> Is it not friendly and normal to ask young wait staff what they are studying on the assumption that they are students earning their way though college? I thi

> Is it not friendly and normal to ask young wait staff what they are studying on the assumption that they are students earning their way though college? I think any "… on the assumption that …" is going to cause trouble on a sufficiently large sample size, so why make the assumption? > And most young wait staff are? Except for California, where they are aspiring actors? How do you know? But note also that the author is specifically referring to older waitstaff ("There is an assumption in this country that wait staff above a certain age are where they are because they lack the skills or gumption to “get a proper job”")—and also that this is about the UK, whereas it sounds like you might be thinking about the US.