The New York Times blog You're The Boss is back with the second half of its "100 things a restaurant staffer should never do." And although author Bruce Buschel suggests that these are merely guidelines for his restaurant, the insinuation is that there's a lesson every server can learn.
It's interesting to watch Buschel's tone change slightly from what he describes as "a modest list of do's and don'ts" in part one (published earlier this week) to the end of the second post's introduction where he thanks the Internet for its helpful comments. Not to get too meta, but there's an etiquette lesson somewhere in this etiquette guide.
The second half seems to focus on protecting diners from overspending and fully disclosing any potential charges, which shifts the burden from the menu to the server. While this can lead to some awkwardness, it does address some of the internal conflicts for servers, who have to balance the act of salesmanship on behalf of the restaurants with the act of stewardship on behalf of guests.
Out of the second fifty suggestions, I've singled out three pieces of advice:
77. Do not disappear. At times there is a waiter worm hole -- it's typically called a "smoke break," or "I just can't go to that table right now or I will punch somebody in the face."
90. If someone is getting agitated or effusive on a cellphone, politely suggest he keep it down or move away from other guests. It's a bit disappointing that we need to suggest how servers should interact with restaurant patrons on cell phones. But we've all sat at a table next to this guy and he invariably is drinking something on the rocks.
93. Do not play brass -- no brassy Broadway songs, brass bands, marching
bands, or big bands that feature brass, except a muted flugelhorn. I want to know what restaurant Buschel was going to that offended him with Sousa and how he knows to recognize a flugelhorn.
[Image via Flickr: austrini]
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