This is why I was so disgusted when I read New York Times‘ “Your Money” columnist Ron Lieber’s self-indulgent, arrogant “Diner’s Journal” post on getting kicked out of Restaurant Marc Forgione in Tribeca, “Why I got Kicked Out of a Restaurant on Saturday Night.” 
 
 The short version of the story is that Forgione was yelling at a staff member in the kitchen. And without much forethought, I pushed back my chair and walked through the open doorway of the kitchen. Either you’ve worked in the restaurant business and get this, or you don’t. After some back and forth, Forgione asked Lieber to leave the restaurant. That wasn’t what got us kicked out though, according to Mr. Forgione. For some reason, that eating, the most intimate of activities, second only to sex, is involved leads people to engage in this type of boorish behavior. Lieber’s whiny, unapologetic response, “I’m not sorry I spoke up,” only underscores his role as the classic jerk diner that servers hate. One of the most challenging things about being a waitress is how many people treat you as if you are invisible. They go the entire meal without looking at you once. And when I eat in a higher-end establishment like this, I try to respect the artistry of the proprietor. He claimed that he didn’t decide to ask us to leave until he explained to us tableside that his yelling was all in the interest of making everything perfect. If you don’t like something, say something. Waiting until you’re done to bellyache about how you really didn’t like this, that, or the other, or, worse yet, dinging the server, tip-wise, because you didn’t like something and never said anything about it, is a dining lose-lose. Maybe 20 seconds after I had returned to my seat, he approached the table. I let him know that I thought it was mean. Mr. Forgione was dressing down a member of the staff, in full view of many of the customers. (I do ask to have different gelato flavors in separate bowls, knowing full well that “They don’t do it that way in Italy!” They have it wrong in Italy, too, but I digress.)
– Dining out anytime soon? True/Slant blogger (and former waitress) Susannah Breslin has a little advice on how to treat your server. Check out the full list here. A sampling: Eye contact: Too many people treat servers like they’re invisible. Don't be one of them. “Look your server in the eye. The goal of dining out is great service. Treating your server like a human being is one way to get it.” Tip: At nice spots, it’s 20%, so deal with it. “If I just spent several hours running around … and basically acting like your personal slave for the evening, I’d like to be reimbursed for it.” Speak up: If you don't like something, say so. Competent servers will deal with it because it's in their interests to keep you happy. Don’t make a mess: You may think you’re helping by piling up your scraps and dishes. "You are not helping. You are sabotaging. ... Leave it. Let us get it.” Stay out of the kitchen: Self-explanatory. Don’t be like this guy, who Breslin thinks is both "self-indulgent" and "arrogant."