Dining in a restaurant can be an unpleasant event especially when you get one of those crazy seats like where no waiter ever sees you even when you’re waving like hell or somewhere near the kitchen where foot traffic is just heavy. And it could be worse especially if it’s for a business meeting for a big account that you’re closing or a date with the person of your dreams. In any case, to avoid the embarrassment, here are some tips on getting the best seats in town.

The key here is to scout the restaurant first before deciding on which one. You might be thinking of the best seats but it might turn out that any seat you take would be bad because of the food or the service. Scouting out the restaurant would give you an idea of the place and plot where the busiest areas are. If you plan to have quite conversation, you might have to choose a spot away from the kitchen.

An easy way is to get a reservation in advance is to make it in person explicitly stating where you’d want to be seated. A little tip for the maitre d’ would also go a long way.

One other trick that also proves as effective especially if you’re dining out of town is to make reservations via the hotel concierge. Hotel and restaurants often look out for each other. Since hotels usually give premium to their guests, hotel concierges would receive the best seats for you.