How hard is it these days to get a clerk to speak to the customer at the check out, and thank the customer for the sale?

I asked a clerk once why she didn't say thank you to our customer, as it was surely a benefit to our business and her job. Her response was "It is printed on the receipt." Go figure

What if your POS computer did some of that task for you?

Yes, with Fastsell  you can instruct it to send the Description One field to the clipboard as items are entered into the transaction.  Text-to-Speech programs can translate this to words on your computers speakers.  Read Please Plus is one of these type Text-to-Speech programs.  In Fastsell Cash Register, Preferences, select  "Copy Item Descriptions to Clipboard".  In ReadPlease Plus turn ON the Automatic Play Clipboard feature.

The computer will then speak each description as it is scanned and added to the purchase.