Whenever I leave my office building for lunch a guard in charge greets me
(everyone) with a:

> お疲れさまです。いらっしゃいませ。

**Edit:** This is [a recording of what I
heard](https://www.dropbox.com/s/tu8lquc81tkrnz1/i--shaimase.mp3?dl=0). Based
on comments I received under this question and what I set my ears to hear, I
do hear either いらっしゃいませ or いってらっしゃいませ when playing back.

* * *

Original question:

I am used to hearing the phrase いらっしゃいませ for "welcome" (explained to come from
居る "be" or or 来る "come"), but in this case I am leaving, it's not my
destination and I won't spend more than a second hanging around the guard.

Why isn't it odd? If it's indeed いらっしゃいませ what image should I create in my
mind when told so? Me coming to the guard's place, me leaving the building, me
being, me leaving and coming back?
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question
greetings
Hearing いらっしゃいませ when leaving the building. Why?
いらっしゃいませ is one of those words that can mean its own opposite -- at least,
from an English speaker's perspective. It's the imperative or command form of
a super-polite 敬語【けいご】 word that can mean: _to go_ , _to come_ , or simply _to
be_.

That said, given it's etymological origins in the word 入る【いる】, and the way the
term is often used by shopkeepers to mean _come on in_ , your guess at _come
back [into the building]_ is probably right.

UPDATE

There's some interesting commentary by native speakers under the question
post, pointing to a greater likelihood that the いらっしゃいませ heard by the asker is
instead a slurred or informally contracted 行ってらっしゃいませ. This would seem to
better fit the stated situations in which the asker has heard the phrase.
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answer