![]() the best or most private one in the house) and notifies the kitchen in case the chef wants to prepare something special. ![]() ![]() Hugo’s manager makes sure VIPs are assigned an appropriate table (a.k.a. But in general, it’s the manager who is responsible for recognizing VIPs and often has final say on just how much special treatment they receive. Some even offer prizes like free food or better sections to the employee who is the first to spot one. Though few restaurants quiz their employees on VIP recognition, many have some version of a “ most wanted” board with faces of prominent restaurant critics. Host or hostesses are entry-level employees with high turnover rates (in the hospitality industry as a whole, the turnover rate was 72 percent in 2015) - either because they leave or are promoted to better-paying positions. Few restaurants have an all-knowing maître d' on staff anymore. At the beginning of each shift, the manager at Hugo’s restaurant in Houston, Texas goes over the night’s reservations with the host, making notes on incoming VIPs or celebrities.įor those who don’t make reservations, restaurant staff is left to try to recognize VIPs in person. Photo: Terence Le Goubin/BIPs/Getty Imagesīefore a VIP even sets foot inside the restaurant, most establishments have been anticipating their arrival for hours (that is, unless someone has made a reservation under another name to preserve his or her privacy). “Every restaurateur would like to treat everyone the same way - and it looks good on paper to say that we do - but it’s not really the case.” Though restaurants aim to give everyone good service, regulars, big spenders, and friends of the staff often get special treatment in the form of a better table, free cocktails at the bar, or maybe even a few surprise courses courtesy of the chef.Īnd the best restaurants make their VIPs feel important without ever letting their other guests know that they’re second tier: Preparing for VIPs is a quiet dance that happens largely behind the scenes. “Everyone wants to feel important,” says Israel Morales, co-owner of Kachka restaurant in Portland, Oregon. ![]() The card didn’t go far, yet the feelings that caused a man to create this blackmail-note-in-credit-card-form are familiar to most restaurant-goers. Feel like your server is ignoring you? Just carefully slide out your shiny black card that tells the world just how important you are. Don’t want to wait for a table? Flash a ReviewerCard. In 2013, the scourge of entitled Yelpers reached its peak when a man invented the “ReviewerCard” - a black credit card that allowed reviewers to have a “lifetime of upgrades” by scaring businesses into giving them good service. ![]()
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