What's the problem with "No problem"?

I started paying a lot of attention to this recently, and, frankly, I’m surprised at the amount of people constantly responding to “Thank you” with “No problem”.

So, what’s the problem with “No problem”?

Parsing the expression, we have a joining of two negatives:

- “No” means "not any”

- “Problem” implies a difficulty with something

Someone so inclined - actually, most of people at least on a very subconscious level - could deduce that a reply of "No problem" implies that one might have had a problem or difficulty with the task in the first place, but in the end that wasn't the case - and for that reason only they're happy to have obliged.

In actual usage, "No problem" hardly ever, if ever, carries the connotation of there having been an actual problem that had to have been overcome - we can all agree on that. Most people who reply with "No problem" following an expression of gratitude intend to convey that they acted out of politeness and were not inconvenienced, and, really, no expression of thanks is needed - that seems pretty clear, too.

However, the term "No problem" is negative in construction, and that’s what’s being subconsciously recorded by the listener - even if the intended meaning of the phrase is far from negative.

In other words: you can’t ask people to not think about a pink elephant without making them picture such an elephant immediately. The “no” in the phrase “no problem” has zero evocative power. The “problem”, however, has plenty - and gets the listener’s mind to jump into all kinds of uncomfortable scenarios.

So, what should you say, then?

I always do my best to utilise positively-charged responses that convey a very similar meaning, without triggering negative associations:

- “You’re welcome”

- “(It’s) My pleasure.”

- Even (if it’s a very informal environment) “You bet”, or “Any time”.

Have you noticed people saying “No problem” all around you? How do you respond to “Thank yous”? Let me know in the Comments section below.