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Restaurants increasingly training waiters to 'read' tables

(NEWSER) - Gone are the days of, "Hi, my name is Tom and I'll be your server tonight." Restaurants are increasingly moving toward a less scripted approach, teaching waiters how to "read" tables and subtly mold their service to fit each individual group. The Wall Street Journal offers a rundown of the new trend, and offers some hints as to what message you could be sending your waiter:

• If you're chatting with your friends: The waiter may worry about interrupting you, and could try refilling your water glasses or placing his hand on the table to get your attention without seeming pushy. He may also assume you're there for a good time, and thus push more offers of drinks or dessert.
• If you're dressed nicely and eating early: The waiter may assume you're headed to a show, and speed up his service or bring the check with the meal as a result.

Former waiter irked by Bruce Buschel's New York Times list

(NEWSER) - Along with the rest of the world—or at least, frequenters of the New York Times website—Lauren Bans read restaurateur Bruce Buschel’s recent “100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do.” And the former waiter is pretty annoyed. “No minimum wage job should ever require a list of 100 Don’ts,” she writes on DoubleX —and 80% of the rules are “either flat-out insulting or so absurdly obvious they’re insulting.” More»

Owner lays down the law with these rules for staff

(NEWSER) - The seafood restaurant Bruce Buschel is building will have excellent service—or else. Some staff members, he acknowledges, "will no doubt protest some or most of what follows," but he's the boss, and he presents 50 rules in his New York Times blog. A tasting menu:

• "Do not take an empty plate from one guest while others are still eating the same course. Wait, wait, wait."
• Make sure the table is level and the wine glasses clean before anyone sits down or orders a drink.

(NEWSER) - Just a year ago, 25% of the country's highest-grossing restaurants were in Las Vegas—where diners ran up $15,000 checks and tipped waiters with wads of C-notes. But now restaurants are closing, new construction languishes half-finished, and more than 5,000 food industry workers have lost their jobs. "It was gold, and suddenly it became fool’s gold," one restaurateur tells the New York Times. More»

Start by looking her in the eye

(NEWSER) - 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.”