When you invite a client for a business meeting at a restaurant your role becomes the host. As the host it is your job to lead the way and make the decisions, even if you are from out of town. Although it is polite to ask the guest if they have a preference on where to dine, never ask the guest to choose the restaurant. This may put him in an awkward position
Tag Archives: Dining Etiquette
Your Best Foundation Colour
Choose your foundation as close as possible to your skin colour. The best place to test this is at the jaw line. The reason we test the colour her
e instead of the wrist, cheek or forehead is because the skin colour will be different on every area. The colour of your neck will be different than the colour of the skin on various parts of your face.
Your best colour will blend into your skin tone at the jaw line and look natural next to the skin tone of your neck. Happy testing…
Cutlery Etiquette How to Make a Great Impression
I have travelled quite a bit over the past few years and one of the things I have noticed is that many restaurants have moved away from traditional place settings at the dining table. Although I suspect that this is part of their branding efforts to be seen as upbeat and unique, it can also be confusing and occasionally embarrassing for their patrons. This makes it more important than ever to familiarize yourself with various types of cutlery and know how to use them.
If the table is set traditionally, utensils are used starting from outside the place setting, and working in. If it isn’t use the appropriate utensil.
When holding a knife the fork is always held in the left hand. When in the left hand, the fork is held with the tines facing down. The knife is held in the right hand with the index finger on top. When eating American style after cutting the food, the knife is placed on the upper right corner of the plate and the fork is transferred to the right hand with the tines facing up for eating.
Here are a few more tips:
- Only begin eating when everyone has been served. The host picks up his or her cutlery first.
- Once a piece of cutlery is picked up, it is never put back on the table. It lies on the plate with the handle resting on the rim.
- When taking butter, use the butter knife or serving utensil to place it on your bread plate. Then use your butter knife (spreader) to butter your bread.
- Leave spoons on the service plate or saucer. An exception is made if the soup plate or soup cup has no service plate.
If you want to take a break, but don’t want your plate taken away, signal this by placing the fork and knife at right angles on the plate, tines facing down.
- When dining American Style, hands go in the lap. Wrists, arms and elbows stay off the table.
- When eating European Style, keep hands and wrists above the table at all times.
With either style the elbows stay off the table until the meal has ended.
When the meal is finished, place your fork and knife on the plate diagonally like the 10:20 clock position. The knife sits above the fork with the blade facing toward it. Napkin goes to the left of the plate… never on it. In some regions it is the custom to place the fork and knife vertically in the centre of the plate instead of the 10:20 position.
My Take on Recession Etiquette
I received a call from CBC radio last week asking me questions about Recession Etiquette. At first I was a bit surprised because I had never heard of Recession Etiquette. I couldn’t believe that there was a certain set of rules that we were supposed to follow while in a recession. It didn’t make sense to me at all.
But the more I listened to the person interviewing me, the more I realised that what she was really asking about was not a special kind of etiquette called recession etiquette. She wanted to know how we should treat people who are personally affected by the downturn in the economy. She also wanted to know if there were etiquette rules of behavior that people struggling financially should follow. Although I understood what information she wanted and I believe I answered her questions, I am still struggling with this term ‘Recession Etiquette’. I don’t know who coined the term Recession Etiquette, but I have to say that I disagree with the terminology.
Let’s face it, although many of us are affected by the global downturn there are not any special rules of behaviour that suddenly became important over the past year that were not important before. Almost everyone I know has gone through their own personal recession at one time or another. And this is an important issue no matter if there is a formal recession, or not.
If we think about the definition of etiquette compared to the definition of manners, Etiquette is the rules of conduct that we follow as a society. Manners are about being sensitive to others and making them feel comfortable. In other words, ‘the golden rule’;
In my opinion as an professional image/ etiquette consultant, if you are ever in a situation where you need to choose between following the rules of etiquette or using your manners by being sensitive to the needs of others, always choose manners first. Etiquette comes second.
Here is my take on some how to handle 4 situations that you might face during any recession.
If someone you know has lost their job; let them know that you heard they lost their job and let them know that you are there to help in any way you can. Be sensitive to whether they want to talk about it or not. And go with the flow without pushing the subject. According to western etiquette, money is considered a taboo topic. It is not appropriate to ask questions about someone’s finances. In this situation, some people will want to talk about what they are going through and others will not. Be open to listening and responding. However, if you get the feeling they don’t want to talk about it, be respectful and move onto a different topic.
Don’t assume that just because the person doesn’t have a job that they don’t want to socialize. Suggest free or inexpensive activities. Every community has them. During the day, go for a picnic rather than going to a restaurant. Go on a hike, play tennis or take the dogs for a long walk. In the evening get together at home: Play a game or watch a movie on TV.
Clients often ask me if it is alright to split the bill or ask for separate checks when dining out. Of course it is. Just make everyone knows this ahead of time. If you are on a budget, asking for separate checks is the best way to handle things if you concerned about the difference in what might be ordered.
When dining out, don’t forget to account for the tip in your dining budget. Remember, the service staff members generally receive a low salary and rely on their tips to get by. If the tip is a concern, suggest dining at a less expensive restaurant instead.
Since the recession is something that has affected most of us, one way or another, I would like to open up this topic and get your feedback, your etiquette questions and your comments. How has the recession impacted your social behaviour, reactions and responses? What do you think about the idea of recession etiquette?
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