Resto etiquette: Don't use garçon!

THE clichéd cry of ‘garçon!’ to attract a waiter’s attention can be seen as rude.

Spokeswoman for restaurants’, hotels’ and cafes’ representatives UMIH Claire Cosson said: “The term garçon usually refers to the garçon de café - a cafe waiter - however it is now almost historical and would not be used in official documents.

“To attract attention just say Monsieur!”

French contributors to language forum www.wordreference.com suggest s’il vous plaît - one stating his father (born 1901) used to say garçon! but he did not.

Ms Cosson said the usual word for “waiter” was un serveur though in smart restaurants a waiter responsible for a set area of tables might be referred to as a chef de rang.

She said most waiters were paid au service: 10 - 15% of the monthly turnover is used to pay the waiting staff, shared out with more for those with more seniority and longer service.

The customer’s bill should say service compris plus the percentage rate.

Usually the resulting wage will be more than the minimum wage (smic) but if it is not it is topped up.

Staff pay social charges on this pay. Tips, on the other hand, are shared among serving staff or kept, depending on the restaurants’ practices and attract no charges.

Some restaurants pay fixed salaries intended to include the waiter’s service, even though they may not be more than the smic.