Restaurant Seating
 

I'm always curious when my husband and I go to a restaurant and pass 10 tables to be seated. Can someone explain why you aren't seated at one a little closer? :-)

I usually ask to be seated where it seems to be more quiet. Sometimes I need a table because I am short and I sink in a booth and I feel like a child with the table up to my neck.

oops, back to your question...I wonder if they are leaving the other tables for those that will come later, just a thought.

One cold & very slow night I asked for a certain booth. Waitress said the section was closed. Ok, I get it. Then her “friends” came in. She was all giddy and called them by name. They sat in the booth I asked for. I’m not thinking they were big tippers, judging by their youthful age, but that isn’t my business anyway. We paid our bill & before we took leave, I brought it to her attention.

I think they rotate the seating so customers are evenly divided among the wait staff. As others have said, you can always state your seat preferences.

I used to wonder about this too especially at our local seafood restaurant with beautiful views. We would be taken past several window seats and seated against a wall, or even worse a corner. I always nicely requested a window and was accommodated. This didn't feel good as someone was going to sit there. My husband seemed to know the reason.

Sometimes the wait staff come in at different times, so some sections are closed. Sometimes it also depends on the day of the week -- some sections aren't opened on certain days during certain hours.

After a very long day at a craft fair with my friends who were selling their wares, we decided to go to a steak house for dinner. The hostess told us we couldn't sit in an area with booths because it was closed. She refused to sit us there. A word with the manager solved that issue. A server who was covering another area waited on us and was happy to do it. I tipped very well as a reward for her great service and attitude. The hostess continued to glare at us - oh well.

As a former waitress perhaps I can clarify the seating question. As staff come on duty they are assigned a section of tables that are their responsibility until they get off duty. Then it is their responsibility to clean those tables, refill condiments, etc. before they log out for the shift. Therefore, their section is closed so they can complete their work. When you request a table in a closed section, the waitress on duty becomes responsible for serving you and the tables in their section. They also become responsible for cleaning your table as well as their own section. When you are the last waitress on shift, you can wind up cleaning your 5-7 tables plus several more before you can check out for the night (you are also responsible for side work in the back - rolling silverware and cleaning a section of the wait station). I liked the comment that an extra tip was left for the waitress that was assigned a table in another section. It meant a lot to him/her. I never saw a request refused at my workplace - customer's requests were Always accommodated. Happy customers equal return customers and good tippers! As far as the air conditioning goes - you have two elements functioning at the same time. Customers who are at rest and wait staff that are in high gear. Hard to find a median line of cool between the two! Hope this helps clear up the issue.

Truth be Told: When I was a waitress, 40+ years ago, the Hostess was instructed to seat the more attractive guests in the front of the restaurant and the others towards the back.