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“One chord is fine. Two chords is pushing it. Three chords and you’re into jazz.”
~ Lou Reed
“FINE” Is an Open Door for Positively Outrageous Service®
“How are you doing?”
“I’m Fine!”
How often have you heard that!
Business is all about relationships.
Relationships are elevated or eroded by the experience one encounters.
Most conversations on the phone, in a meeting, on a video conference call, start with the question: “How are you doing.”
Sometimes we will hear: “great,” “fantastic,” “busy,” “overwhelmed,” “fabulous,” or “really good.”
Often, we will hear,
“I’m fine.”
Fine is, more often than not, a default, knee-jerk reaction when things aren’t great.
We’ve all done it, I’ve done it.
Some years ago, someone asked me an additional question:
“How are you really doing?”
WOW!
That was random and unexpected!
I felt they cared. And I shared. And our relationship deepened.
Out of proportion to the circumstances.
In the British comedy-adventure film The Italian Job, a Cockney gangster Charlie Croker, says “I’m fine,”
Mr. Bridger, the crime syndicate boss, replies,
“You know what ‘fine’ stands for, don’t you? Freaked out, Insecure, Neurotic, and Emotional.”
Let me repeat that: ‘fine ‘ is an acronym for: Freaked out, Insecure, Neurotic, and Emotional.
The response “I’m fine” when we are not is simply a means to suppress our feelings because we don’t think the other person would care to hear our real emotions.
The band Maroon Five’s lyrics sing “I’m not fine, I’m in pain,” is way more honest.
Speaking the truth sets one free, permitting one to be free from other constricting and fallacious aspects of life.
In my experience, when I hear “I’m fine!”
The other person is either Freaked out, Insecure, Neurotic, or Emotional unstable for some reason.
And I ask the additional question.
To them, it’s random and unexpected:
“So, how are you really doing?”
Nineteen out of twenty times, the person is indeed not fine.
They share, they experience care.
Sometimes, if the circumstances warrant it: I’ve even prayed for them.
It’s incredible how even the agnostic will accept prayer when their cart is in the ditch.
In any case, the relationship is elevated.
Positively Outrageous Service doesn’t have to be complicated – showing you care distinguishes you from the competition.
Five words: “How are you really doing?” allows customers or team-mates to be impacted by your care, elevating the experience, enhancing the relationship.
How the customer feels about the relationship isn’t necessarily about you per se, it’s how they feel when they’re around you! Why would they want to interact with anyone else but you!
We look forward to you being Positively Outrageous as you respond to their “I’m fine!”
