On Sun, 05 Oct 2003 06:04:26 GMT, Julia Altshuler
> wrote:

> Is it my imagination, or is it
>rude to walk straight up to people in the middle of conversation to
>interrupt them with some trivial question?

It *is* rude in social situations. But dining where the staff is
expected or encouraged to provide "attention" to their tables makes it
annoying for you, but not rude for them. Easy enough to say, kindly,
after the first "is everything OK?" that yes, "everything's OK and
we'll let you know if we need anything." This, of course, will not
work with people who don't listen. Waitering is not, in many places, a
skilled profession. Janie at the diner and Pierre at Chateau Boeuf may
be able to intuit exactly what kind of service their customers
require, but aspiring actors and recent high-school grads haven't a
clue. They're trying to do what they think is expected.