Bookworm - maybe you could shed some more light on what you thought you were getting and what caused the blank looks.
To add to the other stuff, in this case, had we not been asked about type of service, we probably would have offered to maintain VFR as in the old days when IFR vs IFR separation was mandatory and automatic. We were genuinely confused about the separation provided at the time, hence my post, but if there had been any safety issue, we would have asked.
While I agree that a Procedural Service should be the default, I think that the ability to offer a Basic Service is a useful flexibility.