I so agree with you about random salespeople and cashiers asking about my day. The one question that particularly grates me is, "Any exciting plans today/this weekend?" For heaven's sake, I'm nearly 70 and a caregiver, I don't want excitement. I want to relax. Depending on my mood, I either play along and say, "I'm going on an around the world cruise this afteernoon." Or, "No, I'm having surgery to remove a cancerous tumor." That's what they get for asking such a stupid question.Well, in return, the UK has copied a lot of US traditions, such as Halloween trick or treating, and now lots of people in shops, etc., say "Have a nice day" to customers. We used to be too grumpy to do or say things like that. Mind you, I still get grumpy if a shop assistant asks me what I am going to do with my afternoon when they haven't the slightest interest in the matter and I am probably not going to do anything very interesting anyway. If they call me "dear" or "darling", they are putting themselves at great risk!