Closing the Gap Between What You Say and What People Hear

The problem with “Not a problem.”

This is a pet peeve of mine, but please don’t say, “Not a problem.”  And this is not just me being cranky.  It’s wrong.  Okay, it’s not always wrong.  There are times when not a problem makes sense.  When might that be?  Well, when perhaps it was a problem—when the request might have been an imposition.  Say I ask you to do me a favor, for example.  Me:  “I know you’re busy, but could you possibly help me out with this?”  You:  ”Sure thing. Not a problem.”  See?  There it makes sense.  My request might have been an imposition, but you’re saying it’s not.  Good.

When does it not make sense?  Pretty much anytime other than that.  For instance,  I’m trying to order a pizza.  They put me on hold.  It’s taking forever.  My life is passing before my eyes, it’s taking so long.  Finally, they come back on:  ”Can I help you?”

“I’d like to order a pizza for delivery.”

“Not a problem.”

No.  That’s not right.  Putting aside the fact that I’ve been on hold so long that I missed my kid’s graduation, you guys sell pizzas.  I’m not asking for anything out of the ordinary, not asking for any special favors.  I’m just ordering a pizza.  So under no scenario is it appropriate that you might have considered that to be an imposition.  You see what I’m saying?  But when you say, “Not a problem”, that’s what I have to wonder.  Your words send my mind off to processing land where I have to spend considerable time and energy sorting out the mess. Does he really think I’m imposing?  Probably not.  He seems nice enough.  But still, what if he does?  Should I be pissed?  I think I might be pissed. How dare he?  Who does he think he is? And so on.  Is that helpful to you?  Is “difficult-struggle-anger” the association you want me to have with your services?  I don’t think so.

I know.  I’m ranting.  Sorry.  But I’m hearing this all the time now, in all the wrong situations, and it’s driving me nuts.

Instead of “not a problem,” say, “okay, great” or “fantastic, what would you like?” or “great, thanks for calling.”  Something like that.  Also, sometimes I hear people say “not a problem” in response to “thank you.”  Again, please don’t.  Unless it was a special favor, that sends the wrong message.  Much better would be a simple, “you’re welcome” or “happy to help.”

This might seem like a small thing to get so worked up about.  (And some of it might just be me.)  But at the same time, the things we say matter.  The words we choose have specific meanings.  So it’s better to use the right ones.  It’s clearer, more respectful, and ultimately more effective.  It’s certainly easier on cranky old me.

Tags: Communication, communication coach, communication training, customer service, customer service training

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 14th, 2009 at 9:26 am and is filed under Communication. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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