"'It is kind of our job to give a "wow" experience,' says William, a Trader Joe’s employee in Seattle.... 'Hey, how’s it going?' is William’s only prepared line."

"'From there, if they seem like they want to talk, I’ll ask more questions. If not, I’ll let it be, I just ring them out and bag them and let them go.' Shoppers tell him about their ongoing chemotherapy and the death of their beloved cats.... During morning shifts at Trader Joe's, elderly people come in wanting someone to talk to.... On TikTok, nearly 6 million followers tune in to watch actor and longtime server Drew Talbert dramatize restaurant behavior from a server’s perspective. Bartenders go viral for satirizing pushy customers. Lawrence, who does stand-up comedy, makes videos reenacting interactions with customers who inexplicably demand made-up coffee drinks. Servers have taken to TikTok to imitate the 'Gen Z stare,' a reference to the way some young adults stare coldly at servers, as if rebuking them for the question, 'Hi, what can I help you with today?'"

From "What your barista thinks of your small talk game/Some people live for chitchat. Others hate it. Service workers have two seconds to figure out which camp a customer is in" (WaPo).