Short but sweet

[Shalom]

I usually get the opposite: people call up on the phone and say "How are you I need a refill on my..." with no gap for me to tell them how I actually am. If you don't give a damn, why ask?

I can only speculate that "Howareyou" has become a meaningless phrase that simply means "I greet you" (although it's commonly spelled "Hiya"), and no longer bears any meaning of "I would like to know how you are". Just as "Godbewithyou" has turned into a single word meaning "I take leave of you" (usually spelled "goodbye"), with no religious overtones implied..

[ralerin]

I do sort of the opposite. Whenever I hear anyone say "thank you!" in my vicinity, I AUTOMATICALLY say "you're welcome!" even if it's not addressed to me.

Or "Enjoy your lunch!"

"You too!" Oh wait, they're not actually on lunch. Crap!

[SourRobot]

I really hate it when people greet me with, "How are you?" because they never mean it. It just means hello to them. I have coworkers who do that and keep walking when I'm trying to answer them. It's made me so confused/annoyed that I don't even know how to answer them anymore. If you mean to say hello, then just say that! It's quicker, people!

[HYHYBT]

I do sort of the opposite. Whenever I hear anyone say "thank you!" in my vicinity, I AUTOMATICALLY say "you're welcome!" even if it's not addressed to me.

Or "Enjoy your lunch!"

"You too!" Oh wait, they're not actually on lunch. Crap!

No, but presumably they will have lunch at some point in the future.

[Pagan]

Me: Can I help you?
Them: Smith, John
Me: *thinking* No, I'm Pagan.

this happens on a regular basis. i've decided 60% of my customers don't listen to a word i say.

Only 60%? Wow! I think it's usually around 95% of what I get. It's gotten to the place sometimes that I just automatically repeat everything I say.

I can only speculate that "Howareyou" has become a meaningless phrase that simply means "I greet you" (although it's commonly spelled "Hiya"), and no longer bears any meaning of "I would like to know how you are". Just as "Godbewithyou" has turned into a single word meaning "I take leave of you" (usually spelled "goodbye"), with no religious overtones implied..

I really hate it when people greet me with, "How are you?" because they never mean it. It just means hello to them. I have coworkers who do that and keep walking when I'm trying to answer them. It's made me so confused/annoyed that I don't even know how to answer them anymore. If you mean to say hello, then just say that! It's quicker, people!

That's exactly what it is. It's just a social nicety that has lost any and all meaning. They don't care how you are.

What grinds my gears is that I'm expected to respond with, "Fine. How are you?" With a few exceptions with some of our regulars, I couldn't give a crap how they are and am sometimes actively wishing they'd go Far, Far Away.

[Andara Bledin]

Bleh, I don't like when people ask me that because they don't want to know at all, they just want you to ask them back or it's part of the "greeting" phrase.

At least the person in the OP responded to half of it.

To be honest, I do the same thing.

My old boss (and the new bossman) and one of the managers will all sometimes go into some long, drawn-out sob story about how their pet died, and their mother is in the hospital, and they've got all sorts of various illnesses and ailments because they know the other party doesn't really care, and they feel like having a lark. I don't really think it's all that cool, myself.

^-.-^

[cactus]

We don't greet that way in Norway..at least not in customer/employee relations. So imagine how weird I looked when on vacation in Australia
Employee: "Hi how are you?"
Me: *uhm...puzzled look* "fine...thanks?" (is this what I'm supposed to say? What Would CustomersSuck members Say?) "uhm..and how are you?"
Employee: "Good, thanks, how can I help you today?
Me: (Oh good that WAS how I'm supposed to answer thank <deity> for CS.com) "Shoes! I'm...just gonna look around a bit."

I got the hang of it pretty fast, though. So fast that I was confused all over again when coming home to Norway and NO ONE was polite. *sigh*