 " Have a nice day " is frequently used in the Israeli retail and service industries . Jerry Levin wrote in his 2005 book West Bank Diary : Middle East Violence as Reported by a Former American Hostage about a woman in a coffee shop telling him to " have a nice day " after he purchased a sweet roll and coffee . Levin stated that there is also a " grimmer version of the pervasive pleasantry " . After an Israeli soldier destroyed the memory card of Levin 's camera , the soldier told him with a jocular smirk , " have a nice day " . 
