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With ‘Waitress’ set to open in Utah, we asked veteran food servers for their tips for diners

Salt Lake Tribune | September 21, 2018

Related Topics: Eccles Theater, When Harry Met Sally..., Ruby River Steakhouse, The Salt Lake Tribune, Meg Ryan, Downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, Diner, Gratuity

If you can remember the 1989 film “When Harry Met Sally …," you know that Sally is “high maintenance,” especially when ordering at a restaurant.

Meg Ryan’s character wants everything “on the side,” from the oil and vinegar for her salad to the ice cream for the pie à la mode.

Nearly two decades later, the takeaway from that scene is this: When dining, don’t be Sally. Don’t be high maintenance.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Flo Blank, who has been a restaurant server for nearly 40 years, previously working in NYC, and at Salt Lake City's La Parisian and Al Forno's, works her regular shift at The Paris Restaurant at 15th and 15th in Salt Lake as she inputs an order for a large table.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Flo Blank, who has been a restaurant server for nearly 40 years, previously working in NYC, and at Salt Lake City's La Parisian and Al Forno's, works her regular shift at The Paris Restaurant at 15th and 15th in Salt Lake recently as she inputs an order for a large table recently.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Flo Blank, who has been a restaurant server for nearly 40 years, previously working in NYC, and at Salt Lake City's La Parisian and Al Forno's, works her regular shift at The Paris Restaurant at 15th and 15th in Salt Lake City recently as she keeps a quick pace and can be heard regularly saying ooh, la, la and forget about it.

And if you are, "you should be tipping extra,” said Dounia Livingston, a server at Fratelli Ristorante in Sandy who has served a wide range of customers in her 30-year career — from the polite and generous to the ornery and cheap.

See full article at Salt Lake Tribune