Four Things Restaurant Workers Wish You'd Do

From StarChef.com:
A lot of our listeners earn a living by working in a restaurant. Following these tips won’t just make your waiter happy, they’ll improve your dining experience and assure that you get great service.

The first thing waiters and waitresses wish their customers would do is: Smile and make eye contact. Besides being polite, it’s a lot easier for a server to understand you when you’re looking at them and speaking clearly.

Show up on time. Jay Remer Jr. has 40 years of experience in international protocol and corporate etiquette. He says that if you’re going to be more than 15 minutes late for a reservation, you need to call. You should also inform the maitre d’ in advance if you have a food allergy or want to bring in something special, like a birthday cake.

The 3rd thing restaurant workers wish you’d do: Turn of your cell phone. According to a recent survey done by the online wireless retailer LetsTalk, two out of three people think it’s rude to use a cell phone at a restaurant. However, only one out of three actually turns theirs off! Using your cell phone at the table is not only disruptive to those around you, but disrespectful to your dinner guests.

Let’s finish with a discussion on tipping. A lot of people forget that the wait staff doesn’t have total control over your dining experience. That’s why Michael Lynn, a professor at Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration, thinks that restaurants should impose a service charge of 15 to 20 percent. That way, customers would be more likely to speak up when something’s wrong – which gives the restaurant a chance to make it right. After all, if you’re unhappy about some part of your meal, bringing it to the manager’s attention will do more to improve your experience than leaving your waiter a bad tip.

900 Million People Don't Have Access to Clean Drinking Water

Clean drinking water - we take it for granted. According to the researchers at Condé Nast Publications, there are 900-million people in the world who don’t have access to clean drinking water, and every year, more children die from water-related diseases than from AIDS and malaria combined. Here are the facts you should know, and how you can help.

Dirty water is responsible for an estimated 80% of diseases in developing countries.

Also, a lack of clean water can keep girls out of school. In some cultures, women are solely responsible for fetching water. Girls can spend up to eight hours a day doing this, leaving hardly any time for an education. Gary White is the co-founder of Water.org, an organization fighting to provide safe drinking water and proper sanitation to needy areas. He says that if you bring safe water to a village, girls can stay in school, and women can spend their time farming or starting a business that can lift their community out of poverty.

Poor sanitation puts women at risk for violence. In many rural regions, for modesty’s sake, women walk to remote areas to relieve themselves. However, in places such as Ethiopia, there have been reports of women being attacked while doing this. If there was plumbing and clean water, bathrooms could be built so the women wouldn’t have to leave the village.

Now, if you want to help, here are some options. A $30 donation to Water-Aid America can provide toilets at school to help girls get an education. A $25 donation to Water.org brings someone clean water FOR LIFE.

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