On a recent blustery day I arrived at Keefer’s restaurant to conduct what I thought would be a discreet lunch interview with dining expert Robert Scarola.
There I found him already seated at an excellent table next to the fireplace.
The host and my server ushered me into the room like royalty.
They addressed me by my first name.
I got a sinking feeling that the jig was up.
My job as a dining reporter is all about keeping a low profile when I eat out. But Scarola’s new guidebook to getting great restaurant service preaches just the opposite — especially during business meals.
And so, after inviting him to lunch to demonstrate these techniques, I guess I couldn’t really blame him for putting them to work, even if it meant blowing my cover.
“I was following my own principles,” Scarola said in his defense, “and that is to arrive 15 minutes early and to let the staff know you are having an important business lunch that you want go well.”
This was Tip No. 1 gleaned from my nearly flawless lunch with the tall, skinny foodie (also, incidentally, the mayor’s assistant press secretary) whose new self-published book is called Make Mine Medium Rare.”
Here are 10 more Scarola tips that sound good enough to work for the rest of you nobodies:
Complain. Pointing out a problem in a polite and timely manner can earn you brownie points and maybe even a free brownie — from the manager. Scarola says, “One manager told me, Three minutes of complaints from a diner that I can address saves me three years of bad word-of-mouth.'” However, returning your three-quarters eaten salad because it doesn’t include the promised blue cheese — as I wanted do — marks you as a whiner. After I had eaten much of it, Scarola told me, “You blew your chance.”
Make eye contact with and engage your waiter waitress. Servers tell Scarola that one of their biggest pet peeves is when customers don’t look at them. “If you develop good rapport, you can trust your server.” At lunch, Scarola addressed our server by name and asked a lot about the food.
Watch non-verbal cues from servers. Even with good rapport, they may have to push certain slow, lousy specials, which you can avoid by watching for “tells” such as eye-rolling or hesitations. “If the server hesitates about a choice, go to Plan B immediately,” Scarola says.
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When ordering meat, make sure you and the kitchen have the same understanding of rare, medium rare and well-done. Misunderstandings about cooking levels lead to many unhappy meals. Sometimes it’s best to describe to your server what you want the inside of the meat to be like: brown, pink, red, cold, etc.
Look good. Dress well when dining out to “show you respect the restaurant,” and respect will come back to you. Nice attire also can give the impression that you have money to spend and tip well.
Call ahead. If you want to avoid unpleasant fights over the bill or uncouth divvying at the table during a special business or personal meal, call ahead and leave your credit card number along with a guaranteed 20 percent to 25 percent tip. Have the restaurant fax you a copy later.
For adequate service, tip 15 percent on lunch and 20 percent on dinner — pre-tax, of course. Leave more if your party is larger than six or if you linger. Scale back by 5 percent to 10 percent for bad service. But if service makes you want to stiff your server completely, have a quiet word with the manager first.
Reserve. Always make a reservation when you can, and start developing a relationship with the restaurant during that first call. Always be sure to call and cancel if you can’t make it; restaurants really appreciate that.
Avoid the holidays. Avoid dining out on New Year’s Eve, Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day because they are some of the busiest, craziest days the restaurant will see all year. If you can, Scarola says, also try to avoid dining out on weekends. Slower weeknights give servers more time to interact with you and treat you right.
If you must dine on busy nights with long waits, there are ways to expedite your seating. Ask to see the general manager for a moment, off to the side away from other diners and the seating host (“who is usually eye candy rather than a decision-maker,” Scarola says.).
He further advises: “Start with, `Excuse me, I know you’re very busy, could I have a second of your time. . . . ‘
“Introduce yourself as you shake the GM’s hand, palming the $20-$40 as you ask to see how long it will be to be seated,” Scarola says. “You also need to be effusive about how much you’ve enjoyed the restaurant on other visits, establishing your dining frequency credit. Also, mention you don’t mind waiting at the bar because as a consolation prize for any further waiting the GM will, in all likelihood, buy you a drink. Takes the sting out of waiting for most folks.”