Smoking in the Lobby

In North Carolina, for now, smoking is still permitted in restaurants. However, just because smoking is allowed in the restaurant, doesn't mean that customers should smoke in the lobby. It is very inconsiderate of smoking customers to walk through or stand in a restaurant lobby with a lit cigarette. If there is a specified smoking section, please remain in that section with your cigarette or go out side if you are having to wait to be taken to your table.

I am not a smoker, so I do not claim to know that strength of nicotine. However, I have friends who are smokers and I have learned that if it is socially inappropriate to light up a cigarette, their sense of social responsibility outweighed their need for nicotine.

So, if you are a smoker, please consider the people around you. Just walking through the lobby on your way out the door from the bar can be very unpleasant for the people around you, especially when the smoke lingers. On a personal note, I am a hostess, and I have to hold my breath when I seat people in the smoking section because I am allergic to cigarette smoke. Therefore, when a customer walks through, it is very difficult for me to catch my breath and seat the next customer. So, if you are a smoker, please consider the people around you.

Public Displays of Affection in Restaurants

People go on dates, it is common knowledge that this is a frequent occurrence. It is also rather well known that people on dates tend to go out to restaurants. I understand that, I can respect that, and I enjoy going out to eat on a date myself. However, it would be very greatly appreciated if the public displays of affection during these restaurant dates could be downed down just a smidgen.

When out to dinner on a date, please realize that you are in a public location and people don't necessarily want to see you and your date with your hands all over each other. Some people like to sit on the same side of the table as each other, that's fine, but please don't do things under the people that other people can, unfortunately, see.

Not only does this behavior make other customers uncomfortable, but the staff as well. This kind of behavior may very easily make your service not quite as good as you may have hoped. Think about it, would you want to serve a couple of people who made you terribly uncomfortable? A personal example of PDA causing great discomfort for me is from one night when I was working as a seating hostess. There was one couple that was obviously very happy with each other. I could see that when they walked in and thought that they looked very sweet together and was happy for them. However, once they sat down they started making out! It was terribly awkward for those around them and I actually avoided walking by them. Once they had finished their meals they relocated to the restaurant lobby and continued there previous session only with more fervor and contact. I had to abandon my post as seating hostess and simply walk laps around the inside of the restaurant until they left.

Please, please, please enjoy your significant other, be attracted to them, pay close attention to them, but in the right amounts in the right place at the right time.

Phone Communication and Etiquette

I have worked in two different restaurants, one a pizza buffet with a carry out option and the other a family oriented restaurant with a To-Go option. In both restaurants, phones are constantly ringing. I have some tips/suggestions for customers on phone etiquette.

• Restaurants aren't always the most quiet places, especially on Friday and Saturday nights. Please, please, please enunciate when you are speaking to make it easier on both ends.
• Please be patient with the person on the other end of the phone. If you get frustrated, then they will get frustrated. As an employee I can honestly say that restaurant personnel (at least most - I will be completely honest in this blog) want to provide the best service they can for the customer. If you are getting angry with the personnel on the other end of the phone it makes it very difficult to be accommodating.
• If you have an issue, it is not a problem to ask to speak to a manager and have the problem solved, but please ask for the manager up front. More often than not, the person answering the phone is not a manager. If you immediately start explaining a problem you have as soon as you hear "hello," and then just wait for the person to have something to say about your problem, you have just wasted your times and the employee's time as well. You will just have to explain the problem again to a manager.
• If you are calling in an order on a night that you know is going to be busy in a restaurant, please be patient, expect to be on hold for a bit. Someone will be with you as soon as possible, you are not simply being ignored if your order is not taken immediately.

If you heed these suggestions, a restaurant phone call will be far less stressful for you.