Bad Manners and Brimstone

I worked on the phones for a telecom company. (soul sucking work) There is a practical reason for asking how someone is doing: getting used to the voice, checking if the volume of the phone is at the right setting for this person (not too loud, not too soft) and making sure everything is ready to handle the call. We usually asked for their postcode + house number first and while the information was loading in the screen you asked how they were doing.