What is the etiquette for hosting foreign guests for dinner?

When dining with foreign guests, you should pay special attention to etiquette and the differences between Chinese and foreign cultural customs. I will tell you below.

Meal Reservation Etiquette

Reservation is a very important part of business Western dining etiquette, and it is also the basis of business banquets. Only by steadily arranging the time and making preparations can we be able to Dominant in the world of business. Below we will explain in detail how to invite guests to a business banquet as an inviter.

Reserve a restaurant

When reserving a restaurant, you must first choose a suitable restaurant. The environment of the restaurant should be suitable for business meetings, so the noise of the restaurant should not be too loud. Otherwise, it will not only affect the conversation between you and the guests, but also affect people's emotions. After choosing a restaurant, you can reserve a seat with the restaurant by phone. It is best to reserve two dates at the same time, and the two dates are Tuesday and Thursday of the same week.

The advantage of booking two dates at the same time is that it can reserve more flexible space for you. Maybe your guests have not finalized the time, or you may need to meet with two guests, so as not to delay you For business activity arrangements, it is the best choice to book two dates at the same time.

List guests

If you have a series of guests to invite in the near future, you can list their names in order from most important to least important and mark them at the end The reason for your invitation is listed in this way for accurate communication when you call.

Telephone reservation

When making a telephone reservation, you can start with the least important guests. The purpose of this is to allow you to practice and accumulate experience during the reservation process. Avoid making the mistake of calling your most important guests to make an appointment. Of course, it is very normal for guests to refuse your invitation. You can tell the guest that you will call to make an appointment after a certain period of time. Never ask the guest why he did not accept your invitation.

It is best to call and make an appointment a few days in advance, and it is best to do it in the morning close to noon, because at that time, most people are thinking about what to eat for lunch, subconsciously Make it easier to accept your invitation. When making a reservation, be sure to clearly state the restaurant's address, restaurant contact number, and your personal contact number to prevent guests from being unfamiliar with the restaurant and unable to find the place. Therefore, if possible, try to choose a restaurant near the guest's office.

Written Appointment

If you are inviting a very important guest, you need to send a formal invitation letter to the guest's office via express delivery after making a phone reservation. , to show your respect for the other party and to make it easier for guests to find the meeting place. Even if there is no invitation letter, a formal electronic invitation should be sent via email.

Ordering Etiquette

When a guest accepts your invitation, on the day of the reservation, you need to arrive at the reserved restaurant 10-15 minutes before the reservation time, wait for and greet your guest , of course, formal attire goes without saying. When guests arrive, they are seated under the guidance of restaurant service staff. This is an important part of business western food - ordering. To sum up, there are the following major principles.

1. Never order food on behalf of guests

In business Western dining etiquette, special attention should be paid to never order food on behalf of guests. If you see a guest hesitating, or the guest takes the initiative To ask for help, you can ask the restaurant waiter to provide suggestions and recommend suitable dishes to the guests. Never ask for orders for guests without authorization.

2. The order of ordering

When the waiter takes the order, be sure to let the customer order first. You need to wait until the customer has finished ordering. There are two advantages to doing this: first, it shows respect for the guests, and second, it can understand the guests' preferences and dining order. Especially the second point is very important. For example, if the guest does not order appetizers, but you order appetizers, then when you are enjoying the appetizers, your guests can only look at you longingly. On the contrary, this is a disservice to the guests. Very disrespectful.

3. Selection of dishes

As mentioned above, you need to wait until the guests order before ordering. This is mainly to understand the guests’ preferences and meal order. In fact, this is also to create A dining environment that caters to customers.

If your guest is a vegetarian, it is best to accommodate the guest when dining together and choose vegetarian dishes. In this way, you can convey that you and the guest have the same sex in some aspects. , which will increase your affinity.

So when guests are ordering, you should listen carefully and see what dishes the guests have ordered. Then the number of dishes you order must be equivalent to the number of dishes ordered by the guests, and the style of the dishes is best. Similar to what the customer ordered. For example, if the guest orders appetizers, you should also order appetizers, otherwise the guest will be embarrassed to let you watch him eat in front of you; and if the guest orders a grilled steak, then you'd better not order it just to save a few dollars. Go for the cold green salad.

4. Alcohol is not necessary

Should alcohol be consumed during business meals? In fact, there are no special regulations. However, under normal circumstances, most people will not order wine at a business lunch because they have to continue working in the afternoon. Drinking alcohol will affect work efficiency to some extent and will also have a negative impact on personal image. And if it is a business dinner, you can drink some wine according to the situation. After all, the working hours are over. Of course, you can also symbolically ask the guests if they want to order wine. In many cases, the guests will naturally refuse you.

Whenever you are having a business dinner, you must drink slower and in smaller portions than the guests, and you must not get drunk, otherwise it will not just be a joke. Otherwise, your image in the eyes of your guests may be completely ruined.

5. Precautions

Choice of dishes: Be sure to ask before: Do you have anything that you don't eat? Is there anything that you don't eat? This question In fact, it is very critical. The physique of foreigners is very different from that of Chinese people. They are allergic to many things. I have received 4 German engineers before. Everyone is allergic to many types of food. Eggs, seafood, and shells are not allowed to be touched. After eating it, I feel itchy all over my body and have severe difficulty breathing. Have you ever heard of being allergic to flour? One of my Italian clients is. What's even more outrageous is that I also met a person who was allergic to eggplant~~~~ And there are Indians. Don't be surprised if you hear him say that he is a vegetarian. This is their religious requirement.

For them, if he does not bring his own food to China to eat, then he must give him special vegetarian food. When ordering, pay special attention to the ordering staff. And it’s best not to order them spicy food. Because they are really intolerant of Chinese spicy food, they will have diarrhea the next day after eating some chili peppers. Even if he is very good at eating spicy food in his own country, he still cannot use tableware for eating: liuxue86 Large restaurants in big cities usually have knives and forks, but if you are a small place, you might as well ask foreign customers to prepare a set of knives and forks for them in advance when they eat. Because they would be a little embarrassed to ask them to use chopsticks. Especially when using chopsticks for the first time, it will be very troublesome for business travelers if their clothes get dirty.

Serving: Before serving, remind the waiter that the chicken must be served with its head and feet removed. For fish, try not to order dishes like fish heads. Don't order live fish or shrimp. For them, seeing their heads on the plate is very scary. Dogs, cats, and snakes are generally not recommended. Don't tell them that we eat these. Otherwise, the dog in their house, which is as precious as a child, would feel uncomfortable seeing us eating dog meat.

Dining Etiquette

Dine with a Purpose

Since business Western meals have a purpose, "eating" takes a back seat during the meal. The most important thing is what information you can learn from the guests through the meal, or what information you convey to the guests.

For example, if you want to discuss business cooperation with the other party, dining may be the first hurdle. Guests want to know how you talk and behave through the time you spend dining together. Most Westerners believe that the details during a meal can reflect many aspects of a person's qualities, such as attentiveness, emergency response capabilities, etc. In the same way, you may also want to know what kind of person the other person is, whether they are trustworthy, etc. by spending time together.

Business western food is also a platform for mutual communication. As the host, you should take the initiative to guide the conversation with the guests, instead of burying your head at the dining table and just enjoying the food on the plate.

Pay attention to basic table manners

In business western dining, you often represent not only an individual, but also the image of a company, so every move you make is also a reflection of the company. As a representative of the image, special attention should be paid to the most basic table manners. The following points need special attention:

1 Never put mobile phones, tablets and other electronic devices on the dining table;

2 You need to talk during the meal, but do not talk before the food in your mouth is swallowed. It is best to follow the speed and rhythm of the other person's meal;

3 When leaving your seat for a short time, do not speak directly Put the napkin on the table instead of folding it on the seat;

4 If the service in the restaurant is slow, you can complain and complain, but never get angry.

Content of negotiation

As we have mentioned above, business western food is a platform for communication, and its more purpose is to enhance mutual understanding between the two parties, so business affairs should not be regarded as Western restaurants are used as offices and conference rooms. The content of the negotiation is mostly limited to verbal communication. Be careful not to take out contracts and plans from your briefcase and ask the other party to review them during the meal. This will seriously affect the guest's meal and is often regarded as a bad way of life. If you are used to it, you may accidentally drop the file on the food on the table.

Correctly understand the role of business western food, regard it as the beginning and lubricant of business negotiations, and do not rush for success. The final decision must be left to the office and conference room.

Who pays for business western meals

Business western meals are usually paid by the inviter. If the guest insists on paying, you need to at least agree with the guest. But if the guest is very stubborn, then You'd better just obey the customer and never have a dispute with the customer about paying the bill. Make sure you have sufficient credit on your credit card before dining, or bring enough cash to avoid running out of money to pay.

Start from scratch and pay attention to every detail. Business Western etiquette is a necessary condition for interacting with Westerners. To become a serious "gentleman" or "lady", you must continue to practice it. Reflect and temper.