Travel Etiquette

A Celebrated Restaurateur Shares His 5 Service No-No's


Tim Winship
Tim Winship

    Danny Meyer is a restaurateur's restaurateur. As the founder of both high-end eateries like Grammercy Tavern and the affordable Shake Shack chain of burger joints, he's one of the country's most successful and acclaimed food purveyors. So he knows a thing or two about service.

    Meyer has also been on the leading edge of the burgeoning movement to

    end the entrenched practice of tipping restaurant workers

    , instead raising the wages of his restaurants' waitstaff and back-of-house workers and increasing the prices of menu items accordingly.

    It was in the context of a recent

    New York Times

    article on his no-tipping initiatives that Meyer, in an aside, mentioned his "Five Least-Favorite Service-isms":


    1. How is everything?
    2. Are you still working on that?
    3. No problem.
    4. Are we enjoying…?
    5. I have a little gift from Chef.

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      Far be it for me to quibble with someone with Meyer's credentials, but quibble I will.



      How is everything?



      Of Meyer's five no-no's, this is the one I find most perplexing. Certainly, a constant barrage of such queries can be irksome. But the occasional check-in reassures me that I haven't been forgotten. It's a matter of timing and attitude.



      Are you still working on that?



      This is a toughie. On the one hand, depending on the context, it can feel pushy, a pseudo-polite way of hurrying me through the meal so my table can be turned over to the next wave of diners. On the other hand, it can be a welcome reality check: Am I finished or just taking a moment before resuming eating?



      No problem.



      Whether in a business transaction or elsewhere, "no problem" is a problem. Telling me that doing your job isn't a problem tells me that doing your job is a problem. It's a phrase best banished from any and all discourse.



      Are we enjoying…?



      Patronizing, to be sure.



      I have a little gift from Chef.



      It's not clear whether Meyer is objecting to the gift or to its presentation. I'd file this one under not looking a gift horse in the mouth. A little something extra, even if ineptly presented, is better than nothing.



      Reader Reality Check



      What's your service pet peeve?
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  • After 20 years working in the travel industry, and 15 years writing about it, Tim Winship knows a thing or two about travel. Follow him on Twitter@twinship.