As a non English speaker with a non English name, I find myself opening quite a long question before I even get a confirmation about the fact that, the person in the other side can even help me in this particular case. All I need is a single interaction before I fire away the main question such as:
Service Provider: Hello, this is Dan speaking, how can I help you?
Me: Hi there, this is Mehrad here. How are you doing Dan?
Service Provider: I am good, yourself?
Me: Good, thank you. I have my internet connection with you guys and the technicians installed the box today, however, I still cannot
get a connection despite the fact that ...
Except, I find asking how the provider is, a little bit strange sometimes. Is there a replacement for such an opener without being too obvious and asking questions like
I have a problem with my internet connection. Could you help me on this matter? (when I am calling an ISP support service which it's sole job to help me with internet connection problems)