Study reveals Brits' pet hates about poor dining etiquette

04 July 2014 by
Study reveals Brits' pet hates about poor dining etiquette

Research just released from online restaurant booking service Bookatable gives the rundown on what frustrates the British most when it comes to the bad behaviour and etiquette habits of fellow diners.

The survey of 2,000 Brits found the top offence was people who snap their fingers to get a waiter's attention, with 45.96% complaining. Chewing with your mouth open came a close second at 45.6% and, although it's a popular social media trend to take photos of food, some 40% of diners find people who use mobile phones at the dinner table to be rude and inappropriate. In fact, some 12% feel so strongly about it that they will complain to the restaurant.

Other notable annoyances include couples making public displays of affection (22%) and people publicly using a toothpick (16%).

As for the restaurants themselves, rude service offended 65% of respondents, a factor that rates higher among women (70%) than men (59%).

In response to the research, Bookatable has worked with etiquette expert William Hanson to create a Modern Dining Etiquette Guide.

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