Experts, restaurateurs and that little voice in our heads all agree: We need to get out and be with people. Beyond that, we seem to need remedial classes in manners when we are out in public, especially at our favorite restaurant.
The workers at restaurants are stressed, according to Ted Karousos, proprietor of Blue Plate Diner in Middletown. Staffers have to have their guard up at all times.
Johnson & Wales University professor Nicholas Makris, former owner of Andreas, a popular Providence restaurant, shares his wealth of industry experience in the classroom, where he earns high marks from his students. Makris is a member of the Rhode Island Restaurant and Hospitality Association and vice president of the Providence East Side Business Association.
He thinks diners sometimes forget there is a pandemic on when they are out at a favorite restaurant. The reason is the essence of hospitality. When we are seated comfortably among familiar surroundings or are discovering a place for the first time, there is a moment when we relax. Perhaps it is when we open the menu or look around to appreciate the view. In that moment we let our guard down, and we might remove our masks. Makris said we all must strive to be more diligent in that moment. There is extra pressure on the servers who are put in the position of enforcers. “It’s not just the servers; it’s all hospitality workers whether you work in the front or the back of the house,” he said.
Rhode Island guidelines are clear: Customers are required to wear face coverings at a restaurant. The mask may be taken off when diners are seated at their tables. However, the staff must always wear masks. If we can remember to pull up our masks when they approach our table, it would be much appreciated. Also, keep in mind, especially if you are visiting a restaurant for the first time, there may be some anxiety on the part of management and staff because state inspectors visit more than once per week. Restaurants in Newport and Warren are getting visited at a rate of three times in two weeks. “It takes a toll psychologically on servers and all workers,” Makris said.
Making multiple reservations? Common courtesy means you should notify restaurants where you have made backup reservations. Even before the pandemic, this was somewhat of a tradition to reserve multiple tables. If there is a long wait at the first choice, go down the list. However, at a time in which everything is more intense and nothing is normal, restaurateurs can have a short fuse with guests “forgetting” their reserved table, especially when fewer tables are allowed to be occupied during the pandemic.
Then there is the matter of tipping. The early days of the pandemic seem to have been forgotten when big-hearted guests were leaving tips of hundreds of dollars or more to tide staffers over. Now at least one business is reopening with a no-tipping policy. Gracie’s is instituting a service charge of 20% that will be added to each check and, according to the ownership, will be shared equitably with all staff members. Restaurant staff have shared in tips for decades, but now staffers will have their compensation documented.
Also, the dynamic of the gratuity should not be ignored. Makris sees it this way: “Tipping has always been associated with gratitude on the part of the customer.” The custom has also resulted in an incentive for wait staff who are paid additionally for providing an additional level of service. When a mandate is substituted, the incentive is taken away and business ultimately suffers. It would be a sea change and a difficult one to pivot from “tip for takeout” to “no tipping but here’s an extra charge regardless of service.”
Bruce Newbury’s “Dining Out” radio talk show is heard Saturdays at 11 a.m. on 1540 AM WADK, on radio throughout New England, through various mobile applications and his podcast. Email Bruce at Bruce@brucenewbury.