After reading all the responses to this question, I found it very interesting that people had responses like the majority seemed to.
I work currently in retail and on the whole, my days at work are bearable, with both customers and staff, being supportive, helpful and mostly, but not always, polite.
I have never been trained to ask customers'how they are?' The place I work, is in an older area, with alot of elderly regulars. Many, have cancer, health concerns or ailing partners. I often see the same people on my shifts, and across a few years, have seen people come and go, as well as their spouses. I know something about many of them and have a point of reference. I have no off pat greeting for people; I may choose to say 'hi' ir 'hello', with a smile, or I may decide at that particular mo.ent, at that particular time - to ask them 'how they are?'. There really is no script nor any demands on us at my place of employment, to do anything other than a knowledge the customer exists! I'm sure, most sales people would prefer to be recognised in return. I work hard, as do my colleagues, and yes, I too shudder when I hear the very young ones ask 'how's your day been?'. However, although being older, it is not my style, and comes across as insincere, I would often hear customers, young and old, proceed to tell a particular sales assistant, exactly how their day had been. In their place, I would be stumped. In my early months in the job, which was a complete 'seachange' of vocation for me, having newly arrived from another part of the country, I dared to ask the wrong woman 'how she was'! She almost accosted me, virtually jumping the counter and threatening me. I was not helped by a manager, and was quite shaken. I didn't feel that I had done anything to elicit such s response. I actually told her, that yes, I did requite a response and that yes, I was interested in her wellbeing, and that was why I had inquired after her. There are many stories to customers, where I work, but equally, we all as humans, have a multiplicity of discourses. It's a sorry thing when we don't feel like we can relate to others, on any level, anymore. That we can't share a 'moment, no matter how insignificant. I swap recipes with customers, ask them how the family is, give hints and advise on products. I do a good job and zI care when I ask. It gets me through my work day and I feel that most people feel a little brighter for that. With depression being such a looming illness for many today, and for some of the elderly, I may be their only conversation for the day - isn't it the least we can do - be civil? I'm sorry, but I think that many of these comments suggest a complete lack of empathy and is a sad outlook on society. If it's come to that, yes, that's why self check-outs were developed, I guess. Perhaps better that some people use them, in preference.
When we see how the rest feel we see a general feeling for how they would like to be spoken too.
Your doing a great job, but we are talking about the much bigger scale, and it's not really I feel that people don't care...it is just that one question ''How are you''.
They don't know me, and there have been times when my son went missing for months, that question was totally dreadful to hear from a stranger....I was in a very bad head space, so for many people they don't want those words spoken, that person saying it wants a ''I'm fine''....I could not even say that,
just know it's not personal ...just some people's lives are ''right then'' hurting, and to say ''Fine'' is just too much.