Being considerate goes a long way to under-the-pump employees at Christmas time

"Welcome to The Bethlehem Inn. Do you have a booking?" At this point I'm imagining manic eyes, distracted look, tea towel slung over the shoulder. "It's the busiest week of the year, most of my staff have had to go home to be counted, I'm running short three barmaids and the dishy has called in sick. If you don't have a booking I can't help you, unless you fancy bunking in with the donkey."

So, dear valued customer, please consider this letter a Christmas wish list, of sorts. But rather than sending it to the North Pole, I'm writing it for you. Yes, you. You at the Christmas party, you having a long lunch, you stopping in for a coffee halfway through your shopping spree. While you may be winding down and ready for a well-deserved break, please spare a thought for the hospitality workers who are pulling double shifts to pour the beers and peel the prawns.

My first Christmas wish? Make a booking. Unlike the innkeeper on that fated first Christmas, I don't have a spare barn. And if you do make a booking, keep it, lest we have to turn away the son of God only to discover that the table of six was actually having such a good time playing lawn bowls they decided not to honour their reservation.

Christmas work lunches are a particularly challenging time. People getting very merry on the work credit card, someone inevitably forgetting to tell the kitchen about their serious shellfish allergy, and the decorations ... please for the love of the little Lord Jesus ditch the dollar store tinsel and festive glitter. Tiny plastic stars are the Devil's confetti and have no place at your Christmas party - or at any of the bookings that follow for the next three months because that's how long it will take to pick them all out of the carpet. It's also worth remembering that while your boss may be footing the bill, they're almost certainly not leaving a tip. So if your table has transformed the restaurant into a drunken, chaotic, Christmas hellscape, maybe think about leaving a tenner (or two).

As an apprentice chef I received many gems of wisdom, but perhaps the finest was this: "When you go on a break, leave your shoes in the cool room." In hindsight this may have been a practical joke, but it turned out to be a winner. Kitchens are routinely five or 10 degrees hotter than the outside temperature. Fans are rarely installed and air-conditioning doesn't stand a chance against industrial stoves. Frozen tea-towels wrapped around necks, a freezer full of icy poles, and of course those chilled shoes, are often the only things keeping chefs from fainting away in the heat of summer. As you stuff yourself silly, spare a thought for those slaving away over a hot stove.

And while we're on the subject of 'if you can't stand the heat' don't forget restaurants, bars and cafes are chronically understaffed as more and more chefs (and waiters, baristas, and bartenders) are getting themselves 'out of the kitchen'. It's a problem across Australia but a bigger issue in coffee-loving Canberra, especially when university students leave town after exams.

Things may take a little longer, so please be patient. We know you're rushing to get the last of the shopping done but we are making your coffee and the 10 orders ahead of it, as fast as we possibly can.

And last but not least: when you're at the pub on Christmas Eve remember last drinks means last drinks. The bar staff have families, too, you know.

Despite the heat and the silliness of the season, the Christmas rush can be a lot of fun when you work with friends and when people are kind. And it isn't all a one-way street: considerate customers get better service, and obviously #notallcustomers are to blame. Much like Santa, we're keeping a list.