Inside the House is a DCist feature offering an insider’s view of fine dining issues by the hostess at a D.C. restaurant.

By DCist contributor Nadya S. Nikiforova

As you probably know by now, a positive dining experience is a two-way street between the diner and the establishment. And the first step toward that is a phone call you make when asking for a reservation. Sounds simple, right? It is. But anyone who has ever fronted the phones at a restaurant can tell you that some callers are better than others. Here are some tips to make you one of the better ones:

Avoid calling for reservations during lunch and dinner rushes (between 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. and 6-9 p.m., respectively).

Remember the scene at the last busy restaurant you visited? All these people milling about near the host stand, waiting at the bar, walking to their tables, checking and retrieving their coats? Taking care of them — plus surveying the dining room and managing the waiting list — comes first. Actual guests looking right at us always take priority over potential guests on the phone.

So, if you call a restaurant and have to stay on hold, listening to the same rendition of “La Vie En Rose” over and over again, it’s not because the hostess forgot about you and went back to her People magazine. Chances are, she’s making you wait to attend to guests right in front of her.

What can you do? Save yourself some time and aggravation and schedule your call in between lunch and dinner shifts.