Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[impt1]

Dear teachers:

I had heard that it is impolite to call a waitress in �waitress� nowadays. But I have no idea calling them in other words. Would you please tell me what the better word is to call in polite?
Thank you for your response.

Best wishes,
Jessie Chiu. 

[pugachevV]

Apparently the Politically Correct term for a waiter or waitress is, "Server".
However, I've never heard anybody call a waiter or waitress to his table by saying "Server!"
Mostly, servers are not looking for a way to be offended, they are looking for a decent gratuity.
I think you can call a waitress, Waitress!" or "Miss!", or a waiter, "Waiter!".
In France the waiters used to be addressed as "Gar�on!" which means "Boy!".
I can see why they might be offended by that. Nowadays in France you call a waiter, "mademoiselle", or "monsieur".

[impt1]

Dear teacher:
This kind of question have confused me for a long time. Thank you for your response again.


Best wishes,
Jessie Chiu.