Archived Article By Tom Fitzmorris Originally published April 2, 2007 Overlapping Courses An old service problem that seemed to be a thing of the past has returned with a vengeance. Waiters are once again bringing the next course in a dinner before you're finished with the one before. In worst cases, they're bringing all the courses at the same time, piling appetizers, salads, soups and entrees all over the table. The only thing that slows them down is the limit to the number iof plates they can carry. Single diners are most often victimized, because their entire meal can be carried on one tray. We don't have to think hard to figure out why this is happening. It because of the labor shortage, and the large number of inexperienced people working in restaurants. Not only do some of these young people seem to have scant knowledge of working in a restaurant, but they seem to have no actual experience of dining in a restaurant. If they did, they'd know better. The problem, which seems to be so ascendant these days that it happens more often than not, has a particularly irritating quality: there's nothing you can do to remedy it. What I want to tell the waiter is, "Hey--which of these things should I allow to get cold while I eat the other one?" Or, "What--you're trying to run me out of here as fast as possible? So I smell funny?" But if I say anything at all, it's "Wait--I'm not ready for the entree. I'm not finished the appetizer yet." But none of the waiter's repertoire of responses is promising. Here are some (I've heard all of them at one time or another): Best: "Well, we'll hold it until you're ready, then." This means the food will go under a heat lamp and get dried out. The chances of their cooking a new entree--which is what they should do--are remote. Ordinary: "Okay, I'll put a plate cover over it so it won't get cold." (Of course, it will get cold anyway.) Bad: "Well, I'll just put it over on this side of the table, and when you're ready you can just grab it." Worst: "Sir, can you move that appetizer plate over so I can put this down?" Worse Than Worst (when there is no room on the table for the new dish until the appetizer dishes are cleared; I actually saw this happen to someone else recently): "Okay, well, I'll just put your steak over here on this table until there's room." Restaurant owners, please have a meeting with your staff to explain this seemingly obvious essential of service. Here are the words to use: "Do not bring out a course unless you are sure that the diner is ready for it. Do not bring two or more courses to a diner at the same time, unless he asks for it that way." That seems like ABC to me. © 2007 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com