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> Can we talk about why service is astronomically better in the US than countries with very high worker protections and base wages like Denmark? I’m curious wh

> Can we talk about why service is astronomically better in the US than countries with very high worker protections and base wages like Denmark? I’m curious why ‘good service‘ is important for you? Have you worked a service job yourself? It’s long gruelling hours.

bryanrasmussen 6y ago
well I've worked long grueling hours - but good service is important because if you are paying money for something you don't want to be treated badly at the same time you are paying money - which has been my experience sometimes in Denmark, although I think the service level has improved in the last decade (maybe I just look more important with age)
emptysongglass 6y ago
I could tell you many stories of my near-death scrapes with cars and cabs on my hour long bike ride to and from a tiny upscale restaurant in Manhattan, the blistered feet my girlfriend at the time would lovingly restore after 8 hours on my feet, and barely making rent on my tiny Brooklyn apartment I shared with 5 others while narrowly avoiding all manner of attempted thefts of the few discretionary dollars I had left. When I choose to spend the money I have, I want a good experience. Service is a very big piece of that. My stepfather is a restaurant owner. He has always been the model of politeness. Articles have been written about the magic he'd pour out as maître d' in the early aughts. I learned from him the transformative impact good waitstaff can have on a dinner which is in many ways staged theater with you acting your best (honestly, dishonestly, you are still presenting a face of you) for your date you've held in enough esteem to offer this piece of your life to.
dagw 6y ago
I’m curious why ‘good service‘ is important for you? Because the whole point of going out to eat instead of cooking at home is to have an enjoyable and stress free experience. If it takes 20 minutes before someone asks what I want to drink, then 60 minutes to get food, you cannot answer any questions about what is on the menu and half the people get the wrong thing and then that completely ruins what should be an enjoyable experience.
- oblio 6y ago
  As I mentioned another comment, expectations. Waiters in Europe are not necessarily slow or less knowledgeable, and waiters in the US are not necessarily fast or knowledgeable. What US waiters are, is visibly polite (obsequious, even?) and ever present. In Europe it's perfectly normal to have a rather rude waiter who takes your order quickly and your food not long after that. They can also be efficient and know the menu in detail, albeit being colder when you discuss with them. The shock Americans experience is probably due to the frequent stone faces of waiters in Europe. That's what real people look like when they're not conditioned to always smile and instead they smile when... they feel good :-) Say no to PanAm smiles :-D
  - dagw 6y ago
    I'm European, live in Europe, and I'm perfectly aware of the service in European restaurants. I still expect "good service" when I go out to eat. I don't care about smiles or being "warm", I care about fast, efficient and correct service. I'm not advocating the US way of doing things, and certainly don't think the service in the US is better on the whole, in fact in many ways it's worse. However what I have found is that the worst service I've had in the US is far better than the worst service I've had in Europe. I've never had terrible service in the US, and I certainly can't say the same about Europe.
    - oblio 6y ago
      If having bad service sometimes is the price to pay for service personnel having decent lives, it's fine by me.

bryanrasmussen 6y ago

well I've worked long grueling hours - but good service is important because if you are paying money for something you don't want to be treated badly at the same time you are paying money - which has been my experience sometimes in Denmark, although I think the service level has improved in the last decade (maybe I just look more important with age)

emptysongglass 6y ago

I could tell you many stories of my near-death scrapes with cars and cabs on my hour long bike ride to and from a tiny upscale restaurant in Manhattan, the blistered feet my girlfriend at the time would lovingly restore after 8 hours on my feet, and barely making rent on my tiny Brooklyn apartment I shared with 5 others while narrowly avoiding all manner of attempted thefts of the few discretionary dollars I had left. When I choose to spend the money I have, I want a good experience. Service is a very big piece of that. My stepfather is a restaurant owner. He has always been the model of politeness. Articles have been written about the magic he'd pour out as maître d' in the early aughts. I learned from him the transformative impact good waitstaff can have on a dinner which is in many ways staged theater with you acting your best (honestly, dishonestly, you are still presenting a face of you) for your date you've held in enough esteem to offer this piece of your life to.

dagw 6y ago

I’m curious why ‘good service‘ is important for you? Because the whole point of going out to eat instead of cooking at home is to have an enjoyable and stress free experience. If it takes 20 minutes before someone asks what I want to drink, then 60 minutes to get food, you cannot answer any questions about what is on the menu and half the people get the wrong thing and then that completely ruins what should be an enjoyable experience.

oblio 6y ago
As I mentioned another comment, expectations. Waiters in Europe are not necessarily slow or less knowledgeable, and waiters in the US are not necessarily fast or knowledgeable. What US waiters are, is visibly polite (obsequious, even?) and ever present. In Europe it's perfectly normal to have a rather rude waiter who takes your order quickly and your food not long after that. They can also be efficient and know the menu in detail, albeit being colder when you discuss with them. The shock Americans experience is probably due to the frequent stone faces of waiters in Europe. That's what real people look like when they're not conditioned to always smile and instead they smile when... they feel good :-) Say no to PanAm smiles :-D
- dagw 6y ago
  I'm European, live in Europe, and I'm perfectly aware of the service in European restaurants. I still expect "good service" when I go out to eat. I don't care about smiles or being "warm", I care about fast, efficient and correct service. I'm not advocating the US way of doing things, and certainly don't think the service in the US is better on the whole, in fact in many ways it's worse. However what I have found is that the worst service I've had in the US is far better than the worst service I've had in Europe. I've never had terrible service in the US, and I certainly can't say the same about Europe.
  - oblio 6y ago
    If having bad service sometimes is the price to pay for service personnel having decent lives, it's fine by me.