Tip$ for Dining Out (Part 1 of a 4 Part Series)

This marks my 25th year in the food service industry. On most days I like my job; usually it's such fun that I consider it more of a "hobby" than a job. But there are days when I wonder if my guests have ever eaten in public before? Even on the good days, some of the things I'm about to share with you are bound to happen. Just as guests have expectations from restaurant staff (especially their waiters/waitresses, i.e., food servers), that very same staff expects certain rules of etiquette to be followed by guests. Thus, this blog is about YOU, the diner. In this four part series, we will take a look at some of the "Do's" and "Don't's" for a guest that can help ensure a pleasant experience every time you head out to eat.

1. Wait until all of your party has arrived to be seated. Most greeters will begin to get a table (or tables) ready as soon as party members begin to arrive, so you don't need to worry about whether you'll get the "next available" seating. When guests (particularly in groups of five to six or more) sit down two or three people at a time, your server is having to make multiple trips back and forth to get drinks, take orders, etc.... While this may seem like no big deal, it can result in three, four, five, even six trips just to get a beverage order and ultimately slows down your overall service.

2. Do NOT take it upon yourself to rearrange the furniture in the restaurant. This includes adding extra chairs to the ends of tables and/or booths. Not only are you blocking aisle ways used to deliver drinks and food, but often it also violates fire code regulations by obstructing clear exits ways in case of an emergency. Furthermore, you're a "guest." Do you go into your friends' home and redo their seating arrangements for a dinner party?

3. Allow yourself time to enjoy your dining experience. You'll never be satisfied if you try to eat at a nearby restaurant when you only have a thirty minute lunch break. Entering a restaurant at 6:15 PM and thinking you'll have time for dinner and drinks and still make it on time to the 7 o'clock showing of Eclipse is completely unrealistic.

4. NEVER, I repeat, NEVER, under any circumstances, seat yourself at a dirty table. Okay, first of all, this is just plain DISGUSTING! Do you have any idea what the people there before you were doing?! Secondly, a dirty table often signals to the greeter that the server needs five minutes to get caught up. Since servers make their money by "turning tables" (i.e., getting guests in and out), rest assured that as soon as he/she can handle another table, they're going to get that dirty one cleaned.

So are you guilty of any of these things?! What you want remember is that when guests begin to exhibit these behaviors, they are impacting the quality of service that could be provided. I hope you'll check back for more in a day or two!