Do you feel people mean it, when they tell you to, "have a good day"?

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   backporchstoriesposted 12 years ago

   So many of us deal with the public on a daily basis.  We often become like robots with general greetings and gratitudes, like, "how are you today?", or "thank you so much!".  Outside of playing respectful and polite, how often do you feel the person is sincere in wishing you a good day and are you truthful when you are telling someone, "hey, have a good one!" ?

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      Cagsilposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      If I said it, then I meant it. Otherwise, I wouldn't have said it.

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      MarleneBposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I don't ever say it if I don't mean it. And, I think most people generally mean it, except for those times when they cock their head and put the emphasis on the word day, like, "Have a nice DAY!"

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   knolyourselfposted 12 years ago

   Why does it matter?

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   Uninvited Writerposted 12 years ago

   I mean it when I say it, don't know about others.

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      Pearldiverposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Me too!  But with strangers saying it?  You can often tell how sincere they are, by the size of the $bill they slip you to help you actually enjoy the day!

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         Uninvited Writerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         You can tell when people ask how are you and don't wait for the reply

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            Pearldiverposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            That's true... also by the direction their feet face when they ask.

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            ptosisposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            that's true

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   SpanStarposted 12 years ago

   It used to be a time when life was slow and people got to know each other if not completely partially.  The number of people have increased significantly and today life moves at a much faster pace. I am certain many of the people who work with the public are not sincere when they express these certain greetings because many of them are mandated by the business itself in an attempt to keep customers coming back.
   
   They may not be sincere but I understand their reasoning. I do at times tried to put a smile on someone's face in hopes at least for a moment it will brighten their day.

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      backporchstoriesposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I miss those days of porch swings in the evenings and neighbors walking around saying hello!

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         SpanStarposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Yes, It seemed like life was more meaningful then. People real did seem like they cared for one-another with their heart.
         
         Let me clarify for those pencils necks that can find fault with everything..Yes there were problems also then but a number of people took delight in trying to help others.

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   paradigmsearchposted 12 years ago

   You are all fine human beings in your own right.

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   Mighty Momposted 12 years ago

   I don't care if they mean it or not. Saying it represents a public expression of civility that is rapidly diminishing in our digitally dominated existence.
   Gives me a chance to interact on a personal (if pseudo personal) basis in what would otherwise be an anonymous business transaction.
   
   "Have a good day" are words my friends and I would not resort to when signing off with each other or saying good-bye in person.

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   Arlene V. Pomaposted 12 years ago

   I'm not going to analyze whether people mean it or not.  When I first retired, I always heard retired folk say, "It's another good day above ground," whenever they were greeted with a "How are you today?" by a clerk or salesperson.  Now, I know what they mean. 
   
   If you've ever had to work a job where you need to get people to move after you have served them, you will say anything to send them on their way.  Lately, there's always someone at the bank who has a life story to tell the clerk while the rest of us are rolling our eyes and waiting in line.
   
   Y'all have a nice day, hear???

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   Lisa HWposted 12 years ago

   It's an extremely rare occurrence that I'd ever say anything I didn't mean.  I think I'm far from alone in that.  Then again, some customer-service-type people are told how to end an interaction; but I don't care if they don't particularly mean it a good part of the time. 
   
   The only job I ever had that involved dealing with customers was as supermarket cashier in high school.  We weren't instructed to say that, but I seriously doubt that a lot of the people - like phone-company customer-service people - really mean it in a whole lot of work/customer situations.  Some may (particularly if you've shared a little laugh or otherwise had a conversation that went a little beyond the business at hand).
   
   I don't say "have a good day", but I do say things like "have a nice rest of the night" or "have a nice day off" when I'm ending a talk/visit with friends or family (especially my kids); and I do mean it.  I guess I like personalizing the "have a good day" message because I do mean it (but "have a good day" is so over-used).  I also mean it if a customer-service person that I happened to particularly like says it to me and I say, "You too".

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