Ever have a bad dining experience? These just may be the reasons why!
1. Communicate!
(You'll see this is #1 as it will pop up in the majority of the other numbers). When your server greets you by saying: "Hello my name is ____, and I'll be your server today", a simple "Hello" back never hurt anyone. You are here because you want something, and they are there to give it to you. How can they do so without any basis of communication?
2. The quicker you're ready, the better the service.
After Susie the server has come over and introduced herself to you, it is customary to stop what you're doing and respond. Blatantly ignoring your server while they are standing over you, and waiting for you to end your urgent and obviously biblical conversation is a horrible way to commence your dining experience. Your server wants to get started on your order... you came to a restaurant... restaurants have food... you must be hungry... you're going to order sooner than later.......... right?
3. This is a restaurant, not a lounge.
"We're not going to order just yet, we just want to sit here and talk for awhile." is the biggest mistake most people make. There is a 99.99999% chance your server has or is going to have about five more tables to take care of by the time you want to order. You could've had everything you wanted when they were there to do their job the first time. If you want to sit and catch up then go to your local coffee clutch or lounge. Your seats are losing money for the restaurant and for the server.
4. Make eye contact and speak loudly!
When ordering your food make eye contact when speaking with your server. It is very hard for them to hear or understand you with your head buried in the menu, or with you mumbling something while looking in the opposite direction. You may think you just ordered the "filet mignon", but your server just heard a "burger well done". This will ultimately lead to a shit show about fifteen minutes later.
5. Be honest!
After your food comes out it is your server's job to ask how everything is and if you like it. If you like it let them know, and if you don't: let them know. You are paying for your meal and if you are not enjoying it then simply send it back and get something else. There's no reason to give a restaurant/your server a bad rep because you sat there angrily chewing away at disgusting food when you could actually be enjoying your meal.
6. Know what you're ordering!!!
You don't go to a sushi restaurant and scream over the fact that your spicy tuna roll has RAW tuna in it do you? You also don't go to a mexican restaurant and complain about how spicy their dishes are. Know what you're getting yourself into when you order something, and ask as many questions about the food as you'd like. You don't understand how stupid you look when you send back a mexican-style taco salad for being "too spicy" or the "ahi tuna" for being RAW... you also really don't understand the laughing stock you become in the kitchen for sending back your medium-rare steak for being too pink, and you want it more well-done.
7. It is not anyone else's responsibility to know about your gluten allergy or trendy diet.
Do not ask your server for a gluten-free menu. Most places don't have one because you are not special enough and because the most delicious things are filled with gluten. It is also not your server's, nor the restaurants responsibility to be familiar with gluten-free items. If you are allergic to something then you know which food products and ingredients contain allergens and you can simply advise not to have those be included in or near your dish. Your server also doesn't know if the turkey burger is "paleo" or part of the "south beach diet" because they do not care.
8. Order dessert. You want it.
Most people shy away from the dessert menu because they don't want to be seen possibly consuming anything else. You know you want it. Order it. Eat it. Many restaurants have crazy dessert menus filled with things you've never tried before or have only heard of. It just may be the reason you decide to come back. Dining out isn't supposed to be cheap, so just continue the splurge. (It also makes the bill higher... hehehe).
9. Tip 18%-20% or do not step foot in any dining establishment.
The majority of people reading this should know by now that servers and bartenders usually make only $4 an hour or sometimes even NOTHING at all. Your tips are what they live off of and why they chose to have this job because of the generosity of people like YOU. Leaving $10 on a $200 check when not a single thing was wrong with your service or meal is a slap in the face you have probably never experienced. Tipping generously also ensures that when you return you can always expect the same excellent service. Some servers go above and beyond and even begin to remember what you like, so they can have it ready for you when you walk in the door.
10. Do. Not. Lie. & Don't be nasty.
If you're having a bad day or are planning to scam a restaurant for free food then just stay home in your straight jacket. You can cost a server their job. If you are cranky because your football team didn't win, it is not your server's fault. If you're PMSing please eat a chocolate bar and go cry in the bathroom. If your mother doesn't love you, they can't help you with that either. Since you are having a bad day: everything else on earth is now bothersome to you and your next victim is going to be your server. You decide you don't like their face, and you decide you don't like the food, and now you've decided that you're going to get a free meal today because you've been furloughed and you're angry and broke. Whatever the reason may be, lying that your server did or said something that they didn't do or say will usually result in them being fired. Don't be that person. Karma comes full circle.
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