Dentists do this as well. So annoying. You'd have thought after examining fifty mouths a day they'd know better by now, but apparently not. It's a bit like a paramedic asking, "Are you alright?" :rolleyes: Well, to be fair, it can spark up a conversation to tell whether or not they are able to speak or not. Can also trick someone into speaking if they're trying to fake an injury rather than blatantly asking 'can you speak?' But yeah, I get what you mean.