This summer, I applied to a job as a greeter at a restaurant not expecting to get anything out of it other than filling up time. However, it's only two weeks into the job and I have realized that there are a lot of unintentional (or intentional, depending on how you view humans) things that customers do that can make life a lot harder for the restaurant worker. I've personally done some of these in the past without realizing how hard it was on the workers, so here's a list of what to do and what not to do at a restaurant.
1. Be friendly
We're interacting with hundreds of customers a day, and we're still making an effort to smile, say hi, and ask how your day is going. Don't be the one who walks up to the greeter and tell us about how we should change our restaurant or roll your eyes when we tell you the wait time. We may all be trained to be nice, but that won't stop us from calling a manager over if things ever get out of hand.
2. Respect restaurant policy
Some restaurants stop taking customers half an hour before closing. Others don't take reservations. Before going to a restaurant, do your research and figure out if they have any of these policies. Don't be the one showing up at 9:50 when the store closes at 10 and get angry because the restaurant can no longer seat you. Don't be that one ranting at a greeter for telling you that they can't take your reservation for 8 people three hours in advance. Not only do we not have the power to change the restaurant policies, we also state these rules clearly on our websites.
3. Monitor your own party
If you're bringing a large group of people, make sure everyone's present when your name is called. Some restaurants won't let employees seat you until they see everyone in the party present, so it'll only save time for both sides if everyone gets there on time. If you have smaller kids, try to keep your kids from running too far away from you in case they end up getting hurt or make a ruckus in the restaurant.
4. Believe what we tell you
When we say that the wait time is 30 minutes, we're not lying, we're not trying to get you to leave, and we're not messing with you. Yes, we really do have that many customers and yes, all of our servers are scrambling around trying to take care of 5 tables at a time already. Standing in front of us and fake contemplating with your friends about whether you should eat at this restaurant is not going to cause us to tell you a shorter wait time. If we tell you we'll text you when your table is ready and that the wait time is 45 minutes, don't come up to us every 10 minutes and ask if your table is ready. We have no reason to lie to you.
5. Don't move seats on your own
Even if the restaurant seems extremely empty, always ask an employee if you can move to another table. The table number you're led to is sent to the kitchen usually the moment you sit down, so changing the seats without letting the restaurant know will only lead to confusion when the food is served and ordered. In busier restaurants, it's even more complicated than that. Try not to change seats at all, unless you have a special circumstance where you need more space for a stroller or something along those lines. In busier restaurants, moving seats will give the greeter at the front an extremely hard time, since they have to allocate seats based on number and server locations.
