I love my job as a hostess. The fast-paced environment and the excitement when the restaurant is busy keeps me on my toes. I love being the first face customers see when they walk into the restaurant and it is always a pleasure holding the responsibility of starting the patron's experience off on the right foot. However, there are many things that people do not understand about the restaurant business, specifically hostessing, that they should consider before losing their temper at the person behind the front table.

1. If there's a wait, there's a wait.

I cannot count the number of times I have had a customer lose their temper on me for giving them a wait time when "there are all these empty tables." Generally, if there is a wait time in a restaurant there is probably a reason. I'm not trying to keep you from your intended delicious meal but if I have a full board of reservations due to arrive in five minutes and you walk into the restaurant without a reservation. I am sorry but you will just have to wait 15 minutes; that's the way it works. I am just doing my job.

2. On the phone, speak up and speak slowly.

When calling a restaurant to make a reservation some people assume that a hostess has super multitasking powers and that I can understand them if they mumble and speak as fast as they can while I scamper to type the reservation at the same time. I understand that it is a hassle to make reservations sometimes and that the questions I have to ask you may seem tedious but, again, I am just doing my job. My managers require certain criteria to be taken down when making a reservation and if I fail to gather that criteria then I am not doing my job properly. So please, be patient and let me get all your information, pointless as it may seem.

3. Please, for the love of all things restaurant, DO NOT SEAT YOURSELF.

If there is a sign posted right in front of the doors that says, "Please see hostess for seating," then go visit the hostess stand. There is a very intricate process to seating a restaurant. There has to be a balance of covers for the servers as well as a consistent flow of seating as to not overwhelm the kitchen. If these needs are not met than what is the point of having a hostess? So please just pop your head in to visit your hostess and he/she will most likely be more than happy to seat you where you would like.

4. If the restaurant is full, consider sitting at the table your hostess takes you to.

As previously stated, it takes a great deal of thought to plan the seating of a restaurant. If your hostess takes you to a table, odds are it is the only table available for your party, especially if there are a great deal of reservations as well as walk-ins. Obviously you are the customer and we want your dining experience to be as pleasing as possible but, next time you walk into a completely full restaurant consider that there may only be one table available for you and your hostess is just trying to get you seated as soon as possible.

5. No, I cannot put a highchair at a booth.

Not only is this incredibly dangerous, as the child would be out in the walk way, but it is against fire code regulations and I cannot legally do that for you. I would be more than happy to seat you at a table at which we can put a highchair safely but please do not fight me on this. I am simply following the law.

6. If you have a poor experience, don't call on the phone afterwards to yell at me.

As you walk out of the door it is part of my job to ask you how your experience was. If you tell me, "Oh, it was wonderful," then I have no reason to believe that it was anything less than wonderful. It is frustrating when a customer tells me they had a good experience but then choose to call me on the phone to tell me how horrible everything was. First of all, I cannot help you with this issue. All I can do at this point is allow you to speak to my manager and even so you have already left the restaurant so we cannot even compensate your bill. If you are unhappy with your experience, let us know so that we can help remedy the issues you had.

Please, as a customer, do not take this the wrong way. Your hostess loves you. Without you, the entire restaurant would be out of a job. We hostesses would just like you to consider these points when you dine with us so the experience can be the best for both of us!