Featured Image Credit: Angel Santana/Getty Images
Topics: Restaurants and bars, Drinks
Rachael Davis
It turns out there are plenty of ways to make a bartender or waiter annoyed. Ordering the 'wrong' drinks, thinking stacking plates at the end of the table is helpful, clicking fingers to get their attention - these are all things that can really irk a waiter, depending on the mood they're in that day.
Next time you go into a bar or restaurant, however, there's another unwritten rule to follow. If you don't, you risk an angry server - and as the person in control of making sure your drink is delicious, served quickly, and without a generous glob of spit floating on top, you'd be wise to bear this in mind.
While we know now that certain drinks are a real pain in the backside for bartenders - the mojito takes a long time to make, while an innocent order of an espresso martini seems so contagious that making one often means making dozens for the whole bar - and that asking for an 'extra strong' drink is bound to rub your server up the wrong way, there's something else to consider: your behaviour.
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We've all seen it happen. A bartender greets a new customer with a friendly, smiley 'hi, how are you?', only for the guest to bark their drink order at them without so much as a please. The Takeout has reported that this is a number one bug-bear for many servers, making the customer seem unnecessarily rude.
Indeed, it doesn't take long to respond with a cordial 'I'm good, thanks, how are you doing?', and for the staff member who's serving a conveyor belt of customers in various states of inebriation all day or night, a little nicety can go a long way.
The Takeout's piece says that according to Los Angeles-based restaurant consultant at Savory Hospitality, Salar Sheik, not making polite conversation is 'one of the rudest things you can do at a restaurant'.
Sheik warns that skipping the niceties 'comes off as dismissive'.
"When a server greets you with a friendly 'Hello, how are you?' it's a small but important gesture of hospitality. Ignoring that and jumping straight into your order can suggest you're not interested in engaging respectfully — it's like cutting someone off mid-sentence," he adds.
But how does one know when the server has time for a bit of chit-chat, and when they're really not in the mood? As anyone who's worked in hospitality knows, keeping cheerful through a painful shift can be a real challenge.
"Generally, it's best to follow the server's lead," Sheik says.
"They're trained to pace your experience for maximum comfort and efficiency."
It's good advice for any occasion: be nice, be respectful, and show a bit of humanity. As the saying goes: 'Treat other people how you want to be treated' - and that certainly applies to your waitstaff, too.