Couldn't the retained state of friendly conversations just be based upon the fact that you have interacted socially with the people there, possibly induced by your broken laptop bag and thus there is a more open process of communication and friendliness vs. some kind of nefarious surveillance policy.

Also there are all kinds of unconscious social biases that can induce people to talk to us. Perhaps you know expect to be interacted with and thus this orientates you towards social interactions.