For awhile, the tellers at my bank were saying, "Welcome." You could tell they weren't comfortable with it and it didn't help that I would shake my head and say, "They're making you say that, aren't they?" I like to think I helped end it, but small talk has its purpose.
For instance, you're zoning out and you go into the convenience store to buy something. Would you rather hear, "nice day" or "To what extent do you shape your own destiny, and how much is down to fate?"
Ever since I read an article on flight attendants' pet peeves, I request "coffee with 2 milk." They smile in gratitude. Even though we all know what we take in our coffee, the majority of people wait for the flight attendant to ask the same words that are repeated a couple of hundred times a day. Be nice to them. They can spit in your coffee too.
So I should be saying:
Then they will say, "Will that be ev... please pull ahead."