This phrase has been niggling at me a little. Why not use the old standby of “Have a good day! 😀”? Trite and polite. What’s up with “rest of your”?
Is it to acknowledge that you don’t know anything about their circumstances? A nod to the diversity of schedules people might have? Said with emphasis on “your” to create separation from your own day which might be going poorly? Emphasising “rest of” in recognition that their day might not have been good yet, but you hope that after your interaction it will be good for the remaining hours?
This seems tortuous. Over-thought. There is nothing wrong with the simpler version. (Allow me to rattle my cane as I say that.)
But maybe this old dog can learn new tricks. Because this morning, as I was chatting with a support person online, I finally realised the benefit of the phrase “have a good rest of your day.”
When we wound up the chat, I wanted to make sure that the CSR got positive feedback. But where is their call center? Asia? America? Europe? Are they on night shift? Getting ready to go home?
“Have a good rest of your day” fit the bill perfectly.
