I actually live in the states. They do it to a lesser extent in almost all restaurants but the good ones are at least discrete, only ask once and don't interupt me when I'm speaking to do so. I avoid chain restaraunts like Friday's here partly for this reason; because they're too damn...
This thread is quite an insight. Many of the things that you Americans think of as vitally important in a waiter, like clearing you plate as soon as you've finished, I find annoying, as do all of my English friends. I also find being asked if everything is okay to be an unwanted interuption of...