Quote Originally Posted by Боб Уайтман View Post
Some people think "есть" (to eat) sounds a bit rude, and when speaking to someone of a higher social rank they substitute it with "кушать" for that reason. However, it is more like a "speech hypocrisy" as linguistically "есть" is a neutral word without any impolite connotation. "Кушать" is more emotionally colored, it implies a shade of endearment.
sure, and "вы" is just a "speech hypocrisy" of "ты" because linguistically it might have the same meaning
It is a cultural thing and different people may have different opinions, it would be better to know that some people consider it more polite. Also using of this word doesn't hurt