Working at a restaurant has taught me so much. It has brought me my closest friends and taught me a few things about restaurant etiquette. I've encountered some of the kindest customers that I've made Facebook friends with, and I've encountered some of the worst customers that you can fathom. So, here are five things that people forget when dining out that could make everyone's experience better.
Common manners
You would be surprised how much better your experience at a restaurant will be if you say "please" and "thank you" to your server and support staff that is helping you out. Say hi and respond when we ask how you're doing today. "Water" is the wrong response to "How are you guys doing tonight?" Remember that the people who work in the restaurant are restaurantpeople just like you that want to be treated with respect. While it might be their job to serve you, they are not your slave or any lesser than you.
Waiting to be seated
Unless the restaurant has it posted, please do not seat yourself at a table when you haven't even talked to the host. This is not only an awkward experience for the host to have to go through when asking you to leave the table, but it throws a wrench in table rotation for the servers.
Cleaning your area
Yes, it is the staff's job to clean your table when you're finished, but leaving your table trashed is just plain rude. It makes busing your table so much easier when you stack plates and wipe up crumbs of food that have been left all over your table.
Not arguing to get your way
It's one thing when you propose an idea to solve an issue that you may have, but when you start to yell or degrade the service staff, it's a whole new story. Often times we're just enforcing rules that we didn't even create, and we're doing our jobs.
Tipping
I agree that sometimes you can get some bad service that doesn't deserve a tip, but you still should. Firstly, tips are a server's main income. They get paid a small minimum wage because of the amount of money they are assumed to make. Secondly, you never know what kind of day your server could be having. If they forget to give something to your table, it could be a small mistake that was a pure accident.
All in all, most of the people in the restaurant business are in it because they love interacting with you, and they love their jobs. When you make it harder for people to do their job, your experience only gets worse for everyone involved. So next time you go on a date, take your family out or just get some drinks with friends, don't forget these manners that most people forget.
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