a few months ago, the local taco bell began asking “how are you?” at the drive-thru. it was, of course, immediately obvious that the request to be more personable was handed down from the taco ranks. yet, i still thought that perhaps my taco bell order taker actually cared. i always followed with “great! and yourself?”, or “just fine thanks, how about you?” responses varied from passively moderate (“fine – go ahead with your order”) to no response at all (“order when you’re ready”).
tonight, my burrito sales agent asked me how i was doing. i asked for a number two.
you can ask your minimum waged employees to exchange pleasantries. that’s not likely to actually make them give a shit.