I hate it when the kids call (from Chicago, Philly, Canada etc) and that’s the first thing they ask. It means they want me to look something up for them, often an address or phone number. Hopefully, they’ll do it less with smartphones, although it usually is easier to look it up on a computer than using a phone’s browser.
When I lived in Tennessee, my son used to call from the grocery in Ohio and ask where to look for something. As if i know how his grocery store is laid out! I suppose I encouraged it by answering correctly “try the isle where the canned veggies are”.
Cell phones might make life easier… for the caller.