A bit of a sidetrack: a Chinese colleague of mine told me that the standard greeting in his part of China was “Did you eat?”
I think a better translation would be “Have you eaten?” But really, that’s not what the question was about. It was intended as a simple introductory comment, exactly like “How are you?”
People are weird.
Clever marketing off of a little known phrase! thanks!
It seems people are objecting to commercial phatic communication; not personal greetings.
At its best, it’s an unnecessary irritant, but sometimes used for deliberate distraction. I’ve actually found it convenient when inserted in the middle of a transaction because it’s a “red flag” that there’s probably a good reason for the timing of the diversion.