Hacker News Reader

I have, too. For me, personality of the service is one of the reasons why I'd eat in a restaurant so I didn't think it would work out (yet), but I'd gladly be proven wrong here.

View on HN

The key for me is the stuff like "fill my water glass" and "check please" - you can never get the waiter's eye for those, it seems.

I like what the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co does in this regard - a simple red/green two-sided sign that you flip to red when you want a waiter, otherwise they will ignore you. Beautiful.

I agree. That also takes care of the overly attentive server as well. I had lunch with some co-workers a few weeks ago and the server stopped by our table so many times that we could barely have a conversation. It was mostly to ask us how everything was... over... and over... and over. I appreciate check ins but there are upper limits to their effectiveness. :)

Yea, that's one of the big problems I've pondered too.

Which brings up another thought: Does a party tip less if they do the ordering themselves?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com