Coats and Ties at the Business Meal
業務餐中的著裝

陳豪在北京的ABC美國公司工作。他在上班路上遇到了美國同事Amy。

(Office ambience)

C:Hi, Amy. How are you?

A:I'm fine, thank you, and you?

C:我感覺很疲憊。昨天晚上我跟老板Mr. Brown一起請客戶吃飯，很晚才到家。

A:Did everything go all right?

C:我覺得有個客戶的舉止很不得體。

A:What did he do?

C:我們一入座。他就把西裝外衣脫下來，搭在椅子背兒上。當時飯店里確實有點熱，可Mr. Brown沒脫西裝，所以我也就沒脫。

A:That's a good thing because unless your host, in this case, Mr. Brown, removes his jacket, you should not remove yours.

C:那個客戶顯然沒有想到這一點。不過Amy, 我記得你告訴過我，應該盡量讓客戶覺得自在。

A:Yes, I did. That's all part of good manners. Why do you ask?

C:因為過了一會兒，那個客戶也發現，只有他一個人沒穿上衣，所以覺得很尷尬。如果我是主人，我肯定會主動跟著他把西裝脫下來。

A:I agree with you. Sometimes you need to do things that you wouldn't ordinarily do to put other people at ease.

C:如果我是Mr. Brown, 看到客戶脫西裝，我肯定會說，“是挺熱的，我也穿不住了”。

A:Absolutely. That would have made your client feel comfortable and given everyone permission to do the same.

中午陳豪和Amy一起吃飯。

A:Tell me what else happened at dinner. It sounds like a quite interesting night.

C:還有，湯上來的時候，剛才脫西裝的那個客戶一下子把領帶甩到了肩膀上，可能是不想把領帶弄臟。

A:That is definitely not acceptable under any circumstances. Most men have forgotten that ties were originally created to protect the shirt. Not only is it out of place to toss your tie over your shoulder at the table, it runs counter to its purpose.

C:原來男人戴領帶，是為了保護襯衣不被弄臟。那我們能不能把餐巾掖在脖子下面呢？

A:Good heavens, no. Your napkin should be laid in your lap—never tucked in anywhere.

C:哦，餐巾一定要搭在腿上。我以前見過不少人把餐巾掖在脖子下面，我昨天差點沒那么做。

A:Thank goodness you did not.

C:Amy，你能不能總結一下剛才說的，跟客戶吃飯的注意事項呢？

A:If you are wearing a coat or jacket to dinner, you don't remove it, no matter how uncomfortable you are, unless your host takes his off first and asks if you'd like to do the same. And your tie stays in place throughout the meal and your napkin rests in your lap.