Originally Posted by
elizadoo
Something I much prefer everywhere else in the world to the US is the idea of not being rushed through a meal or coffee break or whatever. Here in the US I'm always feeling rushed, and when the waitstaff and/or busboy is always hovering at my table to remove a plate the moment I put my fork to rest ticks me off. I feel as if I'm being hurried through the meal just to make room for the next party. Whereas everywhere else in the world a meal or chance to sit down and enjoy a drink (I'm not talking about a bar, but a cafe) is not something to be rushed, i.e. the customer owns that space.
I've been "rushed" through meals in other countries. What pisses me off more is when I have a movie to catch or people to meet and servers are no where to be found.
I take it you've never worked in the restaurant business, and if you did it was probably in a non-tipping culture.
For better or worse a tipping culture tends to promote in and out service in order to maximize the potential number of customers.
That said, in a place where there is no rushing you end up with tons of campers and people that would love to experience the food but can't get a table, because of people that "own" the table and sit for hours.
I'm not saying rushing people too much is a good thing, but it has it's places and depends on the perspective of the individual.
Campers can cause serious issues when it comes to the number of people a restaurant can serve, and can piss off more people than just the person that feels "rushed".
I was a professional Maitre D, and frankly there is no reason after dessert and drinks are consumed why people sit and talk for hours, go for a damn walk and sit in a park if you feel the need to camp.
In popular restaurants people there for an hour or more past dessert/drinks are seriously impacting the (often small) ability of a restaurant to serve more people.
Selfish attitudes when it comes to dining have always pissed me off, standing in front of the door after a meal, taking ALL of the mints(which we then find outside the door of the restaurant all over the ground), and intentionally occupying a table while the restaurant has been closed and the vacuums are starting to come on.
I swear one time this couple were sitting there well past 1AM (restaurant closes at 11) and the servers had finished all sidework/sweeping/cleaning and the lights were on, eventually the manager had enough of their "camping" and had to ask them to leave because all the other employees were out the door.
There's a reasonable pace to a meal and then people that just want to sit there and "Occupy" the restaurant.
One thing I enjoy about foreign countries is actually their fast food, it tends to be more "inspired" than US fast food places.
What I don't enjoy are the "Faux" American food, I guess it's payback for all the Americanized Chinese,Italian, and Taco Bell Mexican we've brought to the world....