Customer Care Is Not Dead

We are having a birthday party for a friend and I went to pick up the cake at my local grocery store. I also bought him a card. After I had finished checking out, the register clerk said, "Hope you have fun at the birthday party."
I was shocked--in a good way. I rarely get a smile or hello from the clerks and this one noticed me, my cake and card and made a comment. All of a sudden I became a human being to this person.
It feels so good to be seen, to be visible by another human being. We love the feeling of being visible and just a few words from this woman made my day.
Wouldn't it be great if everyone did that instead of treating the shopper like the enemy? Sales associates appear to dislike making eye contact or speaking to a shopper yet it's the emotional feelings that a shopper has that makes him or her purchase more. They justify those purchases later with logic.
I was glad to see that one person in this store saw me as a person. It felt good!