Originally Posted by Reindeerflame

My impression is that wait staff (and associated staff) is much less numerous than in the U.S. Thus, a college student is unlikely to have a job in this field as a part-time job; rather, the staffing tends to be more professional.

In part, this is likely the case because of higher wage costs in the restaurant sector and a more rigid labor market, where employees can not be hired/let go on a whim. So, there are fewer, better-paid employees, expected to do more, and, at busy times, a customer can easily notice poorer service, with long waits for things like beverages.

I've also noticed another phenomenon: some smaller restaurants that are short-staffed during busy periods put "reserved" signs on certain tables...apparently not because the table is actually reserved for someone, but rather because they are not staffed to properly take care of all the tables that day.

All this may relate to the OP's point, in part: with less turnover, there may be more established persons working in this field, and more of them may be men.