Fish pointed out to me that in America, people ask this as a "Hello" almost, and often aren't looking for any appreciable answer beyond "Good." Here, that question is reserved for friends and is meant genuinely.
He was shocked that someone asked him that in the grocery store line in San Diego lol
That's really interesting. In that context I'd say in here (UK) the use is similar to America (like a cashier greeting you for example) to the point that when you ask back you can 90% of the times see the suprise on the employee's face - like barely anyone even acknowledges their words on first place.
When I worked in restaurants I'd ask how the guests were when I approached the table and 2/10 would ever answer instead of straight away ordering what they wanted 😂
