The Dining Do's

Like it or not – “Table Manners” are the single most important benchmark when referring to "Good Manners." We are offering some "Table Do's" today to help you feel confident at your next business or social dining event. We also added a picture of a full table setting for your review. Dining Do’s • Sit up straight, but not stuffy. Your forearm may rest on the table if there is room and your elbows may also rest there in between courses. • Put your napkin on your lap. Use it. Place it on the table, not the chair, if you have to get up during a meal and when you are finished. • Wait for your host or hostess to begin eating or give a signal to begin. • Serve food from the left and remove from the right. Drinks are served and removed from the right. • Bring the food to your mouth, not your mouth down to the food. • Pass both the salt and pepper (one in each hand) even when someone asks for just one. • Break your bread, one piece at a time, butter and eat. • Place a soup spoon, teaspoon or iced tea spoon on the saucer under it. Nix the noise while stirring. • Pick up a dropped utensil at someone’s home (surely the hostess will notice and get you a clean one). Leave it on the floor at a restaurant and ask for another. • Remove a seed, an olive pit, a bone or a piece of gristle from your mouth with your cupped fingers. Hide it under something on your plate, not on the table or in your napkin. • Wipe your nose at the table, with a handkerchief or Kleenex if necessary, but never on your napkin. If you have to blow, excuse yourself and go to the restroom. • Eat finger foods with your fingers, but then use your napkin because nothing is “finger lickin’ good”. • Tilt the soup spoon away from you, like a ship going out to sea, and then bring it up to your mouth. • Eat what you can but don’t make an issue of what you “don’t like” or “can’t eat”; say only “No, thank you” when declining food. Please note these comments are for U.S. dining etiquette. Each culture has different ways of showing "good table manners." If you are heading to another country reach out and ask us. We will help you find out how to fit into any new cultural setting.

Travel - Noises

You have all sat next to someone on a plane or train who has their headphones on so loudly you can sing along with them. You have also sat next to the person that is playing a video game on their phone or Ipad but keeps the volume on so you can hear every gun blast. This message is to all - please please please be cognizant of your own noises from your phones, music, games, and computers. What you hear as white noise can be very disturbing to other passengers. Additionally, keep your own volume to a minimum. I am a loud talker but on planes or trains I try to keep my voice down if talking to my neighbor. I recently had a flight where I could recite the entire conversation between two people a row and an aisle away from me. That's too loud! Know your voice and if your friend does not know his or her own voice - help him and try to keep the talking low (people will often mimic what their partner does or you could politely say I see that man is trying to sleep over there, I think we should try to keep it down). The whole plane will thank you for it! Also I must give a recent kudos to a United flight attendant. She was kind enough to ask a gentleman to turn off the noises from his video game. Not all attendants do that but I really appreciated her effort. Keep it up please for the rest of the plane's sake! To quiet travels, Marty Thompson

Holiday Travel - Timing

Now is the season for holiday travel. That means a lot of opportunities for things to get a little hairy, particularly when bad weather slows down air travel. One of the most important things I have found to help at lease keep me up to the minute in air travel is United's travel updates that they can send by text or by email (www.united.com for details). They are very helpful to let me know the status of my flights. Amtrak also does a nice job of alerting me to train delays (www.amtrak.com) Why does this matter for travel etiquette? It's important not to be late to events where your host has spent a lot of time preparing their home and often big meals for us. We want to be as courteous as possible to those that are graciously hosting us and alert them as soon as we can to delays. Additionally, these little website tricks will help you stay away from the ticket counters that are often filled with folks that really are facing some travel crisis. When I get the alerts I am much more calm about the travel and generally have a better disposition when I get my coffee from the Starbucks barista - and everyone appreciates that! Wishing you a fantastic holiday season and may your planes, trains, and automobiles be on time!