What are some good conversation starters for a hostess seating people at a restaurant?

After you welcome them to the restaurant you can ask, " So, are you here for a special occasion?"

How about: That E-coli outbreak last year was a doozy, huh? I'm sorry if I smell like Raid, we're fumigating! I'm really afraid of mice. If you see one let me know so I can jump on a chair! The doctor said not to worry about my cough, he said it probably wasn't tuberculosis! The wait staff has been know to put X-lax in potentially cheap tipper's food but it's only a rumor! Are you sure you don't want to sit a bit further away from the window? A van full of illegal aliens plowed right through it last week! No, it's not herpes, it's just a bad cold sore! Don't grab onto the armrests, the underside is full of gum! Drat, there goes the fire alarm next door again!

thats a tough one since i dont really go to a restaurant for a conversation with the hostess as nice as they are. especially if i have been waiting any length of time. I just want to be seated and be asked if i want a drink while she gets the menus.

How about: "So, how do you like the product, ExtenZe? What can you tell us about it? C'mon, don't be shy."

it's acting time! Here are some suggestions. "I love your outfit, where did you get it?" "Make sure you leave room for desert! It's yummy!" but of course you have to test the waters so to speak...feel them out. If people with children come in, comment on how school is almost out for the summer. :o)

Please send your boss to me so that I can bite his/her head off and screw it on right. It is obviously screwed on wrong. First, don't you LEAD people to their seats? How can you talk to people while you walking in front of them with your back to them? Second, it is very annoying when restaurant employees pretend that they and I have a social relationship rather than a business relationship. Making small talk at me as if I were an actual acquaintance (when I'm not) intrudes on my privacy and taking the liberties of acquaintance where they have not been invited isn't being friendly at all -- it's being familiar, which is aggressive and rude. Fake friendliness is no substitute for good service. Therefore you should confine your speech to speaking about the restaurant. "Have you been here before?" or "Today's soup is chicken noodle" or "Three dollar house chardonay until seven o'clock" would be appropriate. "Where are you folks from?" would not. However, it is your employer who pays you and not I. Perhaps you should ask him/her what he/she means by small talk and ask for some examples. If you have to say "How do you like all this rain?" 200 times a night, then you just say it. You don't have to like it, you just have to do it.

how about have you eaten here before? how are you today? wow that's a cute ----- where did you get it? Is this a special occasion? And to the younger kids-hi, how are you today? how old are you? ect..

How are you? How was your week/weekend/day? Are you visiting from out of town, where are you from, do you like it here?

-Special Occasion? Why are you here tonight? -(with children) Is this your whole family? -Compliments -Do you all live in this area? -How did you hear about this restaurant?