I found this two-part article from the New York Times amusing, 100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do.
100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do – Part 1
100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do – Part 2
I’m not going to share the entire list here (go to the links if you want to check them all out) but I’d like to share my favorites as a restaurant patron, along with my remarks.
5. Tables should be level without anyone asking. Fix it before guests are seated.
I run into this at a lot of restaurants, and a table that wobbles is a big pet peeve with me, it’s as if the staff isn’t paying attention.
31. Never remove a plate full of food without asking what went wrong. Obviously, something went wrong.
We’ve had wait staff ask if there was a problem with the food, and offer to discount or take the meal off the receipt. I wish more staff were observant of things like this.
48. Do not ask what someone is eating or drinking when they ask for more; remember or consult the order.
Maybe I’m just not the food snob when I go out, but I don’t really care if the waiter can’t remember what I ordered, as long as they get it right when they ask.
52. Know your menu inside and out.
Another important one, if I ask you what is on a menu item you should know.
62(a). Do not let a glass sit empty for too long.
I’ve sat through entire meals where my drink was empty because the waiter never came back.
64. Specials, spoken and printed, should always have prices.
72. Do not serve salad on a freezing cold plate; it usually advertises the fact that it has not been freshly prepared.
Salad tastes so much better closer to room temperature compared to a premade salad that is cold.
77. Do not disappear.
Shortly after serving the meal the waiter should come back and check to see if everything is right.
85. Never bring a check until someone asks for it. Then give it to the person who asked for it.
I don’t agree with this one, but maybe it’s because we don’t tend to visit expensive restaurants. I just want to get the check close to when we are finished with our meal.
94. Do not play an entire CD of any artist.
I only include this one because we once visited a Japanese restaurant in Orange that was playing a CD. The problem though was they had the CD on song repeat, so during our entire meal we heard the same Japanese song over and over. We must have heard the same song 15 times!
