Common sense and etiquette......

It would seem that most of the time common sense and etiquette go hand in hand….so why is it some normally courteous people act as if they were royalty and we should be humbled to be their presence?

When one is seated at a table, perusing the menu and greeted by a server, “Hello, how are you this evening?” the proper response would be a one of a verbal nature…..not just staring at the menu as if the server did not exist.

“Bring me another diet coke!” Now, that’s not really a very polite way to request something. First of all, a third or fourth refill on a large beverage is not a need, it’s a want. And second, you’d probably get that unnecessary refill quicker, had you shown some modicum of manners and politely asked, “May I have another diet coke, please.”

Let’s talk about aisle ways again, for a moment…..they are for people and servers (yes, servers are people, too) to navigate through the restaurant. It is not okay for you to maneuver your chair so far back from the table, that you block the aisle. It is not okay for you to move a bar stool out of the way so you can stand, and leave the bar stool in the middle of the aisle, behind you. This aisle blocking tends to happen a lot at banquets. If you wish to speak to those at another table, it is not okay for you stand, bent over, with your butt blocking the entire aisle way….common sense would dictate that you find another place to stand, like at the other side of the table, where you will be blocking nothing.

And why is it (and this happens 99% of the time) that upon entering a banquet room, people take three steps in, stop and congregate, thus blocking the entrance to the room, and then get irritated when others try to pass?

Most people possess common sense in varying degrees, and were taught at least a little bit of etiquette……why does it go to ell when you enter a restaurant?