Taking orders at a restaurant as a waiter: The opening and taking drink orders

🇯🇵 By itself, [いらっしゃい] sounds casual or clipped. Staff almost always say the fuller [いらっしゃいませ] to customers.

💬 [ませ] is a very formal ending you'll hear in set service expressions like [いらっしゃいませ]. You don't usually use it on its own in everyday conversation.

🇯🇵 This is the standard store and restaurant welcome in Japan. Staff say it to customers, but customers do not say it back.

💬 [へ] marks the direction someone should move, and here it's said (e), not (he). You can reuse it with places: [席へ] for "to your seat."

💬 [どうぞ] is handy for offering or inviting: "please go ahead," "here you are," or "after you," depending on context. You can swap in other actions, like [お入りください、どうぞ] for "please come in."

🇯🇵 This is a standard polite way for staff to guide guests to a table or seat. It's formal enough for everyday service without sounding stiff.

💬 [ありがとう] becomes more polite with [ございます]: [ありがとうございます]. On its own, [ありがとう] is friendly and less formal.

💬 In set phrases like [ありがとうございます], [ございます] raises the politeness level. You'll also hear it in [おはようございます].

🇯🇵 Customers say this to staff; staff can say it to customers too, but often use even more service-minded phrasing in some places. It's polite and completely normal in restaurants.