Restaurants already make less money off birthday parties than ordinary diners because people stay two to three times longer and so the tables don't turn over, Henderson said. Partiers also often leave behind a big mess of wrapping paper and confetti. Despite this, Henderson insists that most waiters and waitresses don't mind birthday parties. It's certainly a lot better than a bachelor or bachelorette party or having a customer hand you a dirty diaper, which actually happened to me once,'' he said. Most people celebrating a birthday also seem to like all the fuss, judging from the larger tips they leave on such occasions, and the number of tables who start identifying themselves as birthday parties after a wait staff sings to its first birthday victim of the evening.
Local restaurants report singing to some three to five birthday tables per weekend evening.
New Haven's Union League Cafe also does a big special-occasions business. But given the amount of birthday embarrassment dished out at so many other restaurants, we can't help but wonder if some celebrants aren't attracted by the fact that Union League Cafe waiters do not sing, stomp or clap. Mentioning the birthday when you call for a reservation is also a good way to keep the celebrant from knowing about the embarrassing public spectacle they are about to undergo. It also eliminates the need for a bogus trip to the bathroom to alert your waiter to the birthday while you're in the restaurant. Copyright 1996 Associated Press.