The last few days have seen two local pundits tackling the always-sticky service question. The consensus: Use your words, people.
Tuesday, 7x7 guest blogger Ella Lawrence suggested that customers would get better wine service if they admitted their own ignorance, described their tastes, and allowed servers to guide them.
Today, Michael Bauer weighed in on the question of sending food back, and also addressed rude service. We’d have liked to know what exactly “rude” meant in this case (snappy? rushed? pants unzipped on purpose?) but we figured it just meant brusque and harried, like some servers get.
On the rude thing, Bauer suggested saying “I simply asked a question, you don’t need to be rude about it,” which frankly doesn’t seem like it would de-escalate any tense situation we’ve been in. But whatever. The point is, call them on it politely. To the question of sending food back, the answer is, yes, send food back if it’s gross, but don’t be a jerk about it.
If this all rings familiar, it’s because we came to a similar point last week. But we can’t stress this enough: Politely addressing staff with measured, direct language and good humor can get you whatever you want about 99 percent of the time. That other 1 percent is when you start whittling down the tip.
How To Be a Better Diner, Step 1: Toss Out Your Ego [7x7]
Sending back food, and dealing with rude waiters [SF Gate]
[Photo: Via pasotraspaso/flickr]
