I totally agree with wife22.........the 'have a nice day', depending on where you are when you hear it, can be fake or forced or an honest pleasentry offered to make the person they are talking to feel better, or at least appreciated. Depends on the state as well...so I can't really say that 'east coast' is direct (maybe north east) because the southeast (southern) states, they can and are quite indirect, however, nearly to a person, the 'have a nice dayisms' are meant. West coast, if you're in california, yeah I can see it as seeming phony. But again...northwest is going to be different that southwest------and all the states in between have their own ways as well.

The european countries also are different. In germany, I found berlin to be very busy, frenetic....and for the most part cool emotionally; in munchen, however, the people were tremendously friendly. In the Uk..in Liverpool, people again were busy, not particularly friendly, but in the southern parts of the country, and in wales particularly, it was all over the map as far as friendliness.....

Each place has it's own culture, the people, their own habits. I'm sorry you've found some of us fake in our well wishing...and relatively certain it's not meant to seem insulting. My mother was quirky--when people asked her 'how are you today'..she would often retort, 'just shyty, how are you?' just to catch there expression. Surprisingly a lot of people laughed...thereby acknowledging the pleasentry was just that....and not meant as an intrusive interrogation.