I travel. I'm sitting at a restaurant right now, and was just asked this question, for the hundredth time. When I pulled it up on Google, got this site, and was delighted. The most remarkable thing for me is the rapidity with which this question about how your food is tasting was adopted throughout the entire restaurant industry, across nearly every chain, and even into local diners such as the one where I'm sitting now.
My theory is that one guy who makes a living as a consultant decided it was a good idea for servers to be more specific. And voila! it was suddenly a standard.
I want to meet that one guy. Or woman. And I want to try and figure out how he got his notion penetrated across the entire country, within a matter of months. Or at least, that's how it seemed to me a few years back when this suddenly started.
(Then I want to get him to have servers stop asking me if I'm "still working" on my meal. But perhaps not complained belongs in another chain...)