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This is an American disease. In most European countries staff might great you, but they will try to discreetly shadow you and once you act like you need a help

This is an American disease. In most European countries staff might great you, but they will try to discreetly shadow you and once you act like you need a help they will step in to assist. I absolutely hated the US diners with multiple 'are you ok? do you need anything?' interruptions during single meal. I know why it happens, I just find it really annoying.

EGreg 6y ago
It’s not just annoying but they EXPECT you to stop whatever conversation you’re talking, at ANY moment, like they’re the pre emptive multitasking kernel. And then proceed to offer “specials” well into the meal. Dude I don’t know you. You want a good tip? I would rather use an app to order whatever I need. I came to talk to a friend, family member or about a business deal. There is a time to interrupt and that’s ONCE, when you’re taking the order, and then when you’re bringing food MAYBE. I would LOVE to have a restaurant where I can order from my phone at the table, signal waiters etc. And get a notification when food is ready so we can both choose when they will bring it out.
- leesalminen 6y ago
  There’s a Japanese restaurant in Boulder, CO that does something similar. There’s a little cube shaped dongle on the table and depending on the orientation it notifies the server of “I’m ready to order”, “Table service needed”, “check please”, etc. It worked surprising well. Here’s a link if you’re ever visiting and want to check it out: https://goo.gl/maps/5tiXvJDC9DBXoHYt8 https://goo.gl/maps/5tiXvJDC9DBXoHYt8
  - haraball 6y ago
    That's a nice idea! I found a picture of the dongle you describe in the restaurant's photos: https://goo.gl/maps/H3C9HVxtpfihCntv6 https://goo.gl/maps/H3C9HVxtpfihCntv6
    - leesalminen 6y ago
      That's the one!
  - gtfoutttt 6y ago
    Bubba Gump shrimp has signs on the table that say run Forrest run or stop Forrest stop. Simple solution.
    - clairity 6y ago
      brazillian churrascaria rodízios[1] tend to have that too, for when you want more meat, and when you're "taking a break". [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod%C3%ADzio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod%C3%ADzio
  - andrewzah 6y ago
    America is way behind the curve here. It's typical for a South Korean restaurant to have a button on the table. The staff will only come over if you press the button. It's a much more pleasant experience overall.
    - majewsky 6y ago
      I was at a restaurant where each table had a QR code printed on it, containing the URL of a webpage where you could order food and drinks for that table. I was there with some friends who didn't notice the QR code. They were quite confused when the waiter came over to give them menus and me my first drink. :)
    - clairity 6y ago
      all the restaurants in LA's koreatown (and little tokyo, incidentally, because many are korean-owned) have those buttons too. i'm of mixed opinion--it's good when you want to be left alone to chat with your tablemates, but when you need lots of service, it can be annoying (and make you a little self-conscious). the nice thing is that you can usually still just flag down one of the usually abundant servers (back before lockdown).
    - thewebcount 6y ago
      Actually, many chain restaurants in the US (Chili's, TGIFridays, etc.) now have a tablet at the table. You can do things like order drinks, dessert, etc. without flagging someone down. You can pay with credit cards. There are games for bored kids to play (for a fee, usually, though). I found it rather annoying because of course it has to advertise throughout your whole meal. Luckily there's no sound, but it displays other things you could be ordering. But it is really convenient for getting service more quickly and checking out without hassle.
      - elliekelly 6y ago
        I feel like those are way over-engineered though. I don't need a whole tablet with games and videos of the specials and the full menu. I just need the equivalent of a flight attendant button. That's it.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - drivingmenuts 6y ago
    I forget the name, but when I was in college there was a Mexican buffet chain that had a flag on the table if you needed refills, etc. I used to go there with my friends and the flag went up 5 minutes in and never came down. We ate a lot then. Me and my friends were the terrors of buffet lines all across town ...
- jdminhbg 6y ago
  Thanks to Covid, I have been to multiple restaurants where you are assigned a table number and order from your phone (generally via the app they already have set up for take out). It’s not as good as Michelin star service, but it’s way better than bad service. And you never have to wait for a check.
culturestate 6y ago
> In most European countries staff might great you, but they will try to discreetly shadow you and once you act like you need a help they will step in to assist. This is even worse (to me) because most of the time there's nothing discreet about it. I'd rather have someone ask up front if I need help - at which point I can politely say no - than just follow me around the store, silently watching, like a hyena stalking a wounded gazelle.
- Toorkit 6y ago
  He's being a bit hyperbolic. As I'm also European, I can tell you employees are off doing their own thing. If you do need help, you have to go find one.
  - culturestate 6y ago
    In my experience, this is a global phenomenon that's probably driven more by management philosophy than by geography. It's endemic to e.g. luxury retailers and trickles down from there.
- cameronbrown 6y ago
  The stalking thing seems hyperbolic. In my experience as both shopper and employee, many seek to have as few conversations as possible.
- II2II 6y ago
  The other nice thing about being asked up front is the ability to say yes, but I will ask for help when I need it. The staff are usually much easier to find when you do have a question or need something to be retrieved, yet you don't have to deal with them if you don't need them.
guitarbill 6y ago
Maybe a bit harsh, but it's still really interesting. I'm super glad some American supermarkets now have self-checkouts, and will use them where I can. Not only are the cashiers often unreasonably cheerful, but having someone bagging your stuff feels super weird. To be fair, it's possible having a bagger (?) is more efficient, because it increases throughput. But it still creeps me out to stand there passively doing fuck-all. Maybe chat bubbles are similar? Taking away someone's initiative might work well for things they don't want to do, but for people who know what they want or just doing research, it doesn't seem like a good plan.
- chrisparsons 6y ago
  I work in Grocery IT. We generally assume you have to have two self checkouts in order to meet the customer/item throughput of one staffed checkout. And even then, I'd tend to put my money on the staffed checkout. Some of it is just the limitations of a SCO, in that store staff don't have to wait for each item to be weighed by the lane before moving to the next item, but a lot of is that most people are not nearly as fast as they think they are. A lot of it depends on how hands-on the staff manning the SCOs are as well. The Costco near me implemented SCOs in the past year, but those might as well be full checkouts with the number of staff that are around them looking to help out.
  - kevincox 6y ago
    Part of the problem is that the self checkouts are super paranoid about preventing theft. If you put your bag on the output you get in trouble, your child puts their hand on the scale you need cashier assistance, you don't wait long enough after the last item for it to be weighed and you need to start . It's literally impossible to go fast! I don't know if it is justified. But it seems surprising as I could easily just put something in my bag if I wanted to steal it, I don't know why I would bother putting it into the scale. Of course the cashier will always be faster, they are familiar with the interface, know where most of the barcodes are and have the codes of most non-barcoded items memorized. But self-checkout could be much faster by removing some anti-features (from the customer POV). I have seen a couple of stores with a better solution where you pick up a scanner at the start and scan your items as you go. This has the advantage of parallelizing most of the process instead of clogging up on big expensive machines. In fact with the ability to check out on that device you could probably get by with just a "Customer Service" desk for when something goes wrong.
lobotryas 6y ago
And I absolutely love the extra care and attention. Dining out in other countries can be a complete hassle as you wait for the waiter to show up... whenever he feels like.

EGreg 6y ago

It’s not just annoying but they EXPECT you to stop whatever conversation you’re talking, at ANY moment, like they’re the pre emptive multitasking kernel. And then proceed to offer “specials” well into the meal. Dude I don’t know you. You want a good tip? I would rather use an app to order whatever I need. I came to talk to a friend, family member or about a business deal. There is a time to interrupt and that’s ONCE, when you’re taking the order, and then when you’re bringing food MAYBE. I would LOVE to have a restaurant where I can order from my phone at the table, signal waiters etc. And get a notification when food is ready so we can both choose when they will bring it out.

leesalminen 6y ago
There’s a Japanese restaurant in Boulder, CO that does something similar. There’s a little cube shaped dongle on the table and depending on the orientation it notifies the server of “I’m ready to order”, “Table service needed”, “check please”, etc. It worked surprising well. Here’s a link if you’re ever visiting and want to check it out: https://goo.gl/maps/5tiXvJDC9DBXoHYt8 https://goo.gl/maps/5tiXvJDC9DBXoHYt8
- haraball 6y ago
  That's a nice idea! I found a picture of the dongle you describe in the restaurant's photos: https://goo.gl/maps/H3C9HVxtpfihCntv6 https://goo.gl/maps/H3C9HVxtpfihCntv6
  - leesalminen 6y ago
    That's the one!
- gtfoutttt 6y ago
  Bubba Gump shrimp has signs on the table that say run Forrest run or stop Forrest stop. Simple solution.
  - clairity 6y ago
    brazillian churrascaria rodízios[1] tend to have that too, for when you want more meat, and when you're "taking a break". [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod%C3%ADzio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod%C3%ADzio
- andrewzah 6y ago
  America is way behind the curve here. It's typical for a South Korean restaurant to have a button on the table. The staff will only come over if you press the button. It's a much more pleasant experience overall.
  - majewsky 6y ago
    I was at a restaurant where each table had a QR code printed on it, containing the URL of a webpage where you could order food and drinks for that table. I was there with some friends who didn't notice the QR code. They were quite confused when the waiter came over to give them menus and me my first drink. :)
  - clairity 6y ago
    all the restaurants in LA's koreatown (and little tokyo, incidentally, because many are korean-owned) have those buttons too. i'm of mixed opinion--it's good when you want to be left alone to chat with your tablemates, but when you need lots of service, it can be annoying (and make you a little self-conscious). the nice thing is that you can usually still just flag down one of the usually abundant servers (back before lockdown).
  - thewebcount 6y ago
    Actually, many chain restaurants in the US (Chili's, TGIFridays, etc.) now have a tablet at the table. You can do things like order drinks, dessert, etc. without flagging someone down. You can pay with credit cards. There are games for bored kids to play (for a fee, usually, though). I found it rather annoying because of course it has to advertise throughout your whole meal. Luckily there's no sound, but it displays other things you could be ordering. But it is really convenient for getting service more quickly and checking out without hassle.
    - elliekelly 6y ago
      I feel like those are way over-engineered though. I don't need a whole tablet with games and videos of the specials and the full menu. I just need the equivalent of a flight attendant button. That's it.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- drivingmenuts 6y ago
  I forget the name, but when I was in college there was a Mexican buffet chain that had a flag on the table if you needed refills, etc. I used to go there with my friends and the flag went up 5 minutes in and never came down. We ate a lot then. Me and my friends were the terrors of buffet lines all across town ...
jdminhbg 6y ago
Thanks to Covid, I have been to multiple restaurants where you are assigned a table number and order from your phone (generally via the app they already have set up for take out). It’s not as good as Michelin star service, but it’s way better than bad service. And you never have to wait for a check.

culturestate 6y ago

> In most European countries staff might great you, but they will try to discreetly shadow you and once you act like you need a help they will step in to assist. This is even worse (to me) because most of the time there's nothing discreet about it. I'd rather have someone ask up front if I need help - at which point I can politely say no - than just follow me around the store, silently watching, like a hyena stalking a wounded gazelle.

Toorkit 6y ago
He's being a bit hyperbolic. As I'm also European, I can tell you employees are off doing their own thing. If you do need help, you have to go find one.
- culturestate 6y ago
  In my experience, this is a global phenomenon that's probably driven more by management philosophy than by geography. It's endemic to e.g. luxury retailers and trickles down from there.
cameronbrown 6y ago
The stalking thing seems hyperbolic. In my experience as both shopper and employee, many seek to have as few conversations as possible.
II2II 6y ago
The other nice thing about being asked up front is the ability to say yes, but I will ask for help when I need it. The staff are usually much easier to find when you do have a question or need something to be retrieved, yet you don't have to deal with them if you don't need them.

guitarbill 6y ago

Maybe a bit harsh, but it's still really interesting. I'm super glad some American supermarkets now have self-checkouts, and will use them where I can. Not only are the cashiers often unreasonably cheerful, but having someone bagging your stuff feels super weird. To be fair, it's possible having a bagger (?) is more efficient, because it increases throughput. But it still creeps me out to stand there passively doing fuck-all. Maybe chat bubbles are similar? Taking away someone's initiative might work well for things they don't want to do, but for people who know what they want or just doing research, it doesn't seem like a good plan.

chrisparsons 6y ago
I work in Grocery IT. We generally assume you have to have two self checkouts in order to meet the customer/item throughput of one staffed checkout. And even then, I'd tend to put my money on the staffed checkout. Some of it is just the limitations of a SCO, in that store staff don't have to wait for each item to be weighed by the lane before moving to the next item, but a lot of is that most people are not nearly as fast as they think they are. A lot of it depends on how hands-on the staff manning the SCOs are as well. The Costco near me implemented SCOs in the past year, but those might as well be full checkouts with the number of staff that are around them looking to help out.
- kevincox 6y ago
  Part of the problem is that the self checkouts are super paranoid about preventing theft. If you put your bag on the output you get in trouble, your child puts their hand on the scale you need cashier assistance, you don't wait long enough after the last item for it to be weighed and you need to start . It's literally impossible to go fast! I don't know if it is justified. But it seems surprising as I could easily just put something in my bag if I wanted to steal it, I don't know why I would bother putting it into the scale. Of course the cashier will always be faster, they are familiar with the interface, know where most of the barcodes are and have the codes of most non-barcoded items memorized. But self-checkout could be much faster by removing some anti-features (from the customer POV). I have seen a couple of stores with a better solution where you pick up a scanner at the start and scan your items as you go. This has the advantage of parallelizing most of the process instead of clogging up on big expensive machines. In fact with the ability to check out on that device you could probably get by with just a "Customer Service" desk for when something goes wrong.

lobotryas 6y ago

And I absolutely love the extra care and attention. Dining out in other countries can be a complete hassle as you wait for the waiter to show up... whenever he feels like.