Remember in the good old days when someone would say ‘How are you?’ and you’d automatically respond ‘not bad, you?’ It was all rhetorical and deeply meaningless but in the end one of those little courtesies that was neither here nor there. There are equivalents all over the world and did nothing more than break the ice or indicated an acknowledgement you were involved in an exchange with another human being. Frankly it was good enough for me and served its purpose.
Now of course that perfectly satisfactory set of words is no longer good enough and the over familiarity and intrusiveness that Facebook and (so called) Reality TV have bred demands something else. Today you are more likely to be asked an ‘open’ question such as ‘So how has your day been so far?’ I don’t like it.
It didn’t matter how you were feeling in the old days, you would always respond with ‘not bad’ or ‘good’ (as though you’d been asked your moral standing). It was a rare beast that might have been open enough to let you know in fact they were a bit crook or had a pustule that was causing them grief, thanks for asking. Today, I feel as though I need to keep a diary to recount the events of my day when some spotty, underpaid weed poses the big question. I guess I should be grateful I can understand what they’re saying because lord knows much of what anyone under 20 says these days is unfathomable to me, like no true as if whatever, totally.
What do they care how my day has been anyway? What would they do if I responded fully? ‘Well actually my day has been pretty good. I’ve survived a day of abuse and unfair work conditions in my underlit and poky office. That of course is nothing compared to the deprivations people in Iraq are enduring under the liberating forces of the coalition of the all too willing. Oh by the way what is your opinion on that whole thing? Can we really say that they are better off now than before? Especially when you consider that some sources reckon nearly 100,000 civilians have been killed by coalition forces. That’s 100,000 people who had no say in the whole process and just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and now are…dead. But at least we did all this to avenge the nearly 3000 people who were killed in the Twin Towers and just because there’s no link between that and Iraq I guess we shouldn’t look into it too deeply. How has your day been? Yes I’ll have some cash out as well thanks’
For a bit of fun when asked this question just try answering ‘terrible’ and see if you even get an acknowledgement of what you said. I bet you don’t. So automatic is the question and so uninterested or untrained are they in the reply it just disappears into the ether. One time when I was asked I just stared at the guy and I got nothing back.
There’s no escape either, you can be interrogated anywhere, the hairdresser, the bank, a restaurant, the supermarket. For God’s sake, can’t anyone cope with dead air anymore; does every bit of space have to be filled with something? Do we always have to have hold music, can no-one say ‘thanks bye’ when you leave instead of ‘thank you for shopping at Goaways’, can’t I have a moment to fill out a form without some awkward chat and trust me I don’t mind if I get my hair cut and the guy with the scissors says nothing after ‘so what are we doing today?’ It’s as though we’re scared of silence. What’s up with that?
Yes, yes I know they’re told to say it and I know there are even fascist employers who would scold their staff if they don’t say it but STOP now. That’s no excuse, it annoys me and it alienates me, it’s intrusive and I don’t think it’s appropriate.
It might be a generational thing but so what, I’m entitled to my generational sensibilities, who are you to tell me it’s wrong or old fashioned or ‘that’s the way it is now’. Believe me customer service was a whole helluva lot better twenty years ago. Now I do most of the work people used to do for me years ago, I’d ring somewhere and get to speak to someone straight away and they even solved my problem themselves. Now I have to work my way through a menu selection before I get to ask my question and be transferred around five different people without having the reason for my call answered to. I could get on a tram and buy a ticket from a real live person whether I had coin or notes let alone forgotten to buy one in advance from the not so convenient store location. I could even go into a takeaway shop and buy a cup of coffee and the person serving me would take my order, make my coffee, hand it back to me and not need to ask me my name to finalise it all with three other people needing to be involved.
Asking me how my day has been is not going to fix that. Finding a slogan or a label for everything instead of just calling it what it is isn’t going to fix it either. Listening to what I’m saying, providing me with what I want and treating me as though I am the only person you’re interested in for that brief moment will do me fine.
By the way how are you?
No comments:
Post a Comment