I love going out to restaurants! I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I’m a “foodie”, but going to a restaurant is just awesome. It’s all about the experience! From the moment I step to the host stand to the second I’m escorted to my table, to the selection of cocktails and appetizers, to the selection of the main course and desserts, and other accompaniments, I am excited! It’s not just the food and the environment that I’m smitten by, but also the people. Now while some good ole fashioned people watching is always a treat, that’s not the people who I’m referring to. I’m referring to the restaurant staff, especially the waiter or waitress, who we’ll refer to as our server for this blog entry.

Your servers and the interaction that you have with them can be the ultimate deciding factor between a fantastic dining experience and a bad one. But, should we as the customer be held in any way accountable for our dining experience. Well, of course we are! Every one of our actions and interactions have an impact on the outcome of that situation. While we heavily rely on our servers to positively impact our dining experience, there are certain expectations that we should have of ourselves when eating out. Scarlet challenges you to embrace these tips during your next dining experience:

• Address your server properly: While our servers are there to enhance our dining experience, they are not our slaves. “Aye”, “Yo”, “You”, “Baby”, “Sweetie Pie”, “Shawty”, “Handsome”, “Good Lookin'”, are not proper greetings. You can call them by the name on their name tag or “sir” or “ma’am” are also alternative options.
• Pay attention: We understand that you may not be ready to order immediately when your server first approaches your table, but do acknowledge them when they stop by. We briefly polled servers to find out what their etiquette pet peeve is while serving and the highest reported area was being ignored.
• Tell them when they’re great: We often hear the stories of when someone gets bad service at a restaurant, but what about when someone gives great service! If your server is awesome and makes your dining experience a night to remember, tell them or leave them a note. (like the one pictured above.

While the food is often the main attraction at a dining outing, the people are what truly make it special! Enjoy your next dining experience and remember to treat your server with respect and dignity.