A respectable amount of decorum is appropriate when being seated to any meal be it at an exclusive event or fine dining restaurant. Lately it seems people have thrown good manners by the way side. Displaying good manners does not require enormous effort. Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use.
Punctuality
First impressions are inevitably lasting, arriving late is one of them. A social appointment holds as high regard as any business meeting. In business you schedule meetings out of necessity, Social appointments are scheduled because we enjoy finer aspects in life. You scheduled it so stick to it! Arrive stylishly, 5 minutes before. If you have confirmed your attendance and cannot make it due to unforseen cicrumstances, cancel as far in advance as possible so that someone else may be invited or amount of people attending be confirmed.
Dress code
Cashmere today scarf tomorrow, the fashion industry never sleeps,What to wear? too casual, to formal? Questions always asked before a a special occassion. Consider a few aspects before leaping into that desired outfit. Most importantly, whether that outfit you have your eye on will be comfortable for the entire duration of the ocassion, ask yourself the purpose and type of occasion and how appropriate your desired outfit may be accepted by guests,colleaugues or potential clientele. also consider the timing, Dinners are always more formal than a cocktail, lunch or breakfast be it social or business ocassion. At an event there is always a host who will be more than glad to advise as to what would be most appropriate, who is expected to attend and what the theme is. Remember its always safer to wear something more conservative if you are not sure. You are what you wear!
Taking your seat
In an industry where possibly every idea has been created, name place cards are generally seen at every event. It takes away confusion of which position at your table you may want to sit at and who you may want to sit next to. Its an ingenious concept of organisation but leaves little creativity to social etiquette. That aspect aside, ladies should always be seated first by their partner, and whom ever the initial invitee may be it is their responsibility to greet and introduce the rest of the table in a systematic manner involving partners. Always ask your partner what they would like to order prior to you ordering, whether it be a beverage or food order and order on their behalf, it also minimizes the time an order takes.
Keeping focus
The reason you are invited should be the same reason you attend. Striking conversation with an individual at a table does not only amount to verbal communication. Body language and non verbal interaction accounts for 93 percent of all communication. Your tone of voice, eyesight, facial expression and body posture is more vital than spoken words. Address the conversation with a positive attitude and a genuine interest in the topic and people will listen to you and take you seriously.
Silverware
What would an article on etiquette be without a section on table setting? Save yourself the embarrassement of incorrect silverware usage and let us refresh. Different to that of fine dining restaurants, exclusive events more often than not have formalities which do not exist at a restaurant, Always start from the most outer silverware inwards, if there is an uneven number of silverware on one side of your setting then a course that requires only one utensil will be served. Do not attempt to polish your silverware if it is dirty, kindly request your waitron to supply you with a new set.
Left overs
To some a very touchy subject, none the less a vital discussion. When dining at a restaurant where you are responsible for your own meal account and you are not able to finish especially since portions are usually quite large you are entitled to ask for a take home container, or that your wine be re-corked. However if you are invited to an event or a restaurant where the meal will not be for your account, then it is extremely impolite to request any left-overs. If you do decide to request a left over meal which was for your account kindly wait for every one to finish at the table before letting the waitron clear your plate.
Service staff gratuity
How calculated have we become, someone says gratuity you say ten percent? This however is the norm we have become a custome to.Your waitron serving you works on a basic salary including additional responsibilities within the establishment with an incentive of a gratuity for their services rendered. It is undoubtably therefore the waitrons service standard and friendly mannerism which determines how much they are worth. A gratuity is a gesture for the manner in which your waitron serves you, over and above the voluntary ten percent service fee for receiving your meal timeously and in order. Yes it may be taxing to always tip, but its only ever a minimum of ten percent to the value of the meal you have eaten.
