Proper Dining Etiquette

Have you ever been out to dinner and could tell the waiter/waitress was annoyed with you or someone in your party, but you weren't sure why? It could be for one of these reasons...

This article lays it on the line as to what a server may be annoyed about that customers do. I'm not sure I agree with all of them, but during my time in the restaurant business I was never a server by choice. I avoided it on purpose.

There were also some things not mentioned on this list that I was surprised didn't make the cut, such as:

Making the server run back & forth to the kitchen to fetch things, instead of the customer asking for everything they need at one time. Annoying!
Continuously changing your mind and your order. Annoying!
Cleaning your fingers at the table by dripping water through a straw on your hands over your plate. (Yes, I know someone who does this.) Gross.

I found it ironic that in this article they used the example "I'm allergic to onions" as an excuse to ensure there were no onions in the salad because the customer didn't like them. I've been out to dinner with those people (and their names are Howie and Mema). But in their defense, not all servers listen to your requests or give a hoot about what you want, so Howie & Mema claimed to be allergic to onions to help drive home the point - "don't put onions in my freakin' salad!"

I didn't realize the customer was expected to move plates and glasses around the table to make room when food arrives. I mean I always do as a courtesy, but I didn't know servers expected that.

I also didn't know that you shouldn't send food back if don't like it. The posillipo dish you order at one restaurant may not taste as good at another place. Does that mean if a waiter serves you a crap version of this seafood & noodle dish you should eat it even if it sucks? That doesn't seem right. I say if the chef did an inadequate job he/she should know, and the customer shouldn't be expected to eat it or pay for it. But that's just my opinion.

Categories: Articles, Food, Lists