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Not Asking People How They Are
Phone: ::ring ring, ring ring"
Me, answering: "Edmonds Honey, this is Kris"
Person: "Hi this is [first name only] how are you?"
Me, sounding hesitant as I try to comb my brain if I should immediately know this person "I'm good how are you?"
Person: "Good, thanks, anyway I called because..."
This seems to be the standard way Australians call businesses (whereas in America when calling a business you usually try to get in the reason why you're calling in your first line, and introduce yourself as "Hi my name is X" rather than "this is X" as if the person should know you).
Even once I got used to the fact that callers were falsely implying I should know them, I was always finding it very annoying that their question more or less compelled me to ask them how they are at a point in the conversation when I really didn't care and wanted them to get to the point. But finally I came up with a solution.
Now instead of saying "I'm good how are you?" I respond with "I am good and I hope you are as well." I love how it catches them offguard as an unexpected response. Most often they hesitate for a second and then respond "I'm good thanks" in kind of a confused manner like they know it's not-quite-sequitur from what I'd just said but its too late to stop themselves from this automatic response. I love it.
It might seem unfriendly to specifically avoid asking people how they are, and maybe it is but really I'm just trying to preserve the sanctity of actually meaning it while asking someone how they are. In related news when I go through the grocery store check out and ask the cashier how they are it quite annoys me when I can't get them to give a genuine response.
When people ask me in person how I am, if there's not a more specific status report to be made generally I will very enthusiastically say I am living the dream. When some more cynical souls have tried to get me to admit I'm being sarcastic or something I will not budge from this emphatically cheerful status report.
Also on the subject of breaking conversational expectations, when bidding customers goodbye I like to tell them to "have a delightful day." It's just different enough than the usual merely "good" day.
Totally Unrelated Picture of the Day
I recently took a friend (not the person pictured) to local tourist site the "12 Apostles." In this picture I purposefully caught a tourist and tourist infrastructure, for reasons of cynicism. "Better" (the shot taken by billions of tourists) shot I took at hte time of the iconic rock formation itself here.
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"And you’d probably be alarmed if they started answering honestly." — not at all, sometimes they'll be like "oh I'm really bored" or "I'm hungry" or something and I greatly appreciate that and engage them on the topic. And when someone asks me how my day is or how I'm doing they damn well be prepared for a real answer because if I will tell them.
And yeah I don't know there's just a fundamental difference between someone walking up to the shop, I'm prepared to ask them how they're doing and be conversational about it, but when someone calls, I don't know, their using their first line NOT to tell me why they're calling doesn't prepare me to want to engage them in polite conversation.
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I love both photos of the 12 Apostles. I've only seen them from afar, of course, having never traveled to Australia, but they are quite lovely.
- Erulisse (one L)
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:D
I do like the have a delightful day as a goodbye though.
I like both the photos but the one with the girl sitting on the railing is great. Was somebody else taking her photo as well?
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what I don't like is when people call me and I pick up the phone and they immediately say "who is this?". YOU called me, you should identify yourself first!
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I love your variations on the "script" lol. I like surprising people too.
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I like your answer. People do that all the time here in Texas. Even when you drive up to the fast food joint. I feel compelled to ask how they are, as well.