Nonverbals of a Server

As I was driving in this morning, I overheard a conversation on the Dave Ryan Show about waiters and watiressess that cannot pick up on nonverbal and verbal cues.  I was a waitress at a small diner for four years, and I could relate with the experiences that were being shared. Dave was sharing that it is a servers job to be able to pick up on the verbals and nonverbals at a table to know whether he/she is needed, if the table wants to chat, or if the table just wants to be left alone to eat.  I can think of a quite a few experiences from my years as a waitress where reading these cues was vital to both the satisfaction of the guests at the table as well as my tip.  Thinking back, I was really surprised at how much was communicated nonverbally though a gesture, eye contact, or lack of eye contact.  I found that by the time I got to school I was fully siding with Dave Ryan that it is the servers responsibility to pick up on those cues just as it is up to the guest at the restaurant to make his/her needs clear.