職場禮節美語56 請人吃飯先預約
陳豪在北京的ABC美國公司工作。他在上班路上遇到了美國同事Amy。
(Office ambience)
A：How was dinner last night? Didn't you go out with upper management to entertain some new clients?
C：沒錯，我跟老闆一起請新客戶到街對面新開的餐館去吃飯，飯菜很棒，但是安排上出了一些小問題。
A：What happened?
C：老闆Mr. Brown讓我去安排。我通知了所有人，但是沒跟餐館預約，結果等了很久。
A：I'm sure that didn't go over well.
C：能看出來，Mr. Brown很不高興。
A：Anytime you invite people to a business meal, whether the group is large or small, call the restaurant and make reservations.
C：其實我打電話了，但是他們因爲新開張，還沒有訂座的服務。
A：Did they know how many people you were bringing?
C：我說了，一共有12個人。
A：You should have asked Mr. Brown if he wanted to choose another restaurant.
C：我就是沒想到要換餐館。等大家到齊了，所有人都已經飢腸轆轆了。
A：When that happens, you end up with a group of cranky people. That's not good for business.
C：是啊，下次你得好好給我講講請客吃飯時需要注意些什麼。
******
當天下班後，陳豪和Amy有見面了。
A：What did you do while you waited for your table last night?
C：開始的時候，服務員讓我們在門口的大廳裏等。
A：Did you ask if you could wait in the bar and order everyone a drink and some hors d'oeuvres?
C： Mr. Brown很懂行，他提議先到酒吧去，還問服務員能不能給我們每人一杯免費的酒水。
A：That was the thing to do since the restaurant made a mistake in not taking a reservation for the large group. Even with reservations, if your group has to wait long time, you should politely ask for some sort of compensation.
C：最後我們可以上桌的時候，酒還沒喝完，大多數人都自己把酒拿到了桌上。
A：You should have requested the bartender or his staff to carry the drinks, considering the kind of restaurant it was. At a casual place, you are expected to take your own.
C：除了免費的酒水以外，不少人還點了第二杯第三杯，大家走後，我只好留在吧檯結帳。
A：Next time ask the bartender to add the bar bill to your dinner tab.
C：Amy, 你能不能最後總結一下，請客戶吃飯有哪些注意事項呢？
A：Whenever you entertain people over meals, insist on reservations. If your table is not ready, offer your guests a drink at the bar. Ask the bar staff to carry your unfinished drinks to the table and to add the bar bill to your final tab.
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