By JANAE HACKWORT
With so many activities demanding more and more time, eating together as a family is not as common as it once was. As a result, eating habits have changed since the days of 'Leave it to Beaver' and 'Donna Reed.'
'As a whole, families are not eating together anymore,' said Mandy McAllister, a freshman from Gilroy, Calif., who is a hostess at the Skyroom Restaurant. 'Also, parents aren't making the effort to teach good manners. This is not all parents, but some parents either don't know good manners or they just aren't teaching them to their children.'
Lynne Hansen, the manager of Skyroom Restaurant and chef for the president of the university, also agreed that changes in etiquette have occurred.
'I feel the biggest changes are that people know what they want and also that people are not as considerate as they used to be. Young people don't seem to know what is right and wrong,' when it comes to proper etiquette, she said.
One of the biggest contributors to this change is that the lifestyles of people have changed over the years: 'People don't sit down and eat together anymore. A lot of things are taught at a table at home and it is my opinion that people learn their habits at home.'
Hansen offered some advice about proper etiquette that can be applied in any situation and by anyone.
One consideration is in meal choices. 'From a woman's perspective, don't order the most expensive meal on the menu (unless you're married, that's a different situation). People need to be considerate and order a moderate price,' Hansen said.
A good way to judge the price scale that a person should choose from would be to ask whoever is paying for the bill to recommend what they like on the menu. From these suggestions, the other people can judge what price range their meal should be.
Some of the biggest mistakes to avoid are talking with a full mouth of food and slouching while eating instead of bringing the fork up to the mouth.
'It has always been proper etiquette to rise when a woman leaves a table,' said Hansen. 'You don't see this really among younger kids.'
Kendall Wimmer, a manager at Magelby's restaurant in Provo has also noted some etiquette mistakes people make when they come into this restaurant.
'One of the most common mistakes people make is using the dinner fork for their salad or simple things like not putting their napkin on their lap,' Wimmer said.
Another mistake that occurs at Magelby's happens when the server brings out the customer's entree. The plate is accompanied with a napkin that serves as a garnish to the dish. 'A lot of people will use this napkin for their face,' Wimmer said.
Ed Abplanalp, the manager at Mulboons restaurant in Provo also noted people sometimes make etiquette mistakes while dining in their restaurant but it is not anything extreme.
'One thing I've noticed is when a host or hostess takes someone to a table, they will pull the chair out and the man will sit down,' Abplanalp said. 'If the host pulls out a chair, it is for the lady in the group.'
Not knowing which plate is for what purpose is also a mistake that occurs. 'One of my servers told me that customers don't use their bread and butter plate for their bread and butter,' Abplanalp said. 'The bread and butter plate is the smaller plate to the left.'
Mulboons offers some help to alleviate these problems by explaining to customers when they sit down about which plate is used for the bread and which plate is to be used for the shrimp.
Tipping is another area of dining etiquette that should not be overlooked. It is always customary in restaurants where a waiter or waitress serves the customers to leave a 15 percent tip.
'People don't understand that the tipping minimum is 15 percent unless the service was horrendous,' Abplanalp said. 'I think it averages out to about 10 percent in this area.'
Proper etiquette is an essential part of dining as well as business. 'Proper etiquette can make or break an employee,' Hansen said. 'Many businesses are now requiring employees to attend seminars on etiquette'
If a person is representing a company and makes an etiquette mistake, it can reflect poorly on the organization as a whole.