1. Features of working meals
Generally speaking, working meals usually have the following six distinctive features.
(1) Focus on creating an atmosphere. Working lunch emphasizes not the form and grade, but the intention of making friends by borrowing food, focusing on creating a relaxed, harmonious and friendly atmosphere that is conducive to further contact between business people.
(2) It has practical use. Business people pay attention to pragmatism, and so do working meals. In fact, it is a business activity that continues in another form.
(3) Most of them require a small scale. Most working meals are not multilateral gatherings, but mainly bilateral gatherings. It can be a date between two people alone, or it can be attended by several representatives of both parties concerned. The total number of people attending the working meal shall not exceed 10.
(4) It is usually held at noon. In order to make rational use of time and not affect the work of participants, working meals are usually arranged at noon on weekdays, taking advantage of work breaks.
(5) It can be held anytime and anywhere. The host doesn't have to send a formal invitation to the guests before holding a working meal. Guests don't have to give the host a formal answer in advance for this. The time does not need to be agreed in advance, and the place can also be chosen temporarily. It can be proposed by one party or decided by both parties; You can make an appointment a few days in advance or make a temporary decision on the same day. In short, as long as all parties concerned agree to participate, the working meal can be held.
(6) presided over by the sponsor. According to the convention, no matter where a working meal is held, which party proposes to hold the working meal first, that is, which party should be the host. Of course, the host has the highest administrative position when attending a working meal.
2. Working meal etiquette
Mainly about the etiquette norms of working meals. It mainly includes the arrangement of working meals, the hosting of working meals, the conduct of working meals and so on.
(1) Arrangement of working meals. Arrange working meals, which mainly refers to the relevant preparations before working meals. The organizer has the main responsibility for this matter. It is mainly divided into three specific issues: purpose, time and place.
1 purpose. Offer to have a working meal with others. Most proposers have clear ideas and want to take this opportunity to achieve a certain goal.
② Time. In principle, the specific time for holding the working meal shall be decided by the participants of the working meal through consultation. Sometimes, it can also be put forward by the host first and recognized by the participants.
Traditionally, the best time to hold a working meal is usually considered to be around twelve o'clock or one o'clock at noon. If there are no special circumstances, the time for each working meal should be about one hour, not more than two hours at most. Of course, if the important business is not finished by then, everyone agrees, and it is not necessary to extend the time appropriately.
3 position. According to the usual practice, the host should choose the place where the working meal is held, and the guests can help themselves. Specifically, there are many options for holding working meals, such as restaurants and restaurants, restaurants affiliated to hotels, clubs and entertainment centers, high-end cafes and fast food restaurants, and so on. But generally speaking, when choosing the specific location of the working meal, we should consider the main purpose of the host and the actual situation of the guests.
(2) the owner of the working meal. As the host, the host of the working meal must be responsible for the following things when hosting the working meal:
(1) is responsible for informing the guests. After a formal decision is made to have a working meal, as a rule, the host is responsible for informing others of the relevant time, place, personnel, topics, etc. For important people, it must be told by the host himself.
② Responsible for restaurant reservation. When going to some famous restaurants for working meals, it is generally necessary to reserve seats in advance. According to the truth, this matter should be the responsibility of the owner.
At present, there are five main ways to order food in restaurants.
A, it is to send someone to make a reservation.
B, dial the designated telephone number to make a reservation.
The reservation was made by fax.
D, it is to use the computer network to make a reservation.
E, it is to use the discount card or VIP card issued by the restaurant to order food.
As for which of the above five methods is better, the key is to see which one is effective. Which method can ensure you get the ideal seat, you will give priority.
When ordering food, you must tell the restaurant staff your own requirements, such as ideal location, meal time, number of people present, special requirements, payment methods, etc. If necessary, a certain amount of deposit shall be paid in advance according to the requirements of the other party.
(3) Responsible for receiving guests. Business etiquette stipulates that when holding a working meal, the host must arrive at the dining place before the guests to greet them.
In general, the host should arrive at the dining place at least 10 minutes in advance. After a short rest, you should meet the guests in the right place. It is generally believed that in addition to the main entrance of the restaurant, the reserved table, lounge and meeting place agreed by the host and guest in advance are all suitable places for the host to welcome guests.
Suppose the host can't arrive at the dining place to meet the guests in advance for some reason, it's best to entrust someone else's representative. When necessary, the host must also explain the reasons and apologize to the guests for this. In any case, it is impolite for the host to arrive on time without saying hello.
(4) Responsible for the settlement of meals. According to the usual practice, the host is responsible for solving the working meal. Specifically, the payment methods for working meals are usually divided into "host pays" and "go Dutch".
The so-called "host pays the bill" means that after the meal, the host pays the bill. If the host and guests are very familiar with each other, the host can check out and pay in front of the guests at the dinner table. The host should communicate with the waiter first, go to the cashier alone, or come back to check out after seeing the guests off, which is appropriate. Try not to let the waiter pay the bill orally in front of the guests, let alone let the waiter hand the bill to the guests in an uncertain order.
The so-called "go Dutch" is also called "subsidiary system". It means that after the meal, all diners share the bill and go Dutch. In foreign countries, business people pay more for a working meal in this way. The use of this payment method requires prior agreement. When checking out, the main thing the host has to do is to check out, reach out and collect money, and run errands to pay the bill.
(3) working meals. When attending a working lunch, both the host and the guests have some precautions that need to be familiar with. They mainly include the following four items:
① Dining seats. Because working lunch is an informal business activity, people usually don't pay much attention to their seats. However, there are still the following points to note:
When sitting at the dining table, the seats are often regardless of primary or secondary, but you can sit at will when eating. But out of courtesy, the host should not take the lead in taking the seat, but should sit behind the guest of honor. If the host gives up his seat as the guest of honor, he should generally ask the other party to sit in one of the following better seats: the host's right or directly opposite, facing the main entrance, with a wide view and a beautiful view. The host should sit to the left or directly opposite the guest of honor.
If the host and guest are of the same sex, you can have more choices when seated according to the specific situation. If the host and guest are of the opposite sex, it is best to sit opposite each other.
② Choice of dishes. Compared with banquets and dinners, working meals only seek to be full, and do not deliberately ask for good food. So the dishes on the working meal don't need to be too rich. Its arrangement should be simple.
Usually, the host should be responsible for arranging the working meal. However, if the host wants to be competent, it is best to discuss with others, especially the host and guest, when arranging dishes and drinks in detail. The most important thing is to actively avoid each other's dietary taboos.
For the sake of hygiene, it is best to adopt the "separate meal system" for working meals. If you are not used to it, you can change it to the "public chopsticks system".
In order not to delay the work, the drinks on the working meal should be in addition to hard liquor. At the same time, all diners must consciously ban smoking, regardless of whether the restaurant where they eat has such regulations.
(3) During the conversation. When preparing a working meal, it is important not to delay eating. Therefore, during a short meal, the conversation between the host and the guest about substantive issues usually starts as early as possible. Don't wait until everyone has had enough to eat and drink before starting a conversation. In that case, time is often not enough.
According to the rules of business etiquette, after the host and guest finish the main course, the host can hint that the conversation can begin. At this time, the host can say "let's talk" or "ask you something" as the official start of the conversation. After ordering and before serving, you can also start a formal conversation.
(4) terminate the meal. When eating a working meal, you must pay attention to moderation. Usually, once the questions are solved, the working meal can be finished.
Under normal circumstances, both the host and the guest can propose to terminate the meal first. The host put the napkin back on the table, or ordered the waiter to pay for it himself; Guests are silent for a long time, or look at their watches repeatedly; They are all sending each other a signal that "the meal can end here." Only on this issue, car owners often need to bear greater responsibility. Especially when the guests need to "hurry up" to do other things, or when the host and guests have other things to do next, the host should seize the time to make the working meal come to an end in due course.