One of my pet peeves is waitstaff asking before clearing my plate. I always put my silverware at the proper "ready to be cleared" position, and I nearly always clean my plate.

If I've sent the proper signals, why are you asking me again?

I like it!

For every restaurant that has been slammed on this blog for giving a bad experience, had commandments 1 - 6 been followed by the restaurant, we would have never heard of a problem. Taken together this is a master class for operating a successful restaurant. Add some well cooked food and you will be hard pressed not to succeed.

The later items are more back of the house rules that will help a restaurant, but the Sandbox is more front of the house oriented and so 1 - 6 most affect us. (Although I will miss the super thin blond in the tiny black dress.)

[Had a Sun network crash whilst sending this. Hope it doesn't post twice.]

I do the same thing, Lissa, but so many servers are oblivious.

The fact that a restaurant critic feels the need to create such a list shows why so many restaurants fail.

Uh oh, I am worried this post could stir up the evil spirit of what is known as Springs1...

Stacy, I must be getting old. I assume that something I knew before heading off to kindergarten is something everyone knows.

Of course, my father was a bit of a whack job...

They should make one for newspapers...

Of course this all assumes that the (owner - manager - staff person) actually cares and isn't just showing up to make some money.

Lissa and Stacy, you assume that the waitron knows the code. Given the apparent youth and turnover at many restaurants, this is likely not the case. After watching the staff in a restaurant, try and imagine whether or not the "training" went beyond how to use the touchscreen system and how to upsell.

Yes, I am being negative and, yes, most of the time I am waited on by good servers. But sometime I just have to wonder why these other people ever decided to enter the Hospitality industry.

RiE--isn't there something about writing those words "hospitality industry" that makes your skin crawl?

I like the list. RiE hit the nail on the head: Too many times restaurant staff are more interested in collecting a buck than customer service. Especially young servers haven't a clue about "classic" signals such as placing one's eating utensils just so on a plate, and don't care. Frankly, I'd rather have the server ask to clear my plate than make me wait 15 minutes before taking the thing from my sight.

I just have to wonder why these other people ever decided to enter the Hospitality industry.

Because they needed a job and asked themselves ".....how hard can waitressing be?"

Along this line, I used to work for a nonprofit that had joint ventures with Rehabilitative Programs throughout the city. Since it was important that we maintain good relations with these programs, our nonprofit would accept "program people" who reported that they did "office work" to gain work experience. I was the person assigned to find tasks for these "office workers" and then oversee the proper completion. After explaining what, to me, were the most basic of office functions (of course, my dad had his own business, so we were filing as soon as we learned the alphabet!) over and over, I began asking these people where they'd acquired their experience. Every one of them told me that they had not actually had office experience, but had seen "office work" on television and were quite sure they could do what they'd seen.

Oh No, Trixie invoked the name of She Whose Name Shall Not Be Spoken! Run away run away.

Hey has anybody seen my mom?

You can find the collected wisdom of Springs1 HERE, which you should READ unless you are STUPID or LAZY:
http://www.blogger.com/profile/16330862403978274454

ENJOY!!!