How should you respond to "thank you"?

Working behind the counter at Papa Gino's Pizzeria has introduced me to many people saying "thank you." Actions such as taking someone's order, bringing them their food, or hanging up the phone after talking to a customer all lead to this aforementioned saying. As a child, whenever anyone said thank you to me, my elders would nudge the response "you are welcome" out of me. This polite reply seemed to be the only acceptable answer. Despite this, when I hear "thank you" from a customer, I almost always respond "no problem." This realization prodded a question inside me. Why do I not respond with you are welcome to thank you while working, and what should I respond to anyone saying "thank you"?

The three most common responses I come up with to thank you are in descending order of commonness "no problem", "you are welcome", and "thank you." I think the biggest gain from looking at my most common response is intertwining it with the people who tell me the vast majority of thank yous, my customers. No problem is such a standard response because while working, it is my job to help the customer. I am not taking anything out of my day or any extraordinary extra measure to help these people; it is my job. Responding with no problem signifies this because I should be helping them no matter what. To respond with something like you are welcome would mean that I went above and beyond what was expected of my position to help someone. Why I return "thank you" with "thank you" stems from a different reason than any other response. It is because I am confused. I am caught up in the moment and while thank you is not a correct response, it is something easy that shows my appreciation to the person.

It is important to look at how we communicate with one another. While some people may feel that the only response to "thank you" is a strong "you are welcome" this take disavows specificity in language. One phrase can not encapsulate each feeling or reason behind a motion, and that is why there must be multiple responses to everything. Looking at it from the other direction, by generalizing ideas into single phrases a more congruent and inclusive language forms. These easy response answers enable people to show their appreciation for one another even if they cannot use words to explain precisely why they are thankful. This need for specificity while also inclusiveness is an incredibly exciting part of language. While having hundreds of different languages in use around the world can cause a feeling of exclusiveness between groups it also allows humans to express their feelings uniquely in each language. Finding the language that best fits you can allow for a greater realization of self as you can communicate who you truly are to yourself the outside world. From a simple response to a polite thank you, to formulating the poem you have worked your life on, language is an individual piece of each of ourselves.