This thread seems crazy to me, in a way that's kind of characteristic of FT discussions involving FAs. I guess it's probably just a long-tail thing (i.e. we only hear the stories that are wild anomalies, because who tells a story about things being normal) but it seems like folks here have a level of friction with FAs that I can't even imagine.
I press the call button if I would like anything from an FA and it's not convenient to get up and ask. So far 100% of the time that's worked out just fine. Of course I also smile at them and thank them for coming by, and ask politely for whatever it is while saying "you know, no hurry, just when you have a sec." I also try not to hassle them when they're involved in other things. But none of this is strategy (or frankly even tactics). It's just what I would do anyway because, as my grandmother said regularly: "it doesn't cost anything to be nice."
Tangentially related, I always seem to get excellent service from bartenders. This is not that complicated.