Americans are explaining to Europeans why saying ‘you're welcome’ is passive-aggressive
Americans have opened up about the culture divide
By now it's nothing new that Americans and Europeans have some very major cultural differences.
Whether it's differing views on tipping culture or over how much water they drink - Americans have not been shy in sharing their confusion about a whole host of things many Europeans find totally normal.
The latest in the saga sees Americans explaining to Europeans why saying 'you're welcome' is passive-aggressive and what phrases they would commonly opt for instead. Have a look:
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Some US-dwellers have taken to TikTok to share just why they find the phrase, when used in the context of customer service interactions, somewhat rude.
Talking about the discourse, which has gone viral this week, TikToker Arjuna, who goes by the handle @superdesidrinks, opened up on the bizarre phenomenon.
He began: "Someone went viral earlier this week for saying that Americans don't say 'you're welcome' in customer service situations.
"I'm not here to sh*t on them but I do want to explain for non-Americans why we don't really say 'you're welcome' and why 'you're welcome' feels a little outdated to a lot of Americans."
Arjuna told viewers that 'you're welcome' can sometimes feel 'too strong of a sentiment' and even a 'little passive-aggressive'.
While he acknowledged that it may be 'confusing' especially for people who were taught that the 'textbook answer' to 'thank you' is 'you're welcome'.
The TikToker continued: "But here's the American logic behind it.
"Let's say I'm a cashier at a fast-food restaurant, and they hand someone their food, and they say 'thank you', to a lot of Americans, for us to say 'you're welcome' has the mindset of like 'Oh, yeah, we just did something big for you'.
"Like, it has this implication of 'I know, you should be thanking me'."
Arjuna noted that this rings particularly true to those who work in customer service.
If they complete 'such a small task' which is 'part of [their] job' for the customer, then saying 'you're welcome' after being thanked for it 'seems way too intense for that'.
Instead, the TikToker said, they would say 'uh-huh', 'no problem' or 'don't worry about it'.
"All these responses are essentially saying, 'the thing I did for you is so small and unimportant, that your thanks isn't even necessary," he added, explaining it was a way to both 'acknowledge' that you have been thanked but also that it 'really isn't such a big deal'.
He then used an example where 'you're welcome' would be deemed a more appropriate response.
"But if I donated a kidney to someone, and then they came up to me, and were like 'thank you' then I'd be like 'yeah, you're welcome'."
Arjuna captioned the clip: "I promise you Americans are actually very polite!!!"
What do you make of it?
Topics: TikTok, US News, Weird, World News, Viral, Social Media
Rhiannon Ingle