The end of the meal can be tricky for servers -- they have to balance the restaurant's need for a table with the possibility that their customers are having a good time and want to linger.
The Lawrence Journal-World tackled the issue yesterday, describing an overanxious waiter who drops the check and subsequently kills the mood at a festive table full of people who are either ready for another round of drinks or just want to sit back and enjoy the conversation stimulated by a good meal.
Among those quoted in the story was our own restaurant critic, Charles Ferruzza, who used his experience in the food industry to help provide some guidance for servers who can't wait to be signaled by the diner.
A server needs to establish a rapport, Ferruzza said, or at least an open line of communication with a table.
If a server drops the check just to clear the table, it's never good form. If you're a waiter, you're just going to piss your patrons off. That's something you learn pretty early in the game. There's a tasteful way to do it.The timing of a dropped check can severely impair a meal. But so can the untimely disappearance of a waiter when the table's ready to leave -- if you have to look at a half-eaten plate of food for too long, eventually your delicious dinner starts to look kind of gross.
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