How to Treat Your Waitress

Dining out anytime soon? True/Slant blogger (and former waitress) Susannah Breslin has a little advice on how to treat your server. Check out the full list here. A sampling:

• Eye contact: Too many people treat servers like they’re invisible. Don't be one of them. “Look your server in the eye. The goal of dining out is great service. Treating your server like a human being is one way to get it.”
• Tip: At nice spots, it’s 20%, so deal with it. “If I just spent several hours running around … and basically acting like your personal slave for the evening, I’d like to be reimbursed for it.”

• Speak up: If you don't like something, say so. Competent servers will deal with it because it's in their interests to keep you happy.
• Don’t make a mess: You may think you’re helping by piling up your scraps and dishes. "You are not helping. You are sabotaging. ... Leave it. Let us get it.”
• Stay out of the kitchen: Self-explanatory. Don’t be like this guy, who Breslin thinks is both "self-indulgent" and "arrogant."

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