“How are you doing today?”

Perhaps I’m just getting calloused and cynical, but I have a mounting frustration with the guy that runs the Starbucks drive-thru.  Every time I go there, he greets me with the following line:

“Good morning, welcome to Starbucks…
How are you doing today?”

I know you are wondering what the big deal is.  My problem with this guy is that he is being disingenuous.  He doesn’t care how I’m doing!

He asks every single customer the same fake question everyday, expecting the same fake answer every time… “Fine, thanks.”  One tale tale sign that he doesn’t really care is the fact that he obliviously asks the same question when my window is rolled down in the pouring down rain.  My philosophy is to be genuine.  I don’t ask how someone is doing if I’m not interested in hearing the real answer.

Can you imagine what he would do if I actually unloaded how I’m really doing on a particularly bad day?