'We' as second person plural?

I heard a waiter a a restaurant use 'we' as a second person plural. He said to the people he was waiting on; "What would we like to drink today?" and obviously was asking them, not himself.

It seems rather odd to me.

Has anybody else heard 'we' used this way?

yes

Yeah, I've heard that as well. I've also heard things like, "And how are we doing today?"

I guess it's to make the waiter feel like he's part of the group he's serving so they would receive him warmly. "You" instead of "we" there sounds a little more removed but these differences are rather subtle.

It does sound silly tho'.

>>I guess it's to make the waiter feel like he's part of the group he's serving so they would receive him warmly. "You" instead of "we" there sounds a little more removed but these differences are rather subtle.<<

The thing is that such sounds almost the opposite in coming off as somewhat condescending, even if such may have not been the original intention.

It's meant to make you feel like the waiter is one of your friends, like he's there to hang out with you, but it can come across as a little condescending.

>>The thing is that such sounds almost the opposite in coming off as somewhat condescending, even if such may have not been the original intention. <<

The thing is that such depends on how such is said, even if such is perceived by some to be condescending, most will find such agreeable.

My own experience with waiters who use the "we" approach is that it is highly idiosyncratic: some waiters have the personality to pull it off but those who don't can sound quite affected.