Those whove ever wondered what goes down at the coalface of the restaurant service industry (but arent willing to do the field work themselves) will be well advised to give Steve Dublanicas amusing Waiter Rant a read. Quite similar to Anthony Bourdains exposé of the restaurant world in Kitchen Confidential, Dublanicas blog-turned-book plonks the reader into the unglamorous, underpaid and overworked domain of the professional waitron.

But how do international service standards measure up to that of our own? David Higgs, chef of the Eat Out Service Award-winning Rust en Vrede Restaurant in Stellenbosch, says that there isn’t really a culture of professional waitrons in the country, which makes it a slightly different ball game. Its very difficult in South Africa, because a lot of service staff are students, he continues. Theyre usually only with us for six months or a year, before they’re on their way again.

Asked to break down the fundamentals of good service, he concedes that silver service means very little if a waitron isn’t intuitive towards a diners needs. Its all about timing. Waiters need to read customers when they come in, letting them feel relaxed and receive professional service without letting them feel bombarded during the dining process, he says. It’s quite an art, really.

Eat Out editor Abigal Donnelly agrees. It doesn’t only depend on getting all the technical things right, she says. I often feel that great service is something that happens to a customer without them realising its happened.

Waitrons need to anticipate diners needs in order to make them feel special and looked after, she continues. Hospitality is about emotions and caring, and then service on top of that.

Another service prerequisite, according to Higgs, is personality. It really is about getting the right people in, he says. During the interview process we look for someone with a lively personality wholl be able to portray our food honestly and enthusiastically.

When asked where he thinks South African restaurant service can improve, Higgs answers resolutely that proper training is sadly lacking. It should be a constant process, he says. Sitting down and talking to you staff every day, telling them about the menu, encouraging them when theyre doing a good job, and disciplining them when theyre not.

Higgs continues by saying that a lot of the responsibility of good service lies with the restaurateurs themselves. You can only rely on your waiter so much, he says. You have to lead your staff and keep pointing them in the right direction, keeping them updated as to whats happening in the restaurant, so they can be informative and add value to a diners experience.