Vegas Buffets - how do you indicate you're still sitting?

[That Don Guy]

I am heading back to Vegas later this year, but I am wondering about something that bugged me the first two times I went. If you go to a hotel buffet and get up for seconds, how do you indicate that you're still sitting there, so they don't see an empty plate of food and a nearly empty glass and think you have left?

-- Don

[Maximilien]

If you're not alone, leave someone at the table to defend against invadors.

[NVJims]

put your silverware on your napkin and put the plate above or to the side of its normal place. An empty plate without silverware is a sign that you are up filling another plate. Never had a problem doing it this way.

[Aimi]

Silverware and napkin placement customs vary, and there is no universally accepted standard in the US that all waitstaff knows.

If more than one person is dining, stagger your trips to the buffet so that someone is always at the table. When dining alone, bring a sweater or jacket with you (even in the summer, you never know if it's going to be cool inside) and leave it on the back of your chair when you return to the buffet.

[Janet]

All the buffets in Vegas I have been to have little cards that indicate you are still eating.

[Xiao Yang]

I don't do Vegas OR buffets, but I would bet putting a napkin on top of your glass would do the trick. It's universally understood in bars, and it's an obviously deliberate signal.

[Kari]

Well we usually don't leave a tip until we are done, so I am sure a lot of the service folks look for that at an empty table. Also I lay my napkin to the side of the plate, not on the plate is another indication.

[BobB]

Napkins should never be placed on a dirty plate under any circumstances. The correct way to signal that you are finished eating is to place your knife and fork on the plate side by side, tines up, with just the bottom ends resting on the edge. Placing them off to the opposite sides of the plate with the tips resting on the edges of the plate tines down indicates you are stilll eating.

However, this is a custom that I find is rarely observed in the US outside the finer restaurants. In Europe it's practically universal.

I've had the same problem in buffets (anywhere, not necessarily in Las Vegas) of returning with a new plate of food only to find that my place has been completely cleared, in which case I simply flag a waiter for a new setup.

[Servorg]

If I am really concerned about that, and the folks that take care of your table usually are right on top of where you are in terms of still dining, if I am not in a booth I tilt my chair up against the table to indicate that I am coming back.