How often do you say 'You're Welcome'?

Did you think of an answer when you saw that question? Or did you stop and think, 'I say something, maybe not 'You're welcome.' A couple of years ago, I made the decision to start saying 'Thank you' to the people around me. This was my way of 'paying it forward', so many people seldom receive gratitude for the things they do. As you, yourself know, everyone likes to be appreciated for the efforts they make throughout the day. Store clerks, strangers that hold doors or allow me to go ahead of them, Post Office clerks, friends, family, co-workers, volunteers, anytime that someone was courteous or did something for me I acknowledged them and what they did with a 'Thank you' to show that I appreciated their presence and whatever it was they had done for me.

A friend and I were in a store last month and after I had thanked the clerk as she handed me my bag and change, my friend started fuming on the way out to the car. When I asked her what the problem was, she started this long drawn out rant on how rude the clerk had been. I was completely taken aback. Where had I been? I thought the clerk had been efficient, helpful and polite. Then the reason for the perceived rudeness came out, the clerk had NOT said 'You're welcome' after I had thanked her. She had responded with 'No problem. Come and visit us again.'

But it did get me thinking. I had made a conscious decision to say 'Thank you' to the people around me, how often did I get a response? What kind of response was I getting? What seems to be the social etiquette for 'Thank you' and 'You're welcome' nowadays?

For those that have started wondering, the phrase 'You're welcome' is a relative new comer to the English lexicon. From the Take Our Word For It site "The phrase you're welcome, as a response to thank you, dates only from the early part of the 20th century. The first record of it is in W. W. Jacobs' Short Cruises: "'Thank you,’ said the girl, with a pleasant smile. ‘You’re quite welcome,’ said the skipper." This usage popped up so late because welcome meant "well come" (i.e., one's arrival was pleasing) prior to that time, and that was broadened to include such meanings as "pleasing" or "acceptable". That group of meanings, however, arose in Middle English due to the influence of Old French bien venu, "welcome" (literally, "well come"). In Old English, welcome, which had the form wilcuma, meant "one whose coming is pleasing" or applied to someone who was "acceptable as a visitor". It was formed from wil- or will- "will, desire" and cuma "comer, guest".

The sense in you're welcome is one of "it was pleasing to me to do" whatever it was that you were thanked for."

Now that I knew where 'You're Welcome' had come from, it was time to notice where it seemed to be going. I started paying attention to the responses I got and I'd say about 80% of the people that I thanked responded to me. Out of those responses I got

You're welcome

No problem

Thanks

Anytime

Certainly

Sure

Uh-huh

My pleasure

Welcome

Oh no, thank you

No worries

Don't mention it

Not at all

It was nothing

That's alright

I'm happy to help

During my research for this hub I got the impression that the established English 'You're welcome' may be changing as a result of the Global interaction that we enjoy today. The translation of the Spanish 'De Nada' is 'It was nothing'. The Italian 'Prego' which can be used as 'You're welcome' can also be used for a number of other meanings also. And other languages have equivalent phrases for 'You're welcome' that, when translated literally into English, are a wee bit different. As more people become multi-lingual there is the usual language drift. Which is part of where 'You're welcome' came from to begin with.

But whatever verbal form that you decide to use, I still believe that it ultimately comes down to acknowledgment of an individual's existence. Which would you rather experience? A silent, efficient transaction where no words are exchanged other than what are absolutely necessary with no eye contact involved, no smiles or pleasantries? Or a cheerful greeting with comments about the weather or other inconsequential topics, smiles and eye contact with a sincere 'Thank you' and 'You're welcome, have a great day!' to close the interaction? Both scenarios would get the transaction accomplished but I'd probably walk away from the second scenario with a smile on my face.

When you hear that someone is being given the silent treatment, you know that they have (allegedly) transgressed in some way and the silent treatment is their punishment. Not being acknowledged as a person or a useful individual is another form of silent treatment, one that, sadly, happens everyday. People get busy, they get preoccupied and they just want to get through their day. I'm a firm believer in getting other people to smile makes me feel better. And so, here I am, back once again to the decision I made a couple of years ago to thank the people around me. After this thought process, I will continue to do so, not only to show appreciation but also as a, 'I see you and I acknowledge that you're here.' And, if they return the acknowledgment to me by saying 'You're welcome' or words to that effect, then that will brighten my day.

Thank you for reading my hub. You have a great day now!