Be Good to the Restaurant Server and Get Freebies

Food… one of the most important necessity in life. People need to eat to survive, may it be only once a day or as much as 7 times depending on the person’s appetite. Some prefer to have their meals prepared at home or others love to dine out. Almost everybody wants their food to be prepared the right way and be served straight to their tables. Everything seems perfect, the atmosphere, the service, and the quality of the food but when the bill arrives people tend to forget about everything and start double checking the prices listed on that small printer paper and get shocked at how expensive that bottle of water is or the piece of meat you just ate. Customers start to complain and try to get a complimentary dinner for doing it. Somehow it helps but the benefit is for one time use only. Think as well the impression complainants have left in the restaurant. The next time they come back, guaranteed no more complimentary as per management. So how can you get freebies without losing your reputation and still enjoy dining in that food establishment?

Your target: the restaurant server or the whole staff if you are a pro

It all starts with character. Yes, the right personality. This is the time you apply grandma’s lessons and be rewarded by doing it. Respect goes a long way and they will love you for doing it. As per Matin Luther King, everybody should be equal and this should be applied when you are dining in the restaurant. The restaurant server is not your servant and should not be treated as one. These people can read your personality the moment you step in their establishment so behave.

Treat the servers like your best buddy. Talk to them and make a connection. They are stressed out just by serving you, it’s your time to entertain and make them feel special.

Tell the servers what you want, what you need and whatever request you got in your head the moment the order is being taken. This avoids trips to your table and making the server feel annoyed by doing so. You are not the only customer that needs service remember that.

Eat properly. Nobody wants to clean up your own mess. Maintaining your table neat with utensils in proper place earns you respect from the one serving you as it makes his job more easy to do plus it shows that you have table manners and etiquette.

Don’t call the server with your fingers clicking or your hands waving come here or saying “psst”. Put yourself in their shoes and you’ll find out how nasty it feels to be called like a dog.

Don’t be too nice by pouring your own water or your own wine or getting whatever you need from the server’s station. When the manager sees this it will give the impression that the employee is not performing well thus will affect the performance appraisal of the server. Ask and it will be given. If it is taking too long to be given, call the manager.

When all of these simple steps are performed well, when the bill arrives, you will not be surprised again at how expensive your meal was but at how cheap it became because the server had taken out the bottles of water you consumed and the dessert that was suggested to you. The next time you return to that restaurant, the staff will acknowledge your presence and you will be treated as a very important person. Not only will the water be complimentary but also the whole meal if you become a regular in the restaurant. Don’t forget to leave an extra tip. It’s not important how much you left, it’s the gesture of saying thank you for the service that matters most.