Serious Eats New York - newyork.seriouseats.com

I agree with 64. Very few restaurants I go to seem to want to tell you what the price is..and then I feel weird asking. BLAARGH.

I think some of these suggestions are a little overkill, criticizing someone's personality versus competency, and contribute to the whole problem of service vs. servitude.

9. Do not recite the specials too fast or robotically or dramatically. It is not a soliloquy. This is not an audition.
33. Do not bang into chairs or tables when passing by.
41. Saying, “No problem” is a problem. It has a tone of insincerity or sarcasm. “My pleasure” or “You’re welcome” will do.

Some of the advice seems inconsistent:

11. Do not hustle the lobsters. That is, do not say, “We only have two lobsters left.” Even if there are only two lobsters left.
74. Let the guests know the restaurant is out of something before the guests read the menu and order the missing dish.

And some of the suggestions are usually out of the hands of the server:

94. Do not play an entire CD of any artist. If someone doesn’t like Frightened Rabbit or Michael Bublé, you have just ruined a meal.

And your own "Served" author once mentioned asking if something was wrong with the service after recieving a dismal tip:

96. Do not say anything after a tip — be it good, bad, indifferent — except, “Thank you very much.”

As I mentioned in the talk thread, I think a really helpful list would be 100 Things a Customer Should Never Do. I want to be a good patron as much as I want to have a good server.

In addition to writing down my order, remember who ordered what. I don't remember the stupid name you gave my dish and don't expect me to. I don't have the menu anymore to remind me what it is, either.

My god, yes on 58. That goes for commenters on food blogs, too. Ketchup is not the devil, seriously.

I have many pet peeves: no prices on specials. Ditto to all the rest

This list is great...and the one about the specials is dead on!

Always explained but price never quoted which usually ends up being higher than a regular entree on the menu.

And also the change thing is classless....what waiter thought this was a good idea to ask if you needed change???

It's a sign of laziness in all honesty;"I want a tip but I don't want to have to come back to your table to get it!"

I am of two minds on the 'do you need change' thing. For each of us who are frustrated to be asked, there are others who get frustrated when the waitron brings back what is clearly a tip--they want the service interaction to be over when they've paid. If the server asks, then she can leave the guests to linger a little while longer or cut and run out of there.

Sure, the server may be trying to cut down on one more trip to the table--or trying to keep out of the way of the table. The server may ALSO--depending on the size/dynamic of the group be asking whether anyone needs particular bills broken down. If everyone is chipping in, someone may need to break a $50 or a $20 to make their share equal, or to make a tip. It may be less frustrating for the server to ask than to whisk it all away while the table may be engaged in conversation, only to have to do it again when the change is returned.

I just think that it's an attempt at clarity that is not necessarily always about servers running to the back and pocketing tips while running their greedy little hands together. Sure, there are other ways to do it...but perhaps we shouldn't ascribe nefarious or greedy intent to the question.

I disagree with the author about pulling the plate. When I am eating out I hate it when the server doesn't take the empty plates. I don't want to sit around with an empty plate in front of me. I'd like to be able to put my hands/elbows on the table.

When I became a waiter, I was told that older people generally prefer to keep all plates on the table until everyone is done, while younger people prefer to have the plates pulled as they finish.