Why do some restaurants in the US insist on bringing your main course almost as soon as you have started to eat your starter??

TGI Fridays (what has happened to it in the states, no ballons, miserable staff, no whacky hats or badges) we ordered a big plate of fully loaded potatoe skins and had no sooner started to eat them when our main courses arrived.
The same thing happened at Planet Hollywood. We only had the soup/salad addition to the Entree, but our main courses arrived just as we began eating the salads/soups. I had soup and Fajitas, i continued to finish my soup but it meant that the Fajitas continue to cook (burn) if they aren't tucked into when fresh.

I personally like to eat my starter and then have a break before my main course arrives, anyone else???