July 21, 2001
First of all, know the laws. You must be at least 18 to purchase and smoke cigarettes and other tobacco products. You must be at least 21 to purchase and consume alcohol. Most restaurants, bars, and stores will ask to see your identification card (we say it here, “they will card you”). Sure, you could get away with it, but if police caught you, it means trouble. And of course, no drinking and driving. Driving Under the Influence (DUI) is a Felony, which means time in jail and possibly prison. The laws are different in each state about the level of alcohol in your bloodstream, and about smoking and drinking. In California, you can’t smoke very much anywhere indoors, and you cannot be drinking in the public space i.e. on the streets.
Now that we are clear about the rules and the laws, let’s start from making the reservation. Not all restaurants take reservations. They’re mainly first come first serve. You may have to wait for your table, and the wait may be an hour or more. All you have to do is to go up to the front counter, and talk to the hosts or hostesses. (They are the people who will get you seated at your table.) They will put down your name and how many people in your party, and they will call you as the table becomes available. If you are with a big group of friends, they would usually not seat you until everyone in your party (or most of them) are present. If you can make reservation, be sure to be there on time. You will lose your table if you are more than 15 minutes late.
One of the very first mistakes I notice Thai students make is regarding how to treat the waiters, waitresses, and bartenders. Back home, we treat these folks like they are lower than us somehow, like they are inferior to the customers. That mentality doesn’t fly here in the U.S. Everyone is equal. The service people are just like you and me, hardworking people who deserve to be treated well. So, out you go with your habit of whistling, snapping, or yelling at the waiters for attention. Look for your waiter, and raise your arm or slightly wave to get his or her attention. Oh yes you heard that right. YOUR waiter. Unlike in Thailand, in most restaurants, waiters are assigned to your table for maximum proficiency of service. If you need your bill or anything else, you’d have to get your waiter. They do come check on you during your meals also.
Treat your waiter right, and he might even take a picture with you!
(Katie, Oakley, Veronica, and Juliana with their Hard Rock Cafe waiter at Universal City Walk.)
If the food doesn’t taste right, wasn’t cooked properly, not you ordered, or there’s something you are dissatisfied with your food, you CAN send it back and ask for replacement or your money back. If the service is bad (like the waiter is rude to you), or the food is horrible, ask to talk to the manager. American businesses value customer service in the sense that you can complain to them about your dissatisfaction.
Now that you’re done with your meals, feel free to take home the leftovers. Most of the time, you will end up with so much food left over, so don’t be ashamed in asking for a box to take the food home. American portion is huge I tell you. There are some rare instances that I ever finish any decent meal in a restaurant. After you’re done with packing your doggy bag, it’s time to figure out the bills. I don’t know how everyone else has done it, but what I’ve known as “American Share”—the equal split of the total price—doesn’t really exist. Everyone takes a look at the bill, and put in their contribution. The split are mostly for the tip.
Speaking of tipping, it’s another most important thing you must know. Tipping is not the same in the U.S. In Thailand, you just threw in Baht 10-30 for tip depending where you are eating, or sometimes no tip at all. Here, the minimum tip rate is 15% of the total bill. Since the tax in Los Angeles is 8.25%, my guideline to figure out tip is to double the amount of tax. You can always tip more, but never less than that, even with bad service. You can either add the tip to your credit card charge, or leave cash. Remember what I just said: these are hardworking people, and most of them get their main income from tips. Usually, gratuity is automatically added to the bill with 6 or more people, but it never hurts to leave a bit extra tip on the side as well.
The same rules somewhat are applied to the bartenders and bar waiters. Always throw in just about $1 every time you go up to get a drink or when they bring you some. The more you tip, the better the treatment you get from them, and believe me you want that. Sometimes you can run a tap, charging all of the alcohol onto one bill, or one person’s credit card, and you can throw in a big tip at the end just like a restaurant bill. Nonetheless, tipping your bartenders and bar waiters a little bit throughout your evening guarantees your good time.
That’s all there is to it, boys and girls. Be nice to your service people. Always say please and thank you. The Golden Rule applies here: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. With that in mind, good service and good times ensue.
Big party. Big time fun. Big tip!
This is from my friend J.C.'s birthday party (the blond one in the middle).
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