Be kind to restaurant staff and don’t do this when you eat out
The hospitality industry is running on fumes after years of COVID, and you can feel it in many places. There’s no staff to be found, and the pile of bills hasn’t exactly shrunk. So be kind to those hard workers and behave like a pleasant guest. How? A cheat sheet with our best tips.
At FavorFlav, we have editors who have clocked up a few miles in the hospitality industry, both in the kitchen and front of house. Even now that we’re happily parked in office chairs, we still remember how irritating some guests were. Irritating? You? You don’t want that, do you? So be a little considerate of the lovely people in hospitality by taking our tips to heart.
Requests? Mention them in advance
They can do a lot in a restaurant kitchen, but they can’t perform miracles. So if you want to eat lactose-free, can’t tolerate gluten or have another dietary requirement, let them know in advance. That means the kitchen team knows they’ll be preparing a raw, vegan and completely lactose-free dish on the evening you’re coming. It also gives them the opportunity to be honest if that really isn’t going to work in their kitchen. If you mention your requests at the very last minute, you make things extremely difficult for them. Making up a food allergy because you simply don’t like something that much is completely not done.
Pay attention for a moment—which salmon is whose?
When the servers bring the dishes, pause your conversation and pay attention for a moment. Who ordered the salmon? Who ordered the schnitzel or the quinoa salad? Make sure the server doesn’t have to wait with those hot plates while you finish telling your tablemate that hi-la-ri-ous anecdote. You can do that later, once the food is in its place.
Children? Keep an eye on them
Start them young, and they’ll learn for life—it’s lovely that you bring your children to a restaurant. But that also means you need to keep an eye on them. It’s great if they stay nicely seated at the table, don’t scream and shriek, don’t run around and, above all, don’t hang around at other tables. Not everyone is as charmed by your little darlings as you are, and it’s difficult to zigzag between running toddlers while carrying full plates.
Stacking things up is a nuisance
Once you’ve finished eating at home, you stack the plates and take them to the kitchen, loading the dishwasher while switching on the coffee maker. But you’re eating out now, so relax—you don’t have to do anything! That includes stacking your crockery. It’s inconvenient, because most servers know exactly how to hold all those plates, small dishes, bowls and cutlery so they can take as much as possible to the dishwashing area in one go. And it looks a little unwelcoming. Be patient—someone will come and clear your table, really!
Keep it normal, digitally too
Maybe you’re not happy with your restaurant visit. Something went wrong, it wasn’t what you expected or you suddenly found yourself in Fawlty Towers. It happens, honestly. If you want to send food back, do so politely and keep it reasonably businesslike. And then writing a whiny review online afterward is not nice at all—why would you do that?
