A diner’s duty as a good customer does not start when they enter the restaurant, but instead, good restaurant reservation etiquettes need to be followed while booking your table. As the number of apps providing customers the option to book their table in advance rises, the need for rules regarding the same also does. Here are douche reservation etiquettes every diner should follow!

Gather Before You Check In

Nobody likes a diner who comes in alone and proceeds to wait for 30 minutes for the rest of his 10-people party. According to a host of an Italian restaurant in midtown Manhattan, diners occupy the table longer if they’re waiting on friends. If you’re planning to go to a restaurant with other people, make sure to gather all your party before you go as your waiting can lead to loss of business for the restaurant!

Be an Early Bird, or a Night Owl

Another reservation etiquette one can follow is to choose unconventional time slots, like 5:30 pm, while booking your table. According to John Winterman, co-owner of Francie in Brooklyn, dining earlier or later allows restaurants to maximize their revenue as a restaurant needs two turns at a four-seater table to make the math work.

Communicate if You’re Running Late

Sometimes, you’re unable to make your reservation on time. During such moments, always call the restaurant and inform them of the delay. Some restaurants do not hold a table for more than 10 minutes, while others are more lenient. Late arrival is a major cause for loss in business to the restaurant, as your table has been waiting empty from the time you booked till the time you arrived.

Being a No-Show Is a Big No-No

If, for whatever reason, you’re unable to make your reservation, call and let the restaurant know. Try giving them as much notice as possible. Post pandemic, it’s difficult to fill up empty tables as walk-ins have been reduced by a lot. John Winterman commented that in the current climate, a lost reservation is just that, lost.

Many people like to grab their daily cup of coffee on the go, but a new study recently published in The Journal of Hazardous Materials may convince them to change this. The findings show that drinking hot beverages out of paper cups with linings that contain plastic film may be flooding their bodies with dangerous microplastic particles that can potentially have harmful consequences for their health.

Hazardous Coffee Plastic Cups

Sudha Goel, MD, who is the author of the study shares that an average person drinking three regular cups of coffee or tea in a paper cup would end up ingesting about 75,000 tiny microplastic particles. They are invisible, but in the 15 minutes it takes for tea or coffee to be consumed, the microplastic layer of the cup can easily degrade.

The study is conducted by a team of academic researchers at the India Institute of Technology and is the latest to shed light on the huge dangers posed by unwittingly consuming microplastic particles. It is defined as tiny pieces of synthetic fibers and pieces of plastic that are 5mm in size or even less and are the byproduct of countless products people come in contact with daily, including clothes, car tires, and beauty products.

More About the Dangers of Plastic

Reports say a huge number of microplastics have found their way into the oceans and water sources of the Earth. They pose a threat not only to aquatic life but also to people. A study by the WHO (World Health Organization) shows microplastics exist in 90% of all bottled water samples they tested. It drew on 259 bottles of 11 separate brands hailing from 9 countries across the world.

In the case of paper coffee cups, the research team in India stated that most of them were not all paper. They come with an interior that contains a film lined with plastic. The deterioration of the films causes the release of chloride, fluoride, nitrate, and sulfates into the water contained in paper cups.

So, consider yourself warned and drink more tap water, don’t heat your food in a plastic container, dust your home more frequently, and try to buy more glass and fewer plastic products.