I'm learning restaurant English. I tend to use "You can" but my English teacher always corrects me to use "Could you". She is telling me "You don't want your server to be angry".
I think if I say "You can give me a cup of water", "You can give me the check", and the server does get angry, and gives me bad service, I can give him less tip because of the bad service.
Is it OK to use "You can" rather than "Could you"?
Best Answer
You can is giving permission. If that is the context - they have asked permission for something - it is fine (though you may is regarded as more polite).
But when you are requesting something, you can is very condescending. It is something you say to a subordinate or servant, not to an independent person providing a service.