Features F&W Pro Restaurant Resolutions You Should Make in 2024 Put down the phone, pick up the menu, and remember your glasses. By Darron Cardosa Darron Cardosa Darron Cardosa, also known as the Bitchy Waiter, is the voice of restaurant servers. His decades-long career in the restaurant industry and his very active social media presence have made him an expert on all things service related. He says out loud what other servers wish they could say.Expertise: food service, restaurant industry, waiting tables.Experience: Darron Cardosa is a food service professional with over 30 years of restaurant experience. He has waited tables in diners, pubs, chain restaurants, neighborhood bistros, clubs, and had a short stint in a celebrity-owned restaurant before he was fired for blogging about his experience.Over the last 15 years, he has written more than 1,500 articles and blog posts, each and every one about the food service industry. He has written for Food & Wine, Plate, the Washington Post, and others. Darron has been seen on NBC's the Today show and CBS Sunday Morning discussing the service industry. His book, The Bitchy Waiter, was published in 2016, and his years as a professional actor eventually led to the creation of his one-man show, The Bitchy Waiter Show, which tours around the country. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on December 21, 2023 The start of a new year is an opportunity for a clean slate, as unblemished as freshly fallen snow. True, that by February our attempts for new behavior may be as failed as the snow is dirty, but it’s always nice to try. Not everyone compiles a list of New Year’s resolutions, but I can guarantee that restaurant servers hope customers will so they will start doing certain things and stop doing others. New year, new you! Gary Burchell / Getty Images Cake, AI Anxiety, and 'The Bear' Were Among the Top Trends That Defined 2023 Tip on the original bill not on the discounted total Whatever percentage is deemed appropriate for a tip, make sure the calculation is based on the right number. If there’s a complimentary cocktail on the check or a two-for-one special, the tip is for everything that was served, not just for what was paid for. A server shouldn’t be tipped less because the customer has a coupon. Adhere to restaurant hours Opening and closing times for all businesses are so easy to find, there’s no excuse to plead ignorance. Let your fingers do the walking and look it up on Google or the restaurant's website. You can even call the restaurant if you’re someone who still likes to talk on the phone. Showing up before opening time and then glaring through the glass of the locked doors informs the employees inside that you’re impatient and it does not make them open sooner. Closing Out Your Tab, Picking Up the Check, and 9 More Ways You Became a Better Diner in 2023 Even more importantly, know what time they close. Arriving two minutes before closing time and patting yourself on the back with a “We just made it!” is a sure way to make people in the restaurant not want to serve you. Read the menu Ask any server their number one pet peeve and it’s likely to be about a customer’s refusal to acknowledge the menu. It’s the Rosetta Stone that will unlock the mysteries of what can and cannot be ordered and its powers should not be underestimated. Questions are welcomed, but only after perusing the menu. Don’t ask “What should I get?” immediately after sitting down. Be specific with your queries and base them on what information you cannot find on the menu. And bring your glasses. Font is small, lights are dim, and QR codes aren’t going anywhere. Listen to the server Some may think of servers as unskilled laborers who don’t have real jobs, but they do have the answers to your questions. After rattling off the specials down to the most minute detail about the wild salmon served with asparagus and beurre blanc, it’s blood-boiling to have a customer then say, “So, what are the specials?” When I waited tables, my rule was to announce all eight salad dressings only one time per table. If someone asked me to repeat it because they weren’t paying attention, their options dwindled to oil and vinegar or ranch. 2024 Food and Drink Trends Are All About Ranch, Robots, and Rooster Pasta When you say you’re ready to order, be ready to order You don’t have to make a split second decision between the split pea soup and the secondi portion of your meal, but make those decisions on your own time. Saying you’re ready to order and then picking up the menu for the first time is grounds for immediate disdain from your server and it makes it awkward for all involved. If the server says, “I’ll give you a few more minutes to decide,” that’s code for “You are wasting my time and I have about a million other things to do right now.” Put down the cell phones Believe it or not, cell phones are not permanently affixed to our palms. Unless it’s needed to see what time the restaurant closes or to look at the QR coded menu, pull yourself away from it while the server is at the table. If someone didn’t hear the specials, it’s probably because they were busy posting a photo of their cocktail on Instagram. There’s nothing wrong with doing that, but focus on the person taking your order first. And when the food arrives, move the phone off the table. The server is carrying plates hot enough to permanently alter fingerprints and the plates need the table space more than the iPhone does. Everyone Should Have to Work in Restaurants for at Least Two Months All of these resolutions for customers are things servers want customers to aspire to. They may fall by the wayside just like going to the gym, learning how to knit, and practicing ukulele will likely do for me, but it’s always nice to know that we can start anew. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit