Feel free to conduct yourself however you'd like at restaurants. Just know you're being judged for it: A guy who's worked as a waiter for more than 30 years came up with a list of the top five things customers should never do.
Not leaving a tip is the obvious one, but here are four more . . .
1. Don't rearrange the tables on your own. One of them could belong to a different server. So it annoys them when you do it without at least asking first.
2. Don't forget to wash your hands after you handle a menu. They were gross even before covid. They don't get cleaned enough . . . get handled by dozens of people a day . . . and fall on the floor a lot. So they're like a petri dish, but people just dig in and start eating bread anyway.
3. Don't send back food just because it's not what you expected. If it's cooked wrong or the order is off, send it back. But don't demand a refund just because you ordered salmon, and then remembered you don't like salmon.
4. Don't leave gross stuff on the table for them to clean up. A common one is used tissues. If you blow your nose, find a trash can and toss it yourself. People with babies even leave DIRTY DIAPERS behind sometimes.
(Today)