I was a barista at Starbucks and I meant every word of my greetings. The 5 seconds you make eye contact with someone and say hi to them are vital for gathering your senses, and starting this interaction a new. If you didn't say "hi, how are you", asshole clients would rub off on you and you would smear that bad vibe on all subsequent clients. However, when you greet someone, and they greet you back warmly, crap-vibes get washed away and you get good energies.
I used to look forward to my favorite clients; it's like stones in a puddle, you jump from one to the next to get to where you're going. Same with good people, they help you go through the day. So start the day positively, greet everyone cheerfully, serve loyally and enjoy yourself; the 8 hours pass QUICKLY.
I worked some pretty bad jobs when I was a kid, similar to his experience at Starbucks, he's totally right about the nice people really getting you through your day.
This is probably the best explanation of the effectiveness of the customary greeting extended even to strangers in US. It may sound mechanical but it does serves an important purpose.
Great observation! It's really up to us to imbue those apparently automatic gestures with some meaning. And maybe it shows when we do. I can see how sincerely greeting a customer could help "reset" the mood back to positive.
I used to look forward to my favorite clients; it's like stones in a puddle, you jump from one to the next to get to where you're going. Same with good people, they help you go through the day. So start the day positively, greet everyone cheerfully, serve loyally and enjoy yourself; the 8 hours pass QUICKLY.