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> A waiter literally works for you during the meal you tip for. As a European I would say that US type waiter works against me. When I'm trying to eat my meal,
by levosmetalo 8y ago
> A waiter literally works for you during the meal you tip for.
As a European I would say that US type waiter works against me. When I'm trying to eat my meal, I don't need some stranger to come to my table every two minutes to ask me "how are you?", "is everything ok?", "do you need something more?". It's just annoying. I can't eat, I can't talk personal talks with friends, when someone is around me trying to annoy me all the time. I can't raise my head or look around because the waiter would come to annoy me again. And in the end, that annoyance comes to your table and expects 15-35% of the price for the annoyance "service" he gave you during the lunch?
Sorry, but when I'm in restaurant, I just want to order food or drink and be left alone. If I need something I'll raise my hand and wait. What's the issue in waiting for a guy to come, he's a waiter after all ;) If the waiter comes quickly after I raise my hand (usually to pay the bill) I would round the bill to the next full €, and that's it.
That's why in Germany you have 3-5 times less waiters serving the same number of people in restaurants, they are paid a livable wage, and you pay what you see in the menu, without a need to add 50% for VAT and service tips.
- TomMarius 8y agoI know how it works in Europe, I'm European. Why should it work like we want it to all around the world? Haven't we exported enough of our culture? USA is a different place, let it be.
- piva00 8y agoI'm not an European (as stated on my other comment, I'm Brazilian) and was also quite bothered by servicing in the US. I wish there was a way to signal that I don't want to be bothered but even when I voiced this feeling to a waiter in NY he was still coming around unasked.
- guiriduro 8y agoWhat's wrong with exporting best practice? Underpaid waiters bugging customers on the expectation that with enough extra coffee they might get their aspirational wages paid, customers who have to calculate the cost of their meal plus service charge... in what world is that efficient? Restaurateurs - just pay your staff properly, waitstaff - don't bug the customers; there you go - european advice for free.
- TomMarius 8y agoWe can give advice but we shouldn't expect them to conform. I think people should be free to do any business model they wish. There is root cause underneath - poverty. Let's focus on that.
- piva00 8y agoThat is the same opinion I have voiced here before, my experience with waitstaff in the US was atrocious, I really wasn't prepared to be interrupted every 2-5 minutes by the waiter doing a tour around the tables and asking if I need something else, if everything is ok. Even more because it feels like I'm being rushed. In one specific instance I had finished my meal and was pondering on getting dessert or another beer, talking to my friend, the waiter came over to ask if we wanted something else, I said "not yet" and 2 minutes later had the check on my table. I really didn't have any great experiences in the US on a sit-down restaurant, the food was nice but the service is always too much on your face. I understand that it's done because of American's social norms but even coming from a Latin country it felt way too much. And way too fake, my feeling was always that this behaviour was for the tips, never for a genuine care on how I'm being served.