Restaurant critic Phil Vettel’s article (“Clear and present danger,” At Play, Dec. 21) on the signals between diners and servers generated more than 1,000 responses to an online poll and several letters. The poll? There was an almost equal divide between those who prefer wait staff “Take my plate when I’m done, even if others are still eating” (53.1 percent) and the “Leave my plate until everyone at the table is finished” (46.9 percent) crowd.
You’d think the bus staff is on commission with the speed in which diners’ plates are removed from the table. With casual dining becoming the norm these days, it’s hard to combat commando-busboys while a dining partner is still eating and you’ve finished. I was taught that plates are removed when all at the table have finished eating, and not before … regardless of the type of restaurant it is. This is accompanied by the utensils at 4 o’clock position for the “I’m finished” signal.
–Martin J. Jacobs, Highland Park
The issue of the plates cleared too quickly is a frequent topic of conversation among our friends. I think you let the restaurants off too easily. I think they are clearing the plates to rush you in order to turn over the table, or to get the plates to the dishwasher, or perhaps they have just not properly trained their overly eager busboys who may think they are doing their job properly.
I do not like to have my fellow diners feel rushed, which is exactly what happens if you are eating while others–perhaps fast eaters–are finished.
Shame on Steven Grand Pre, dining room instructor at the School for Culinary Arts at Kendall College, for going along with this rush act.
–Janet Cummings, Lake Forest
I just read your article about table signals online and found it spot-on. I work in a busy South Loop restaurant, encounter this situation constantly and agree that getting on a conversational level with your customers is the best way to establish a rapport and make them feel at ease with letting me or my busser know when they’re done or need another drink, etc.
I hope all Chicago diners read this, as well as all the waiters and bussers! I passed it on to our general manager as well.
–Mark Lindzy, Chicago
Personally, I think it is rude to remove plates when other people are still dining; in fact, it ruins my appetite and more often than not I call the busboy or server back over to remove my plate, finished or not.
When I am ready to have my plate cleared, I often feel like I’ve fallen into a vacuum and am searching for someone to clear. I’ve employed the “utensils on the plate” tactic often to no avail, or pushing the plate aside, but it seems that if there is even a morsel of food left on your plate, a server won’t touch it. That is, of course, unless it’s half a steak and you’re just stopping to sip your cabernet.
–Tom Saaristo, Chicago
A friend of mine taught me years ago that the proper way to signal to a waiter that you are ready to order is to close the menu and place it on the table, off to the side of the place setting, if there is room.
The problem is that, while waiters and waitresses at more expensive restaurants understand the code, servers at chain restaurants don’t always get it.
It just seems to me that managers ought to train servers on a concept that is so simple.
–Kent Frederick, Downers Grove
