100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do

two things i didn't like...


7. Do not announce your name. No jokes, no flirting, no cuteness.

the most memorable resturant experience i've had was on cape cod... BECAUSE the waitress gave us her name, and not only told us her father was a magician, but performed a small trick for us. this was not a magic themed resturaunt, it was a local diner.

8. Do not interrupt a conversation. For any reason. Especially not to recite specials. Wait for the right moment.

if the wait staff was just standing there while i was having a conversation, i'd feel like they were listening in.

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#17 is never ever followed, no matter how high end the restaurant is, in my experience. This irritates me to no end. I often say something to the busboy (who doesn't understand me anyway).

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^ Then the managers are clueless.

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I have no issue with the waitstaff telling you their name. Once in LA the waiter became our best friend for the evening. It was a great night.

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What number is "Don't tell Kevin Spacey to stop smoking" on there?

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I worked in this industry for many years, on many levels. In my experience, the only thing you really need to know is 'make the experience fit the situation'. Just because a venue is designed as 'high end', with the attendent expectations, doesn't mean that's what the customer is aware of or even wants. And that works in the other direction, as well.

In the end, it all boils down to one human being serving another human being food. The environment sets a stage, but all the players determine how the acts will unfold. Approaching the situation with hard and fast rules - whether it be Denny's or the Ritz - will never satisfy anyone.

And for the record, although most of my work was in management, my treasured memories are from my experiences as a server. Mostly because I trust my ability to connect with other people - the incidentals of what needed to transpire were merely details.

I disagree with some of these. I haven't waited tables in almost a year, but I'm going to pick up some shifts this holiday season at a small restaurant in the Castro.

I've *always* been told to always introduce myself. This isn't just at the Castro restaurant. I was told to introduce myself when I worked for Chili's in high school. My exact intro was, "Hello/Hi/Hey. My name is Austin and I'll be taking care of you."

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"17 would never occur to me because I personally like empty dishes being cleared."

It's more about the person who is still eating and the attempt to make him/her as comfortable as possible by not starting to clear the table as if the meal is over. No need to rush a patron who is eating. I think it's about respect.

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Having worked in the customer service for more than 13 years off and on, I've grown to hate people. The phrase "The customer is always right" is the worst thing to happen to civilization since organized religion. In some way it's almost as bad because it gives people free reign to act and say whatever they want in an establishment and hide behind that phrase. Your waiter didn't kiss your ass enough? Well than you must get your meal for free. Your waiter accidentally put the wrong plate in front of you and got defensive when you started belittling him and treating him like a fourth grader? Well than you need to talk to the manager and see that he gets fired.

And no, these aren't some obscure instances of people having a bad day. This is most people who feel like the second they step into any environment where they will be spending any amount of cash, they are now to be treated as royalty or better.

I got to the point after 10 years in the same place where I just wasn't taking it anymore. Customers knew that and expected it from me. I wasn't rude at all, I just called people out on their bullsh*t. They knew coming in there that they couldn't play their games with me because it just wasn't going to fly with me. When they asked to speak to someone higher than me, I told them they could do that but there's a reason I'd been here as long as I had and dealt with situations much worse than this and, really, you know you're trying to scam something so do you reeeeally want to go "higher than me"?

I understand the economics of the whole thing. Each establishment wants to keep customers coming back to them and the way to do that is to kiss their asses, I get it. I just hate what it's turned people into.

4. If a table is not ready within a reasonable length of time, offer a free drink and/or amuse-bouche. The guests may be tired and hungry and thirsty, and they did everything right.

I'm not sure what "they did everything right," but in many places servers have no right to offer free stuff at their discretion.

I know that 17 is generally a staple in fine dining establishments, but there are just as many people who demand you take their plate as their are who expect you to leave it until everyone else has finished the same course.

20. Never refuse to substitute one vegetable for another.

Again, this is generally not a server's call to make.

Do people really get bent out of shape when a server says what his favorite special or dessert is? I had no idea.

As someone who worked in restaurants for years, I'd remind customers that servers are at the end of the day just human beings trying to do their damn job.

Yeah, individual waiters usually don't have the discretion to offer any kind of free food/drink without a go-ahead from the manager/owner/executive chef. And most customers will outright ask what dishes the waiter recommends, so what response should be given? "Sorry, I cannot comment--it wouldn't be fair to the other dishes"?

Re: water. If you said it the way that Buschell says it in his article--"bottled water or just tap?"--then yes, it's somewhat patronizing. But if you simply ask what a customer prefers--"tap or bottled?"--then it's not only justified, it's expected.

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Updated On: 11/6/09 at 10:25 AM

I have never worked in food service, and I HATE the phrase "the customer is always right." Of course the customer is not always right. It's stupid. Lots of customers are a*ses just for the sake of it. Doesn't make them right just because they are paying.

Also, I often ask what dish the server recommends. Should the waiter not tell me when I ask? I don't understand. And I'm pretty sure dishes don't have feelings.

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