Addressing a waiter/waitress

In lesson 19.4 Matthias hails his waitress with a problem regarding his order with " Hallo, Bedienung!". It was translated as "Excuse me. Waitress!" Is "hallo" a little less than polite in this situation? Would it have been better if he had said Enschuldige or Enschuldigen Sie? In modern US slang "hello" can be somewhat derogatory as in "wake up and pay attention" depending on how it is said. thanks, Byron

Hi Byron, Yes in German "Hallo" can also be derogatory. " Hallo, Bedienung!" is acceptable, 'Entschuldigen Sie bitte!' is quite polite and a better way to adress a waitress. Some Germans also make eye contact and wave to the waitress to not disturb other guests. Cheers Paul

Thanks Paul. Good to know, but I'll stick with entschuldigen Sie bitte if the eye contact and wave doesn't draw attention. regards, Byron