Regardless of whether they have chosen to eat in a fast-food hamburger or pizza joint or a luxurious and expensive French or Italian restaurant, clients have certain rights and restaurateurs and chefs should be familiar with and respect these rights. At the same time, owners, chefs and waiters also have rights and these too must be acknowledged.

1. A customer is entitled to return any dish that he has ordered if, in his opinion, it has not been properly made or does not meet any special conditions he may have specified when he ordered it. Even if the customer is wrong and the decision was based entirely on his likes or dislikes, his request that a dish be replaced should be honored. The knowledgeable customer will ask for his dish to be replaced after taking one or two bites. That, after all, is quite enough to know whether the fish is off, the meat has been overcooked or the sauce has curdled. Customers should be aware, however, that it is never appropriate to ask for a dish to be replaced after he has eaten one-third or more of the portion.
   
   
2. Even in the most luxurious restaurant, it is appropriate for clients to ask for additional plates if others at the table want to share a specific dish. Restaurateurs or waiters should never object to such a practice.
   
   
3. If, up to and including the main course, a customer has been so disgusted by a dish that has been served to him and cannot continue his meal, he should not be charged for anything but the wine or other beverages he has consumed.
   
   
4. There are two stages at which a table may return a bottle of wine. The first and most obvious is when the wine is first offered to one of the party and he or she rejects it as "off". Because not all of those who are allowed to taste the wine before it is poured are knowledgeable, there is a chance that he will accept the wine but, when it is poured there is agreement at the table that the wine is not as it should be. In such cases, as long as each of those at the table has taken only a small sip or two of the wine, it should be replaced. In cases where one third or more of the wine has actually been consumed before the bottle is returned, the restaurateur has the right to charge for the entire bottle.
   
   I have been at restaurants and have seen clients return four bottles of wine before settling on one that they find acceptable. Frankly, I find that practice vulgar.
   
   
5. If a client complains, justifiably or not, about the behavior of a specific waiter, the head waiter or owner should quietly ask for details about the nature of the complaint. At his discretion, the head waiter or owner may either agree or disagree with the validity of the complaint but this should be done with discretion. In any case, however, another waiter should be assigned to the client's table. Personally, I feel that the only justifiable complaints against a waiter are either rudeness or a marked lack of attentiveness.
   
   
6. Clients who reserve tables in advance have the right to know that if they arrive on time there will be a table waiting for them and that they will not have to wait out-of-doors or at the bar for half an hour before they are seated. Clients should also know that if they arrive more than 10 - 15 minutes late that their table may have been given to someone else.
   
   
7. If customers have been specially pleased by a meal and ask to meet the chef, that request should be honored. Hopefully, the host or guest of honor will greet the chef, preferably with a handshake, briefly introduce him to each of the other guests at the table and then allow the chef to return to his work.
   
   
8. As restaurateurs and chefs have an obligation to their clients, so do clients have an obligation to the other clients in the restaurant in which they are dining. If a party of diners is making too much noise or is behaving in a vulgar fashion, it is perfectly appropriate for the owner or maitre d'hotel to approach them and diplomatically inform them that they are disturbing other diners. If the offensive behavior persists and is truly disturbing others, the owner or other person in charge is fully within his rights to present the offending table with a bill for everything they have consumed to that moment and asking them to leave the establishment.

© Daniel Rogov