129 Cardinal Sins of Service- Part Three

More thoughts on the the 129 Cardinal Sins of Service that was originally published by Eric Ripert.  I have already covered the first 9 here and here.

9. Chipped glassware.
What bothers me most about chipped glassware is not that it is poor service to serve someone a glass with a chip in it, but rather it is a safety issue.  A guest could cut his/her lip by drinking from a glass with a chip in it.  If a guest cuts a lip, there are much bigger issues than poor service- try lawsuit.

10. Tables not completely set when guests are seated.
This has more to do with impatience and lack of communication than anything else.  As most hosts can attribute, it can get very difficult to manage guests when there is a wait for a table.  The guest can see there are open tables and are wondering why he has not been seated.  He can be demanding and rude.  To appease him, the host may take the guest to the table regardless of the state it is in.  In this case, the host needs to manage the situation as best as possible so as not to take the guest to the table before it is properly set.

The other issue here is lack of communication.  Many times someone will tell the host that "table XX is ready to be sat" when that certainly is not the case.  The host, going off the information and trusting that information, seats the guest when the table is not quite ready.  The remedy here is for the host to visually ensure the table is ready to go and ensure the communication lines are accurate.

11.  Dead or wilted flowers on the tables.
If you have enough money to put fresh flowers on every table as the centerpiece, you have enough money to replace flowers when they are wilted and dying.  Dead or wilted flowers look tacky and gives a poor impression to the guest.

12.  Tables not leveled.
This annoys me as both an employee and as a guest.  There are few things worse than setting your drink down on a table that wobbles.  A wobbly table is annoying because every time I put weight on the table, I think it is going to tip.  Oh yeah, don't fix it with coasters either, it looks tacky- fix the table.

13.  Salt and pepper shakers that are half empty.
This looks like the job being done is "half-assed."  Makes the guest think "what else are they scrimping on if they cannot refill the salt and pepper shakers?"  Taking care of this shows you have attention to the small details.