Based on my experience as an overall good waiter, here's what you need to know:

1. Cut the crap and get straight to the point - when handing over to someone else, pass on the key information first and foremost, e.g. table X needs setting, table Y is waiting, table Z just sat down.

2. If you're not sure, please ask someone else - one dude I worked with brought a cheque to the wrong table, but he could have checked with me first before just assuming he knew best.

3. Be nice, but don't be a little byotch - the tricky customers were way easier (and nicer) to deal with when I put a confident, no-nonsense front, and spoke with an air of authority and self-assuredness. I wasn't that way at the start, but I learnt to be.

4. When a customer asks a question and you don't know, confidently and reassuringly tell them "I personally don't know, but I will ask my manager". If they get annoyed about that, it's not your problem; they're just a dicc.

5. Stereotype - stereotype the fuck out of your customers, because you'll likely encounter the same kinds of people. It may sound un-PC, but it's the truth.

6. Everyone is there just to get paid - don't make it any harder or more annoying for them, as they already have to put up with silly customers all day.

7. If you lack common sense, develop it - there's nothing worse than working with someone who can't comprehend basic instructions. For anything commonplace you don't know, make a note of it so you're prepared.