Why "how are you" is so difficult to Finns

I've worked almost ten years with UK and US people. I had heard about and experienced the "how are you" -culture few times, but properly I experienced it the first time when I started working with them and traveled there more. In the first years, I actually answered to the "How are you" question properly even to the cashiers and waitresses. I did tell about long travels, difficulties with time difference or what was actually ongoing on my mind. Then at some point I realized that they don't actually give a shit about how I am, but that's just their way of being polite.

In Finland, when someone asks "How are you", they actually mean it. Most of the times people genuinely want to know is everything OK and is there something new ongoing. World is slowly changing even in Finland,, but we've had the mentality to only talk when there's something to say. So the always coming "how are you" questions are quite strange.

I've learned a lot in my trips about the "how are you" culture, but even nowadays I'm confused in when the question comes from someone you know or even consider a friend. I'm not really sure if they actually want to know how I am or is just their way of saying hi.

In my recent London trip I again noticed myself actually answering to the "how are you" question with a proper answer at least twice. They were people who I hadn't seen for a while, but I considered as a work friends, people who might have actually cared about how I was doing. When I was answering to the question, I did notice from their body language that they were not actually expecting me to answer.

The whole "how are you" thing is just too difficult for Finns. I would encourage anyone working with Finns to skip the "How are you" part, if you don't actually mean it. We will not get offended, because we don't realize that's something one should do. Next time you meet a Finn, just say Hi.

Written by +Henri Hämäläinen

Book Review: The New Jim Crow

Once in a while I try to find books from subjects I don't know about. This time I got my hands to very important book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander. It's a book which reveals that racial discrimination still exists in US and it is almost comparable to the ages of slavery.

Book goes through the history of racism from early days of US to the latest moments with Barack Obama being the president. Book tells the story of Drug War and how it is actually a war against black people and not that much about drugs.

Michelle Alexander is associate professor of law in Ohio and has been involved in many civil rights campaigns. She definitely has a good view on current justice system and knows what she is talking about.

I don't live in US, so I have an outside view to the country. It was shocking to read many fact about US. The amount of prisoners in US prisons is huge and the vast majority of those are black males. Also I was surprised to find out that prisoners can't vote and how huge sentences you can get from minor drug possessions. As an example in Finland (where I live) we have 10-times less people in prisons when equalized to the amount of people overall. Also in Finland everyone has the right to vote, even prisoners.

As this is a review of the book, I don't want to dig too much into my own views about the subject. What is certain is that this book will definitely raise questions and thoughts. The subject isn't that close to me, I'm a white person living outside US, but still I found it important and interesting. It feels that I'm telling about subject, that I shouldn't be criticizing or supporting, since I'm not involved. I do want to support human rights everywhere, so I encourage people to read the book.

Book was well written and had lot of quotations and supporting material included. Even so, that it became bit cumbersome to read. That's my critic for the book. With better editing, I believe book could have been made easier to read and understand. The current editing will turn down some of the readers who should read this book.

Hopefully the issue behind the book will be raised to the attention it needs soon. Also I hope people will read this book and talk about these issues. Racial discrimination is far from over. It needs attention. This book will help to understand how it is happening.

Written by +Henri Hämäläinen

Sometimes good service is to tell to the customer they are not right?

I was recently at US on a business trip. At hotel restaurant I put the bill to my room bill. It was my first day there and I didn't remember my room number correctly, which I didn't notice. Then few minutes later the waiter came back being really sorry that She had made some mistake and I need to sign the thing again. I wondered a bit with the bill but eventually noticed that, the room number was actually the issue there.

For me, as a European and Finn, that's a bad service. I would have been much more pleased if the waiter would have just come to say, that she thinks that I may have entered the wrong number.

At the trip there was even a second similar thing that happened. I'm pretty sure I was at the wrong place and others had to make changes due to me, but others just kept telling, it was their fault.

I admire polite honesty on a customer service more than a fake pleasing. There's enough faking in the world.

Written by +Henri Hämäläinen