Question: Is it Bad Etiquette to Pick Up a Fallen Piece of Silverware in a Restaurant?
"Whenever my husband and I are out to dinner and a utensil falls off the table and onto the floor, my husband picks it up and puts it on the far side of our table, not to be used again. I always thought that you leave it for a restaurant staff member to pick it up and if it landed in a spot where someone could trip on it you should just nudge it under the table and out of the way. Is it bad etiquette to pick up a fallen piece of silverware in a restaurant?"
Answer: Dear Reader:
You're correct that under formal circumstances it's correct to leave the fallen utensil where it fell on the floor for the waitstaff to pick up. In a restaurant, I would do as you suggest and nudge it under the table so that no one trips on it. Your husband may feel uncomfortable with this rule because he doesn't want to appear careless, lazy or overly demanding of the waitstaff. However, the reason we have this rule is to avoid placing a utensil that has been contaminated by the germs on the floor onto the surface where others are dining. Remind him how much worse he would feel if a dining companion erroneously used a dirty utensil that had been retrieved, not realizing it had been on the floor.
