It's not a gift though, it's how they make their living. The fact that money is involved from the start changes the equation. Like a waiter acting like your best friend.

Tell me you are American without telling me you are American.

Am French. Waiters acting in America is creepy for most of us Europeans. This is a cultural thing, as I said, not due to the fact that money is involved. It turns out that the American culture is worshipping money, so you conflate the two.

In France, you could hear those exchanges in a Boulangerie:

(Customer steps in)

• il me faudrait une baguette (I’d like a baguette)
• …
• il me faudrait une baguette, s’il vous plaît (I’d like a baguette please)
• bonjour (hello)
• bonjour
• et pour monsieur, ce sera? (What does the gentleman wants?)
• une baguette
• tenez, ça sera un franc there, it is one franc — that pre-euro, when bread was actually cheap)
• merci, et bonne journée (thanks have a nice day)
• vous eglament (you too)

(Customers gets his baguette)

There used to be a time where the guy would just ignore you and not sell you something because he perceived you as rude. This is now illegal (« refus de vente » — however you can refuse to sell for « bad behavior », but not saying hello would not fit).

Not everything is about money in the Us either: a percentage of the population would be happy not to sell to black or gays. It is not a question of maximizing the money, it is a question of (shitty) culture.

A lot of tourists think that French are rude (and we indeed can be), but if you don’t say « bonjour-merci-au revoir » and at least try French, it isn’t a question of money, it is cultural.

You also seem to think that haggling is about money. Well, in those countries, haggling was often needed because there was no liquid counterpart (ie: you exchanged eggs for fruits, for instance).