say, “My pleasure,” when you thank them. (Go ahead, try it. I bet they will. I’m pretty sure it’s company policy.) I like that. It doesn’t sound as clipped as “sure.” So I may switch.

What do you think? What’s your response to a thanks? Am I completely over-thinking this whole thing?

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  • Emily
    I'm either a "you're welcome" or "no problem" person. It is seldom that I say "my pleasure," unless it truly did please me to do that thing. But I get obsessed with semantics like that.
  • jenifer
    I also don't think you're overthinking it. It's on my mind fairly frequently, which seems weird, but it's true.


    I don't always answer the same. It depends in part on the situation and in part on my mood, I guess.



    I do say, "You're welcome" a fair amount, but more casually I might say, "No problem" or "My pleasure" or "Of course" or "happy to help".



    One thing I've wondered about is how to respond when a thank you isn't really warranted. We have a door in my workplace that you can't see through, and opening it too quickly might find you hitting a person. It's not really an issue as most people are careful on both sides, but it could be.



    I was opening it slowly recently and my boss was on the other side. I finished opening the door and he said, "Thank you for opening that slowly." I hadn't done it for him, but because it's common sense, and I didn't want to run into someone and spill my tea. :) So, you're welcome didn't seem quite right, but sure sounded a little snippy, as you said it could. I mumbled through some kind of "no problem" and went on my way. But it's weighed on my mind ever since, no kidding. :) You're not the only one!
  • Halfy79
    I don't think you're over-thinking it... I can see how a "sure" might be taken the wrong way. Even if you don't mean it to.
  • Kimberly
    I usually say "You're welcome." They say "It will be my pleasure to take your order" and "It is my pleasure to serve you" at Chick Fil A, too. It's nice, but also a little disconcerting.
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