In message , at 16:12:33 on
Tue, 26 Jan 2016, Paul Corfield remarked:

It's funny, I've just been on a couple of long Singapore Airlines flights,
and their charming cabin crews are obviously trained to start every
encounter with, "Sorry to keep you waiting, Mr Recliner...", even if you've
not been waiting at all. So, say, you order a Singapore Sling or a G&T,
they come back with it in a couple of minutes, and still apologise for
keeping you waiting. It seems very polite at first, but gets a bit
irritating after a while.

Please don't take this the wrong way but the thought of a stewardess
saying "Mr Recliner" just made me laugh out loud.

It's obviously a cultural issue because I've only ever been addressed by
name on a small subset of Middle-East airlines.

It's the same in some airline lounges. Blink and your half full glass
and plate are whisked away as if this is what you wanted. All that
causes is waste and me being grumpy.

High end restaurants on land are also very bad about whisking away
un-empty glasses after you've ordered another. And that's when the
refill *costs* money. To such an extent that whenever I see a waiter
approaching with the refill I'll grab the un-empty glass to avoid them
confiscating it.
--
Roland Perry