How much do you tip at Korean restaurants?
As Kampos said, it is actually considered rude to tip in Korea. However, since you said you were in America, you should do the standard 15%. Although now, it is like 20% to be fair. If it was a new restaurant, their indifference to you may have been because of the tip. Also, in many places the tip (gratuity) is already figured into the price of the meal and the money you left on the table would go to the bus boy...if they had one. Generally, upon leaving, they would say, thank you, come again. back to the tip, it has been my experience that Americanized Korean restaurants expect a tip. Those that have stayed traditional do not and think a tip is rude. Sounds like you were at a traditional place and probably the only non-Korean there. By saying nothing to you when you left, they hope you do not come back or that you understand that you were rude. That said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with asking them if it is okay to tip. If not, they will put out their hand to tell you no...that simple.
Why do restaurants try to seat you at the bar, even when there is hardly anyone there?
There are actually a few reasons why you may be asked to sit at a bar - even in a mostly empty restaurant.The Bar is the restaurant’s most important real estate - The old adage is, “They’ll eat you poor, and drink you rich.” Selling alcohol is the primary profit center of a restaurant. It behooves any restaurant to encourage you to have a drink, and it’s easier to sell a drink at the bar.What time did you come in? - At lunch, or during the time in between regular lunch and dinner service, the bartender may be the only one available to offer customer service. Most restaurants won’t refuse you table service, but it may make your service experience less pleasant if the bartender has to offer assistance to those on the floor and behind the bar. The restaurant will want to be accommodating, but they also realize certain practical limitations, and if you are willing to sit at the bar the bartender will be able to give you more prompt service.Are you alone? - Most restaurants depend on customer volume. Nearly all tables can hold a minimum of two people, and most restaurants will try to seat the maximum amount of people at a table. The bar has more flexibility to accommodate a solo diner.Empty Tables Do Not Necessarily Mean an Empty Restaurant - Again, sometimes it’s a matter of timing. If you walk in at 6, or 6:30 what appears to be an empty restaurant, may actually be full of tables reserved for parties coming in at 7. The restaurant would love to seat you, but they have already made a promise to someone else that they would be sat there in the near future, and that’s their first priority.The bartenders need you. - One of the great ironies of many restaurants is that while the bar is a big profit center for the restaurant as a whole, since bartenders don’t often serve large parties or bottles of wine, they can tend towards lower check averages and less tips. If they sell a beer for $7 and get a dollar tip, it’s much better for them to sell you a burger and a beer for $18, and make $4.
Which should a restaurant patron do if they are unhappy with their meal, complain to the manager or simply not eat there again?
Either or both (complain to the manager or simply not eat there again) are acceptable ways of dealing with the problem. However, if the problem you had with your meal is one that could be a life-safety risk for another customer if it occurred again, I think it is more ethical for you to bring it to the manager’s attention before you leave, so that you can spare other patrons the risk.There is little that can make me complain about my meal or leave without finishing what I can eat, but once I did end up bringing a life safety issue to the management’s attention, though it was not a complaint, just a request for info about my meal. My meal came out garnished with some beautiful flowers on top, they were of a waxy Iris or orchid like variety, so I asked the server if the flowers were edible (we often add edible flowers to the salads we make at home, from american violets, peas, squash, chives, etc, but never the poisonous African violets).The server went back to ask the chef, who came rushing out, worried that we might have eaten one before he could get there. He relaxed a bit when we assured him we had not yet eaten the flowery garnish, and he apologized for putting something on the plate that we should not eat. We encouraged him to never put anything on a plate or dish that is not edible, because vegetarians look at plants on plates and tend to assume that they are food, not mere decorations.
Why do most of my guests not visit my restaurant again, despite competitive prices?
I am indirectly related to the restaurant business for a sufficient time and I’ve learned that there are many intangible factors that effect an individuals mind set to visit or not visit a restaurant. Considering the fact that you offered good food quality at really competitive prices here are a few tips you can try.Understand your target audience and keep your offerings according to the audience.If your resturant is based upon a theme keep the ambiance live up to that theme.Reduce your Order TAT, the average time interval in which the food comes to the plate after being ordered.Provide value services like wifi and facilities like toilet etc.Use good quality equipments to serve food for example clean crockeries, good quality disposables etc.Keep check on your employe’s behaviour with the client.Try to provide exclusive menu items for your customers.Expand your social reach, market your restaurant, your food.Strategise and give offers to your customers, believe me you can boost up your sales and your revenue by providing strategised offers to your clients.Try to reduce your internal cost to offer better service to your customers.You can also make use of online service providers like Adurcup which can help you reduce your backend problems as well as your marketing problems.You can visit Adurcup at: Online Restaurant supplies | shop disposables,order pestcontrol service,order wifi service and more | www.adurcup.com
How long would it take to try out every restaurant in New York City?
According to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygene and as of the date of this answer, there are 25,082 restaurants in the City. [1] [2]Assuming that (a) there is no turnover among restaurants and (b) one eats three meals a day, each one at a new restaurant, it would take 25,082 / 3 = 8,361 days (with only breakfast and lunch on the last day) to eat at each, which translates into approximately 22.9 years (give or take depending on leap years, etc.). I haven't been able to find a figure on how many restaurants open or close per year, but if you can find that info, it'd be a cinch to account for turnover. I'm willing to bet that over 365 x 3 = 1,095 new restaurants open per year, meaning that you can never eat at every restaurant in New York--they open faster than you can visit!-----[1] See New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. This Restaurant Inspection Information website indicates that there are 2,343 restaurants in the Bronx; 6,031 in Brooklyn; 10,201 in Manhattan; 5,572 in Queens; and 935 in Staten Island. [2] N.b. The figure obtained from DOHMH may be significantly higher than what one typically thinks of as true "restaurants," -- see, e.g., Lot more ‘bites’ out of Apple (giving the restaurant count as 7,966 in 2011). I'm guessing this is a result of the DOHMH's broad mission; its site may describe as "restaurants" other establishments that serve food such as coffee shops, gas stations, snack bars, hot dog stands, cafeterias, etc. I'd welcome any further information or comment on this!
What do high-end restaurants do if a credit card is declined at the end of a meal?
Had this happen a few weeks ago. The bank sent me a new card to extend things past the 03/15 expiration date. They require that I hit their ATM and use the new card to ask for an account balance, but only indicated that a new PIN would be coming eventually. So, I handed the gal the old card, figuring it was still valid (still in March).Youngster comes back (my wife and I know most of the staff there) and sheepishly told us that the card had been declined.I gave her a quick synopsis, and then handed her another card. End of problem. (I activated the new card a day or two later.) Still haven't seen the new PIN....Wouldn't call this place "High End", but it's not McD's....Maybe 25 years ago, I used to be a regular lunch patron at another restaurant in town. To the point that I often babysat the owner's grandchildren while their mom was in the kitchen bagging up some of "today's special" to take home.I had a buddy from Cleveland who used to join me for lunch often. One evening he was in town with his wife and some friends, and they stopped there for supper. That's when he found out that he was short on pocket cash. The Owner took his personal check (they don't like to do that anyway), and then called me the next morning: "Stu, is this guy good for $60?" I got a bit of a laugh: "Paul, he could probably have written a check big enough to buy your place if he wanted to."In short, a good restaurant will almost always try to quietly resolve the situation. A regular customer, or someone who's been (and remains) very polite likely will be blessed with a good result.These days, it's a very good idea to carry at least two major credit cards. If you check into a hotel, they may freeze your entire credit limit to cover your "tab", and, well, don't try to use that one elsewhere. But you can always use the other one....
Why do restaurants charge more for the same dinners on holidays than ordinary days?
Is this price gouging??? Oh yes, absolutely! Now, would you LIKE that table for your mother or NOT???? Come , come!!! Were very BUSY on Mothers day!!! If ya don't like it...........McDonalds is always open! Fact of life is........when demand is HIGH.......the SUPPLY people can charge whatever tickles their funny bone. Same as airlines charge TRIPLE the price for the same EXACT ticket in summer, than it costs in FEB. or Sept. Because no one takes vacation in those months.....but come JULY and AUGUST.........you pay thru the nose for the same exact seat. Christmas and Thanksgiving too, because they KNOW you want to get home. Price gouging at it's finest, and they are damn PROUD of it, too. !!!!