(Continued)

6. Wine Sense

Wine can play a vital role in dining– for the diner, it should make the meal more enjoyable; for the restaurant, it should make the meal more profitable. Thus, it’s in everyone’s best interest to play by the rules.

Ordering wine in a restaurant can be a daunting task if you don’t know much more than red, white, sparkling and rose. Asking a waiter or wine steward for assistance often can make you even more uncomfortable, especially if you’re on a date or out in a group. If you are reluctant to tell the waiter your price range, it is helpful to communicate the information nonverbally by pointing to a bottle on the wine list that is in your range and saying something along the lines of, “I’m thinking about trying this wine- can you tell me more about it?”

From the patron’s perspective, you do not have to be a wine connoisseur to know when a bottle is corked - it happens more than occasionally, and the distinct smell of wet, moldy cardboard is hard to forget. If you think the wine smells or tastes off, you should be confident in telling the waiter or wine director. After all, you’re paying for it, and you should not subject yourself to drinking a corked bottle. Don’t feel bad about the restaurant losing money. In many cases, an off bottle gets returned to the distributor.

What happens when you order a bottle of wine and simply don’t like it? If you confidently ordered the bottle on your own, without consultation from a sommelier or wine steward, it is generally not appropriate to send it back – especially if it is an expensive bottle. However, if you requested assistance from the staff and don’t like what they suggested, it is within your prerogative to express displeasure with the wine and send it back.

As the waiter or wine director, when a customer sends back a corked bottle or is unhappy with a selection that you recommended, this is a prime opportunity to train other members of the wait staff.

7. Children are Restaurant Patrons, Too

It’s never too early to start teaching good restaurant manners to children. Poorly behaved children can ruin the dining experience for other patrons, so if you bring your kids to dine out, make sure they are behaving properly.

It’s useful for restaurants to have a stash of crayons and coloring or puzzle books on hand so that when the youngest patrons get restless, you can help keep them occupied. Parents will be more likely to return when they take note of your kid-friendly service.

As for chefs, what about introducing young patrons to more sophisticated dishes than chicken fingers or macaroni and cheese? Consider creating plates that are smaller versions of the regular menu items for these budding gourmets, or allow half orders of select menu items for those under 12. And adults, please refrain from ordering from the children’s menu.

8. You Can Take it With You

In general, it’s a good idea to refrain from bringing outside food or drink into a restaurant. Guests should check a restaurant’s BYO policy and corkage fees before arriving.

Unlike most other countries, there’s nothing wrong with taking your leftovers home in a doggy bag, especially since portions are usually more than any human should eat in a single sitting. The same now goes for wine in New York and some other states – leftover bottles should be recorked and packaged for customers to take home.

9. Tipping

As bad as some of us claim to be at math, we all become human calculators when it comes to figuring the standard 15-20% of a check. Tips are a customer’s way to provide feedback about the service in a restaurant, and should be used to reflect quality. If service is inattentive, forgetful, rude or careless, leave a smaller tip to indicate your displeasure. Only in extreme cases should a tip never be given. By the same token, if you feel your server would go to any length to make you happy, a 20-25% (or greater) tip is advisable.

There is some debate in the restaurant world about whether or not it is appropriate to tip on wine. The answer is yes. Since sommeliers are tipped out a percentage of the evening’s gratuities, it is quite right to recognize their services by including the cost of wine when calculating a tip. If your sommelier has been particularly helpful, you might want to tip that person directly. Taking the issue a step further, what is the tipping etiquette if you order an outrageously expensive bottle of wine? Is the sommelier deserving of 15-20% of that bottle when the amount of work required is no more or less than with an inexpensive bottle? Again, the answer is yes. If you’re a big spender splurging on pricey wines, then you should tip like a big spender. But big spenders should reconsider the practice of tipping the host or hostess upon entering a restaurant in order to get seated quicker or be placed at a better table. This is not a reward for good service; it is merely a bribe.

We all know that wait staff make their living in customer tips, not wages. In many states, their wage is well below the legal minimum, and chances are these employees never see it, thanks to taxes. Restaurateurs should make sure their staff is trained to be courteous and professional, and that they should not expect tips—they should work for them. Pooling and tipping out to bartenders, sommeliers and busboys is pretty standard, but these practices can be discouraging for higher earning waiters who feel they are giving up their tips to people who may not be pulling their weight. Unfortunately, that’s the way it is. Owners and managers should use incentives to encourage top quality service across the staff, and consistent underperformers should be let go.

10. Communicate

One last point on how good communication skills can make dining out enjoyable, whether you are the customer or the waiter. On the customer’s side, the more you communicate to the waiter, the better he or she will be able to serve you. If you are displeased with the dining experience in any way, it is up to you to calmly and politely articulate that to the waiter or manager so they can have an opportunity to fix the problem. If you don’t say anything and just wait until the end of the meal to leave a sub-standard tip, the waiter won’t know what went wrong.

Restaurants thrive on repeat business, and the quality of service can be a determining factor when it comes to deciding whether or not to return. It is important for the waist staff to read your guests from the moment they sit down. Know and anticipate what they want based on what they are communicating to you. And don’t assume that because your last table ordered multiple courses and bottles of wine that your next table will want the same full dining experience. People dine out for different reasons and you shouldn’t presume anything about them. Don’t oversell your customers - they will only get annoyed at you and be less likely to tip well.

Source : http://www.starchefs.com/features/editors_dish/etiquette/index.shtml#timing

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