leprechaun, our grocery stores and even places like KMart started saying thank you, using my last name, whenever I paid with a personal check. I went round and round with them, as a woman shopping alone and safety issues, and they said they'd been told by their HQs that the clerks are to use people's last names, rather than just first, as a sign of respect! They didn't like it much better than I did, but with the company having mystery shoppers who check on them, they were bound to do so or risk a reprimand or loss of their job.