It’s a Funny World

It’s a funny world, if you’re listening. Yesterday while waiting at the gate for my flight to board (and slamming down my Starbucks which could NOT accompany me on my flight) a voice boomed dramatically on the overhead:

 

“Do NOT attempt to sneak any liquids on board this flight. If you do, the lights will dim, sirens will blast, the gates will slam shut and you will be whisked away.” I don’t even know what the rest of the announcement was, as I was laughing out loud. I looked around—few if any were listening—too bad. You gotta grab the humor where you can find it—especially in airports.

 

My dear friend, Mary, shared that while sitting in the dentist chair, she overhead the conversation going on in the next room:

 

“It looks like you’re gonna need a root canal, Mrs. Smith,” the dentist said.

 

“Ugggghhhhhhhh! I’d rather have a baby!” came the woman’s reply.

 

The dentist responded, “Well, let me know which one you’d like me to perform so I can adjust the chair.”

 

One of my audience members shared that at a recent staff meeting, her CEO asked the team if anyone would like to participate in the 401K. A new and enthusiastic young man raised his hand and said, “I would—but can you tell me how many miles that would be?”

 

Another participant heard someone ask his surgeon about post-surgical limitations. “Can we have sex after my cataract surgery is over?”

“Not today,” the surgeon replied without missing a beat. “I’ve got other patients.”

 

One day my travel agent called and told me about a customer she’d just booked a flight for. Apparently it was the first time the lady had ever flown because when the agent asked her if she would prefer an aisle or a window seat, the woman paused and then responded, “You better give me an aisle seat. I don’t want to get my hair messed up.” (Don’t you just hate it when they leave the windows rolled down on those 747s???)

 

My advice—listen up and grab the laughs where you can.

Improv Your Customer Service

My youngest son, Adam, is a student at Second City, the school of improve in Chicago, the springboard for so many of the Saturday Night Live cast. Finally people who can appreciate what his high school teachers could not—his comedic genius! (How many trips to the principal’s office for entertaining his classmates? I lose track&hellip

Recently I asked him how he was applying his lessons at Second City to other areas of his life (hoping that my tuition dollars were getting the most bang for the yuck, so to speak). I was pleasantly taken aback by the wisdom he has acquired. He works evenings waiting tables (as many starving artists do) at a local restaurant/jazz club: Andy’s Jazz Club. (For those of you living or visiting Chicago, definitely check this place out—great food and great music [and amazing waiters—at least on certain nights…]).

He explained that the two most important rules of improv are 1) Never say no. Whatever the situation, say yes—take whatever situation you’re given (especially the unexpected) and go from there—run with it.

2) Make the rest of the ensemble look good. It’s not about yourself—it’s about the others on your team.

So… how does that apply to waiting tables??? Adam explained to me that every seat, every patron is a “scene” and whatever request is made, the answer is always yes. (Oh, that all the waiters and waitresses in my past could have said "yes," rather than—“we can’t substitute,” “it’s not our policy,” “you’re not my table” and other statements sure to ruin one’s appetite!)

Secondly, being a very funny guy, his tendency in the past was to entertain those at his tables—not a bad thing.  But what he’s realized is that there’s always at least one person in every group that enjoys being funny, too. Thus rule #2: Make the other person look good. Adam loves being funny, but now his goal is to make someone at his table appear funnier than him. “When I’m funny, I get good tips. But when I make the other guy look even funnier, I get great tips.”

Wow! The answer to almost all customer service challenges wrapped up in the first two rules of improv!

Say yes to the customer’s request and run with it—make it work using creativity, imagination, humor and whatever it takes.

It’s about the other people, not us. Making our customers, patients, coworkers, bosses, spouses, family members, friends, classmates—whomever!—look good.  As my mom always said, “what goes around comes around.”

Way to go, Adam. Go to the head of the class.

May 1 (You don’t have to make this stuff up…)

Eau brother! Hasbro and Demeter Fragrance Library have released their latest essence: Eau de Play-Doh! The limited-edition scent (smelling amazingly like the distinctive smelling modeling compound) is a smell for “highly creative people” says Hasbro’s publicist. At $19 an ounce—such a bargain! Other scents include Dirt, Tomato and Thunderstorm are available at www.demeterfragrance.com

 

Just what I always wanted–to smell like Mr. Bill!

April 7

Observed t-shirt: Party ‘til he’s cute

Observed bumper sticker: D.A.M.  Mothers Against Dyslexia

 

While I was standing in line at Starbuck’s, a curly headed four year old girl in tow with her mom by and shrieked, ”Oh boy! Starbucks!” The woman behind me murmured, “she raised her right!”

 

 

The flight attendant caught everyone’s attention when she announced during the safety instructions: “The lavatory is located in the front of the cabin. It will remain in the front of the cabin for the duration of the flight. At no time will the lavatory be in the back of the cabin.  In the unlikely event of a water landing, your seat may be used as a flotation device. Place your arms through the straps, lean against the cushion, and once you have paddled to safely to shore, you may keep the cushion with our compliments.”

 

My 7-year-old stepson, Tom, was assigned to do a report for school but he couldn’t decide what to write about. We ran through a litany of ideas: animals, bugs, super heroes, cartoon characters—nothing appealed to him. We then ran through his favorite kinds of foods: pizza, M&Ms, bagels—no luck.  “I don’t want to write about foods,” he said adamantly.

 

Out of desperation, his dad said, “How about boogers?!”

 

Tom cocked his head and smiled. “I said I don’t want to write about food!”

 

You know what they say—the difference between boogers and broccoli is that kids won’t eat their broccoli!

February 7

Feb 7

Just finished up a delightful trip visiting my two awesome sons. They’re as different as night and day and I couldn’t love them more. My oldest, David, has the laid back dry wit of his dad, with a slightly sicker twist (gets that from me!). We watched “Anchorman” with Will Ferrell together and laughed out loud—what a great bonding experience! He’s still cancer-free, although he’s still dealing with the ramifications of chemo: avascular necrosis in both hips that will eventually necessitate hip replacements. He takes it a day at a time, all in stride and keeps his sense of humor. I’m so proud of him.

My youngest, Adam, took me to the Improv Olympics (in
Chicago—brrrrrrrr!) last night. What a hoot! These guys and gals are so quick on their feet, taking a cue from the audience and running wild with it. A lot of people really haven’t experienced or understand Improv. It’s a terrific skill that would benefit anyone in their daily life—at work or at home—learning to think on your feet—quickly, creatively and with humor. Adam is currently studying improve atSecond
City—the springboard for many of the Saturday Night Live cast. I’m quite confident that somewhere in the not-so-distant future you’ll see his smiling face there, as well. Adam and I shared laughs over “Wedding Crashers” (also with a Will Ferrell cameo). I guess my boys do share something in common—they both crack up over Will Ferrell!

Tonite I’m heading back for home to my new husband and warmer weather. It’s a long flight back to
San Diego but the crew of Southwest doesn’t let me down. After completing the safety instructions, the flight attendant notified us that the cabin lights would be turned down “to enhance the appearance” of the person seated next to us. He then went on to explain that the reading lights could be found above our heads, in between and not to be confused with the call lights for the flight attendants, which were on either side of the reading lights. He suggested we find them right away as “it’s gonna get reeeeeeeeal dark in here.” He paused and then turned off the cabin lights. Immediately we heard a “ding” as a flight attendant call light was accidentally pushed. He sighed and then commented, “There’s always one!”

January 24

Tuesday 3:30 p.m.  I’m
Karyn Buxman-Godek and I can’t believe you actually found you way to my blog.  Amazing… Here’s where you’ll get to read my observations and rants which will hopefully have some connection to humor as it relates to business, relationships and health. The world’s a funny place. Trouble is, most of the time we’re too busy to note the funny stuff that’s right under our noses. Maybe that’s where I come in. Seems that I have a knack for finding the humor in a situation. Granted, things aren’t always funny. Time may have to pass before we can find the humor in a situation. But I think most adult humor comes from pain and discomfort. It may be our own or someone else’s—it may be a little pain, it may be a lot—who knows? But in today’s world there’s no shortage of pain so there probably isn’t going to be a shortage of humor, either.

 

Yesterday was a day filled with frustration. After recently getting married (not the frustrating part!) I’m in the process of moving and I can’t find anything. Seems no matter what I need, I can’t find it. My life is chaos and piles. And then last night my husband stands before me holding our tickets to Cirque du Soliel—soooooo??? The tickets were for the day before— we’d spent our Sunday afternoon trudging through piles and piles of stuff when we were supposed to be at the long-awaited (and not cheap) Cirque du Soliel— agggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I’m depressed and frustrated to the point of tears. And then this wonderful man sits me down, tells me to close my eyes and after a few moments, instructs me to turn to the tv. I look and there is my favorite scene from the hysterical movie (and I do mean hysterical!!!!) In and Out with Kevin Kline. There’s no way I can watch him dance to “I Will Survive” and stay depressed—just no way. I’m gonna keep this man—You want a successful relationship? Find someone you can laugh with (and laugh and laugh&hellip BTW, if you haven’t seen In & Out, run, don’t walk to your nearest Blockbuster and rent it.

 

Today is one of those days that I get to practice what I preach. I’m on my way to do a presentation for the Florida Educational Facilities Planners Association. Just as we’re pulling away from the gate at the
San Diego airport—bam! Mechanical failure. After keeping us a captive audience (literally) and in suspense—they decide they better put us all on another plane—too bad it won’t get there in time for my connection, a.k.a. the last flight out to Jacksonville, FL (than you very much, Delta). Drats—now I have to fly to
Savannah, GA and drive to Amelia Island, FL, getting in sometime around 1 a.m.  (On our second plane, we’re flying for about 5 minutes when we here this loud “whump” and shortly after the captain announces that the noise was an engine and we probably weren’t gonna make it to
Atlanta (thanks, again, Delta). N-E-way… seems that we’re gonna give it a try. If you’re reading this, then I guess we made it.)

 

Few people can grasp how directionally challenged I am. When getting driving directions from someone and they say, “you can’t miss it,” I shudder. There are days I can’t find my way out of a brown paper bag with a map… And now I’m driving in the middle of the night to a place I’ve never been in a car that’s not mine and no GPS available… And after all this grief, I get to step up on stage and tell folks how to find the humor in the situation.

 

Hmmm… how could this be worse…  I could be stuck in the last row of the airplane… middle seat… between 2 sumo wrestlers… with flatulence problems… yikes—that definitely would be worse…  this may take some more time to find the humor in this—but I guess that’s a start. More later.