Portrait of a waiter holding plates with food and looking at camera while working in a pub.

13 polite habits that frustrate many servers

Not every polite gesture lands the way you think. In fact, some habits customers believe are helpful actually make a waiter’s job harder. From stacking plates to hovering over the table for refills, good intentions can backfire. Here are 14 “polite” dining habits that secretly frustrate waiters more than they help.