Why do people say over the phone, after a pleasant enough conversation... NICE TO MEET YOU, when you have never met in person. This happens?

to me quite regularly. (one of my pet peeves)
Answers

Pearl

theyre just trying to be nice, they dont nnean anything bad by it

bluebellbkk

They realise it's not quite right, but can't think quickly enough of anything better, like 'It's been nice talking to you' or 'It's been nice getting to know you'.

g

You've "met" by phone. People might sometimes say that when that's the only contact they've had with you. Regularly though? Odd.

Elaine

It's called "being polite".

Jon

Language changes whether the changes make perfect sense or not. Learn to see the charm of it.

Mad Luv

becuase you just met someone via phone. don't need to be face to face to meet someone .. i met my spouse on MYSPACE. me face to face at some bar.

,

You exchanged names and talked just like people do during a face to face conversation. You did meet this person...It just wasn't the usual way.

Cas

It would be better to say "Nice taking to you." Maybe they have heard of you before (maybe you are talking to your girlfriends sister). The sister talks to you for the first time, and she feels like she has "met" you in a sense. If it was one of those Skype conversations, it would be more understandable for someone to say "Nice to meet you."

Jen

talking on the phone is meeting someone. meeting someone isnt limited to physically seeing a person

blah

meeting someone isn't limited to just seeing them in person lol

Anonymous

Most people, fluent in English, would say 'nice talking to you.' But, with someone new to English or an idiot millenial raised on texting, that might get said, in error.