No Problem

No Problem

I have noticed that there has been a recent increase in people stating whether there is a problem or not - but the meaning keeps shifting and is therefore becoming more difficult to comprehend…

 

I used to think that I understood the sentiment quite well.  I would tell someone something that could potentially create a problem for my listener. For example, I might say “I’m really sorry but the item you ordered is out of stock. We won’t be able to deliver to you until next Wednesday.” They might respond reassuringly by saying “Oh that’s not a problem; we have enough stock to last until then.”

 

Alternatively, I might thank someone who has gone out of their way to help me and they might respond with “No problem.” to humbly diminish their efforts, to indicate that they were happy to help me and to prevent me from feeling overly indebted to them.

 

There has certainly been a trend where “No problem” is said when there should never be any expectation of a problem (such as in response to ordering a coffee in a coffee shop and having sufficient funds to pay for it). However the term “No problem” (and variations, with and without embellishments) seems to be mutating into yet another form:

 

Caller: “Do you have such-and-such in stock?”

 

Me: “Yes we’ve got lots of those in stock.”

 

Caller: “Not a problem.”

 

Me: “No, I said we DO have lots of those.”

 

Caller: “Yeah - no problem whatsoever.”

 

Me: “Did you hope that we didn’t have any?”

 

Caller: “What? No, we need them. So you’ve got them yeah? Could you deliver ten of them to me to arrive tomorrow morning?”

 

Me: “Yes we can.”

 

Caller: “No problem at all.”

 

Me: “No.”

 

Caller: “What?”

 

Me: “Problem”

 

Caller: “There’s a problem?”

 

Me: “No, there isn’t.”

 

Caller: “So you’ll get them delivered to me tomorrow morning then?”

 

Me: “Yes”

 

Caller: “No probs.”

 

Me: “Well ok, I’ll get on with it then. Thank you for your order. Goodbye.”

 

 

So it seems that “No problem” is beginning to be used simply as a broad-based positive response. It’s important to keep up with modern lingo.

 

I can’t wait to try it out… maybe when I open my presents at Christmas.