To wonder why restaurants get their staff to ask how your meal is

[laptopdancer]

When they don't appear to prepare them for any response other than "fine thanks"?
I was at a pub restaurant tonight and the girl who served us asked, whist scooting past, "are your meals ok?". I had a query and had to call her back as she was literally across the room before she had finished the sentence.
She had no idea what to say to me and was even a little defensive.

Why do places do this when they arent prepared for people to answer that the meal isn't great?

OP YANBU. Whoever said that peddlers of shitey factory food mass market chain restaurants should know their place is right as well. I don't think I have ever had anything that was anything other than mediocre at best.

I hate the upselling and forced checkbacks - its just like the checkout staff chat that was discussed recently. No-one likes doing it or having it done to them, but for some reason management of chain shops and restaurants seem to think it must be done .

I once responded to the checkback by complaining that I had been given margarine with some lovely home made soup and bread from a small well known bakery in the same village, as I am of the margarine is poisonous shite, only butter is acceptable opinion, and the waitress was completely astonished and just did not know how to respond.

Ellenparsons I have also done mystery shopping in the past and also noted that the staff knew who the mystery shoppers were. Especially McDonalds - you would hear them shout 'Gapbuster' which was the company that I worked for and you always had to ask for a slightly strange so very distinctive order - so the staff knew what you were up to - strangely, the service was always faster than non mystery shopping visits! You can sometimes see a list of the Gapbuster Mystery Shopper type order through one of the drive through windows.

I didn't do much mystery shopping as the pay was shite and I didn't particularly like the companies on offer (McDonalds, Pizza Hut and the Post Office) but I had a memorable assignment where it was for a petrol station and the counter man clearly had not spotted that I was mystery shopping them as he was rubbish at all the service aspects and his 'counter assistant small talk' was intrusive and sexually suggestive [shocked]. That was an interesting report to write! Sadly they don't give you any feedback or response to your work.

I have much bigger things to worry about and dont really care if I get asked or not.

When I was trained by a certain well known cheap family pub chain I was told never to ask as it gave customers 'an opportunity to complain'