While dining in a restaurant, it is quite natural for you to expect the staff to be on their best behaviour. At the same time, as customers, it is also your responsibility to extend the same courtesy to the establishment you visit.
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But there are some things which you might be doing without even realising that they could cause the restaurant staff serious offence. As reported by Metro, here are some things that customers do which restaurant staff find extremely rude. The tips provided by the report are by former restaurateur Antoine Melon.
Do not be impolite
If you encounter any issues with the restaurant during a booking or if there's a mix-up with a dish, or even if you are unhappy with the service, always communicate your point to the staff politely.
The staff are there to help you and instead of being confrontational, customers should be focusing on clarifying the issues they are facing. Starting with aggression off the bat usually goes nowhere and leads to unnecessary hostility.
Tardiness
Being late for a reservation can happen to even the most punctual of people. Cars break down, emergencies happen or sometimes we might lose track of time. In case you know that you’ll be late for a restaurant reservation, always call ahead and let the staff know.
Restaurants run on tight deadlines and having a backlog of diners who arrive late can seriously take a toll on business.
Don't be impolite to the servers
Clicking at restaurant staff to get their attention is very disrespectful and downright degrading, and it is a very rude thing to do.
Again, do not leave your table to chase down a server in case you want something. Especially, do not interrupt a server while they are in the middle of taking orders or finishing up on another table.
Raise your hand or call them politely to get their attention.
Don’t comment on how empty a restaurant is
If you walk into a restaurant to find it devoid of patrons, do not comment on the emptiness in front of the staff. While you might consider it as some tongue-in-cheek humour, it can come across as rude and insulting to the staff.
Sources used:
Metro: The rudest things you can do in a restaurant – according to staff
