There is such a thing as restaurant etiquette, even if it's not four star.

I work in a bakery/cafe restaurant chain.  It's not a fancy or glamorous job by any means, it's not even a job I'm really proud to say I have.  However, I am a college student.  I am working my butt off to get myself through school so that I no longer have to work a minimum wage job.  It's a stepping stone for me.  I hate that a lot of the people who come into the place have a tendency to think that I am stupid or incompetent.  I'm sure those a lot of people who have worked in a restaurant or retail in general know what I am talking about.  I hate that people talk slowly or count out their money very loudly as if to give me a hint that it's 10 dollars.  Sorry, but I can do math pretty damn quickly and well in my head.  I'm sure I can calculate the percentage of something a lot faster than you can..and I sure can freakin toast your stupid bagel correctly so I don't need step by step instructions.

There is also a certain etiquette that I feel like people should have.  At my job, there are "dining room personnel" who are assigned to clean up plates, make coffee, clean tables, etc.  However, as a customer, we ask that you bring your plate to the garbage, throw the garbage away, and place the plates, bowls, and silverware in their respective areas (similar to Chipotle).  It really makes us mad that you leave your plates and all of your garbage strewn everywhere.  It's not Denny's, you do not leave us a tip for us to clean up after you.  And it's not just my work either, I hate when I see people at regular restaurants leave their tables a mess!  It really angers me when people leave the nastiest of things on the table.  Please do not hawk up a giant mucous ball and spit it onto your plate for us to deal with.  If you blow your nice, please take it to the trashcan so that other people don't have to touch it. 

I just don't get it, if you were at a four-star restaurant, you'd never do these things.  You wouldn't talk to the waiter like they were complete idiots who wouldn't know the difference between a quarter and a penny, you wouldn't leave nasty bodily fluids on the floor, you wouldn't let your children run around like crazy animals and running into people carrying hot soup, and you definitely would not act like complete slobs when you leave the table.  It's one thing I plan on teaching my son, to be humble and respectful.  He shouldn't think he's above anyone or that anyone is above him.  Everybody is equal.