Do you feel self conscious when signaling a waiter at a restaurant?

No. You are there paying for the services offered at the restaurant and the water is hired by the restaurant for just that service…. to see that you are provided for in a stylish manner for what they have to offer. You only have to feel self conscious if you have a good, attentive waiter, and you don’t leave a tip for the attentiveness of that waiter according to your needs.

oops…. I meant “waiter” in that last post…. not “water”….sorry !

Exactly! Now, I’m going to point to @dhooni (my wife) and remind her that OTHER people also think my signaling waiters when I need something isn’t obnoxious, it’s normal.

(duck) ok, maybe it’s a female thing? <—– starts running.

I’m just very…. I don’t know.. I consider other people’s feelings a little too much lol. rubbercrutches makes A LOT of sense, though. I hate when people snap their fingers or clap to get the waiter’s attention, though. :)

Yes. I usually try to catch their eye and hope they get the message. Usually doesnt work.

Very. xD It makes me feel like I’m bothering them, and I feel very self conscious. xP

yes, i do! Although I am very good at making eye contact with people so I never have to wait very long

If I have a legitimate request, then usually it’s not so bad, but I can be pretty terrible at talking to people I don’t know. It also depends on the waiter/ waitresses general attitude. What I don’t like is when someone I’m with calls the waiter over and begins to complain to them about something they have no control over as if it’s their fault.

Yes I do haha. I usually just wait for them to look up and catch my eye, then I wave them over. Or if I can I get somebody else to do it!

Oh please. I was a server and I didn’t care at all if people signaled me. It’s my job…to serve. It’s like feeling bad for calling a lawyer after you just got caught robbing a bank. Good servers are there to help you, but we (speaking as if I’m still part of that society) can’t be there every second of the evening. Then we’re hovering. Hovering servers are just as annoying as non-attentive ones. Thus if one of my customers needed something in the time I was giving them space, I was happy to respond to their signals. As long as one of them didn’t whistle or say “Hey there lil lady. Git yer butt ova herrr”, I was good to go. :)

ya im always self concious about everything i do :)

If I actually had to signal a waiter/ress, I’d be annoyed. We pay to be waited on - we should not have to request that service.

A good server is diligent at understanding when to approach a customer and cue in on a customer’s expressions to see if there’s a problem. On that note, a simple glance in the server’s direction should be enough to imply that their attention is required.

And yes, I’m a huge critic in the restaurant industry.

I’ve been a server/bartender for five years, so I know what you mean. I get all kinds…lol. The people that whistle and wave their hands around like idiots the second they need something (even if I’m on my way over to them) to the people that are scared or embarrassed to ask for a refill on their drink. It depends on the nature and personality of the customer and a good server picks up on that and should respond accordingly. If you notice they are going to be hard to please and very demanding, you need to go out of your way to make sure their every whim is met and hope your tip reflects that! Or, if you think they are quiet shy people, you have to make an extra effort to specifically ask if they need extra napkins, a refill, dessert etc to give the ease of a simple yes or no answer. Other than a flat out bad server, being super busy is a reason for bad or inattentive service. Most of us try our best to please and wouldn’t be offended by a tasteful call for our attention. :)