Fun in the Sun.

Outside seating is a great way for patrons to really enjoy their meal during a nice, sunny day. I’ve worked at a few restaurants that offered outside seating and I have found that this portion of a restaurant is a great way to attract customers and make money. Many servers try to treat this section as any other part of the restaurant—another area with tables and chairs for people to eat and drink at. However, outside seating can be a whole other animal onto itself.

My favorite part of outside seating is when some of my customers bring along their four-legged friend for lunch. I’m a HUGE animal lover and having the opportunity to play with a playful puppy during my mundane work shift is a stroke of luck. Servers should keep in mind that if the dog is happy than their owners are happy. Bring the pup a bowl of water and ask his or her owner if there is anything you could offer it for lunch also.

The major problem with outside seating is one of the things I have highlighted in my 10 Ten Most Annoying Things list: Self-seating. Like I have said before, tables may be reserved, there may be cover counts for servers, etc. Take the extra two minutes to go to the host and ask for a table outside. Pissing off your server before she even comes to greet you is not a good way to start off lunch. Additionally, I will have some patrons who decide that they are going to rearrange the outside seating area and try to bring chairs from inside outside. A lot of establishments can only have a certain amount of chairs and tables in a certain area before it becomes a fire hazard. Don’t get mad if a manager pops out and starts bringing chairs back in. It’s not cool to put the restaurant you like to frequent at risk for fines or worse because you’ve made yourself too at home.

Finally, let’s consider the weather. On occasion there will be that odd couple that want to sit outside in 100-degree heat with 100% humidity and expect to get waited on. I’ve also had people sit outside while it was snowing out and try to order a beer. Although you may have an exceptional tolerance to extreme weather, most of us do not. Don’t expect to subject another person to increment weather just to bring you a burger. Remember: be courteous, we’re people too.

Be sure to log on for my next post about dining out with the little rug rats.