Here's another thing that bugs me about Japan... The cultural 'thing' of saying "Thank you for your hard work"...
To me, it seems like an automated, pre-programmed response, and no one really means it. It is just expected. Like "Thank You for the food" etc... Like how in the West, we often get it drummed into us to say "Please/Thank You", but as kids, we don't really mean it, we just know we will get told off if we forget ;-). However, in Japan it seems to go further. She is thanking him for his effort, again, in the West, we would probably reply with "You're welcome, thank you for showing me the ropes", so why are the Japanese programmed to just respond with this exact phrase, and not acknowledge the compliment?