riannan
Don’t Stack the Plates
It may seem you are helping by stacking the plates the table but it really is making more of a mess and disrupting the process in the kitchen. Just sit back and let the poor waiter or waitress do their job.
Complicated Order
If you can avoid it, don’t change the dish you order. Requesting absence of a certain topping or a vegetarian option is one thing, completely changing a carefully constructed meal is another.
Split Simply
There is nothing wrong with requesting a split bill. Please do not go so far as to calculate how many bites you took out of the shared appetizer, it’s a mathematical nightmare.
Taste Before Seasoning
Chefs do not appreciate when you douse your food in salt, pepper, or (god forbid) steak sauce before even trying the dish. It is seasoned for a reason, please be considerate.
Eye Contact
You wouldn’t carry on a conversation with anyone else while you don’t look them in the eye. Why do customers sit and stare at the menu while the server is trying to speak with them? It’s rude. Make some courteous eye contact.
Put The Phone Down
Nothing is more rude than staring at your phone and ignoring the server entirely as they are doing their job. They want to give you a nice experience, the least you can do is try and return the favor. Put the phone down and enjoy the meal. You may even enjoy having an actual conversation with a human being.
Control Your Children
Bringing kids to restaurants is supposed to help them understand how to act in public and that the world does not revolve around them. Manners and decency should be taught by parents by attentively caring for their children while in restaurants instead of letting them run roughshod over the waitstaff while you enjoy your cocktail.
Don’t Raise Your Voice
We would think it would go without saying that you shouldn’t be rude. Still, a number of customer think it’s okay or effective to yell at waitstaff when something goes wrong. Please be mature.
Don’t Snap
Treating your server as less-than by rudely snapping your fingers for attention is a surefire way to wait much longer for your meal. Be considerate.
Closed Means Closed
There is a reason restaurants refuse to seat new guests after a certain time. Just like everyone else, people working in restaurants want to get home to their families after their shift is over. Hanging around for hours after close is just blatantly disrespectful.
Clean Up After Your Kids
If you leave a restaurant with your table looking like a warzone, you need to reconsider taking your children in public for meals. Be considerate and spend time cleaning up after your kids. Better yet, teach them how to be reasonably tidy and clean up after themselves.
No Reservations
If you show up to a restaurant at rush hour with no reservations, don’t fling a fit when you are seated in a less-than-ideal table.
Make Room
Servers attempt to serve meals quickly and efficiently but that doesn’t mean you can’t help. Make room on the table if there is none.
Stick to the Menu
Whether it be seasonal items or a specialty which is not on the menu, don’t ask for something which isn’t on the menu. It is not there for a reason.
Payout The Bartender
If you are seated at the bar before moving to your table for the evening, pay out with them before leaving. Don’t run away while they are still making your drink.
Limit Table Visits
While good servers check back in case you need anything else, make things simpler and easier by asking for most of what you need at once while they are at the table. That way, they won’t feel like they are bothering you and you will get what you need. Win, win!
Don’t Ass-u-me
Just because your server is nice to you doesn’t mean they want your number. It’s rude and classless to leave it at the end of the meal.
Make Up Your Mind
Make sure you know what you want before you call your server over. They don’t have time to wait while you decide between two dishes while they stand there.
Learn How To Tip
Nearly every server in the US is paid below minimum wage. Learn how to tip here.
Silvia
