Quiz: Are You Minding Your Table Manners?

This article is sponsored by OpenTable, a proud supporter of OfficeArrow and online provider of free, instant and confirmed restaurant reservations.

Business lunches are all the rage. Here at OfficeArrow, we take full advantage of them! Eat food and be productive? All at the same time?? What's not to love?

Truthfully, doing business over a meal can be dangerous territory. If you aren't careful, you can really come off looking oblivious. There are a lot of little things that can rub people the wrong way. You may be doing some of them without even realizing it. Take this quiz to determine whether you're a manners mastermind or a meal-time mess.

1. You're invited to a business lunch with several superiors you don't know well. During the meal, your cell phone goes off. You:

a) Glance at the caller I.D. and, if it's someone important, excuse yourself.

b) Pretend you don't hear it.

c) Apologize and quickly turn it off.

d) Your cell phone would NEVER go off in any meeting. You always put it on silent first.

2. You decide to order spaghetti, which comes in a pool of bright red sauce. To avoid accidentally staining your white blouse, you:

a) Tuck your napkin into your collar.

b) Concentrate carefully on not splashing and, admittedly, miss some of the conversation.

c) Avoid slurping and cut the noodles into bite-sized pieces, mentally making note to never order spaghetti again!

d) You would NEVER order spaghetti at a business meeting in the first place! Wrong food, wrong time.

3. At a business lunch, your co-worker, Joe, is having a serious conversation with a group of prospective clients. Joe, unknowingly, has a drop of mustard on his chin that appears to be distracting everyone at the table. You:

a) Jump up and wipe the mustard off with your napkin.

b) Interrupt briefly and make a light joke of the matter.

c) Do your best to ignore it and hope others do as well.

d) Discreetly get Joe's attention and motion with your napkin for him to wipe his chin.

4. When you're seated at your table, you notice an unusual utensil at each of the place settings. You:

a) Ask the server to take yours away.

b) Ask everyone at the table if they know what it's for.

c) Set it aside. You obviously won't need yours.

d) Observe if/how others at the table use it and follow their lead.

5. When the bill arrives, you:

a) Make a big production about paying for it on your company card.

b) Let it sit there for a minute to see if someone else offers to pay first.

c) "Argue" with everyone until they agree to let you pay next time.

d) Discreetly take care of it without causing a scene.

Review your answers and count up the number of A's, B's, C's and D's.

If you answered mostly A's:

How do I put this delicately? Were you raised in a barn?! Your table behavior verges on barbaric. It's time to brush up on the basics. You don't have to be stiff and formal, but you DO have to be polite. Check out some of the tips in this article: Mind Your Manners: Interview Dining Best Practices.

If you answered mostly B's:

I think you mean well but, unfortunately, you're not always succeeding. You think you're doing the right things, but you're probably committing a few embarrassing faux pas without evening knowing it. The best advice: Don't just go with gut instinct. Learn the rules of business dining etiquette and follow them. You'll be glad you did.

If you answered mostly C's:

You're trying to mind your manners, and you're almost there - but not quite. It's time to start thinking ahead and preventing potentially embarrassing situations. Make yourself (and everyone else at the table) comfortable by taking the proactive steps necessary (like turning off your cell phone) to ensure the meal is pleasant and the meeting productive. You know what to do; you just have to do it!

If you answered mostly D's:

Congratulations! Your parents taught you well! Manners are second nature for you. Preventing uncomfortable situations - and dealing with them when they arise - is easy because you understand the rules of business dining etiquette. Now, share what you know with others!

Next time you're planning a meal-time business meeting, book your table with OpenTable.com, the easiest and fastest tool available for making restaurant reservations. Free, instant and confirmed. Plus, you can earn dining rewards points and redeem them for OpenTable Dining Cheques.