Well, I have to admit that when I said "people don't say", I really meant "people don't write".
Verbally, it's almost impossible to tell the difference between "a lot" and "alot".
My in- laws say it and they write like this. I have seen some correspondence.
They have a habit of saying ideal, as in I have an idea we should do this.
I made the mistake of saying ideal is something viewed as a concept or a situation that is the ultimate standard.
It insulted them and I never corrected anyone again. I am not a word snob or snarky, but there are times when improper word choices hurt careers.
I had a coworker that grew up in an Amish community. His family actually broke away and lived as non Amish. He spoke fluent Dutch and his English at times was questionable. In order to advance in the company the owners required that he get a degree. He received his business degree, but those poor grammar habits still existed. We were in meetings and he would say the word did in the wrong context. He would say something like this: What he should have did was ship it now. The owner actually corrected him in front of us in a meeting. A few days later he told me how embarrassing it was and the owners were relentless in correcting him. I understood what he was saying and I would have done it in private but he was interacting with senior management and was representing the company. I told him try to eliminate the word did and done and them and they. Those were his worst mistakes. Eventually he got better, but when nervous he would stumble. I told him toastmasters would be a great help.