10 things you should NOT do in a restaurant and why

Alright, as you guys know I work since years now in the Hospitality industry and switched to work in the restaurant industry. Don't take me wrong, I still love the core of what I am doing, serving people and creating an amazing dining experience for them. No matter where they are from, who they are or whatsoever, it does make me truly happy. But unfortunately, there are some people who walk in a restaurant like it is their living room and we are their servants or sometimes even their pets that they can call by funny names or just by whistling. STOP IT!

Stop it cause it ain't nice and I will also tell you why. So maybe it will help some of you to understand a well functioning restaurant better. Have fun and PLEASE share it with your outgoing friends ;) 

 1. Say hello or at least some sort of acknowledgement! 

Yeah I know, sounds a bit harmless but you know how rude it is to just enter the restaurant and not saying anything and just come up to the Hostesses and be like "For two." without a smile or any movement. I can assure you that Hostesses will always say hello to you no matter how crappy they feel. Yes, it is their job but it is kind of a human common sense and having some sort of manners to at least say something or smile and nod if your already do not speak English. 

2. It's a Restaurant, not your house or your friends living room. 

Ok, most restaurant will have a host or maitre d' or at least someone at the front who will welcome you and bring you to your assigned seat. Yes, ASSIGNED. Each step that is done in a restaurant, has a reason behind it. 90% out of all times there is a reason why you got seated at THAT table, at THAT section and even in some occasions with THAT particular waiter. So please, do not walk in like it is your living room and you can just choose whatever seat you want. Lunch time, yeah maybe. Saturday night dinner service? No one will like you. Come in, say hi and we will guide you. Trust us. 

3. Again, acknowledge your waiter.

You will be seated and shortly your waiter will come to you. As expected he or she will be smiling and greet you. You don't look up, you interrupt us or just go straight to "Just get me some water" and wave us away. Oh oh. If you don't even bother looking up from your menu in order to greet us back and somehow to acknowledge us, believe me, it will change your server and the way he treats you. Don't get me wrong, of course you will get served and have delicious food and everything will be ok.

Yeah, just OK. Cause that little bit of extra sparkle and smile you are suppose to get from us, just got harder to get by not even caring about us. 

4. You want extra things to be done? Fine, But BE NICE 

I'm not saying you can not substitute your mash to veggies or have no sauce cause you're on your fake gluten allergy diet thing, no. Of course you can! Neither am I saying you have to be super nice to us also. It is a matter of respect and common sense. Your server can make anything happen for you as long as you don't cross the line (like asking for a dish that we don't even have on the menu neither do we have the ingredients and its Saturday night dinner service. Nah) or being an absolute arrogant ass about it. Because that moment you behave like you own the place and you are demanding, we will tell you "Let me check with the chef for you" and we never do. We know what our kitchen is capable of, if we tell you no I'm sorry, it is a no. For any absurd request you give us and a story like "I know the owner" kind of a thing and an attitude on top of that, that doesn't help either. Plus, it doesn't really matter who you think you know cause rules are rules, mainly created by the owner. 

5. Changing the dish or saying you don't like it

There is a rule for us servers, that in the first two to three bites we have to come over to you and check if everything is OK with your meal. It's called the "quality check". Now THIS is the time for you to actually send back your dish because you don't like it, it's not what you expected, it's just not up to your taste etc. We can actually change it for you and it wouldn't be a problem. BUT don't say anything when you obviously ate the whole dish and we've asked you before if you're OK. Cause then there is nothing I can do for you. Pay for it. Anyway, saying the Food is just OK is non sense too. No constructive feedback, keep it to yourself then. 

6. Don't call me over like I am a puppy 

Like seriously, don't even think about it to call any waiter over like they are your servants. By whistling, snipping, waving like you're drowning (I'll wave back at you with a smile and walk away), clapping, clicking, kissing sound (NEVER!), calling HEY! or calling us by any other name. Just don't. We literally wont' acknowledge you and walk away. At least I would. 

7. You are not the ONLY Guest

Do you really think that you are the only guest that I am taking care of? Let me tell you, NO. 

I'll probably have another guest waiting for his check, waiting for his drinks, waiting to be served or a table waiting to be cleared and so and so. A waiter in a busy restaurant, has lots on his mind. It is part of our job to multitask and make quick decisions and to move fast but at the same time to give you my dear guest, a great experience. So, best example, if you're calling me over to take your order and you're not ready, call me when you're ready! Simple as that! If you are in a rush, just let us know and we try our best to help you to get out on time. 

8. "What's good here?"

Don't ask this!!! How dumb is this question please?

Like, do you think the chef would put something on the menu that is not good? And at the end it's entirely up to your taste if it's good for you or not. Don't ask stuff like "What's better, the chicken or the salmon?" Dude, two completely different proteins and you ask me which is better? What do YOU prefer? Fish or meat? But what we can do is to guide you through the menu, portion size, ingredients or anything else pretty much. In my opinion, you should ask the waiter what is their favorite dish. Every good and honest waiter will absolutely tell you the truth. Go for it. 

9. "Friends" of the owner or manager 

Tons of times we get people like "Hey I know the owner" "I'm sure you can do this for me, I know the chef." "Aw, are you sure you can't do this for me? Remember me? Just ask again your Boss ok." Ugh! No matter how important you think you are, most of the time the manager or chef you are talking about don't even know you. So please, just turn it down and chill out.

10. THE BILL 

I don't even know how to say it, but...why on earth would a group of 9 people split the entire bill into 9?! Why would you do that! I understand someone doesn't have the cash, or not enough credit or whatsoever. But please, split into two or three bills that is more then enough. Trust me, if you ask for a higher split, the cashier or waiter will let you waaaaait. It is frustrating, irritating, easily to mess up (and we don't want to over charge you) and takes ages. You do this in a busy restaurant, expect to wait a good amount of time. Also, when you travel, inform yourself about the countries restaurant culture. In countries like Japan or South Korea it is very common that the cashier is at the entrance. 

So I hope this little sarcastic dramatic little overview of things NOT to do in a restaurant will help you to check on your manners and common sense of you or your friends ;) 

K 

Feel free to share this with your friends! :)