American reacts to USA vs EUROPE CULTURE SHOCKS!

Thank you for watching me, a humble American, react to USA vs Europe guide to cultural differences. This was awesome to watch. Subscribe for more videos!

[ConnieIsMijnNaam]

European here. (Dutch, to be precise) There is nothing wrong with being nice and polite but the excessive smilling by US waiters and cashiers seems fake and makes us uncomfortable. I don’t like the grumpiness of European staff but I would prefer it over the creepy smiling.

[gerhardadler]

People in europe often don't want that kind of service. When i go to a store, i want to be on my own. If i have a question, i gonna ask a salesman. But when a salesman starts giving advice without me asking, iam done shopping.
Same is true for eating out. Europeans don't rush and usually stay even after the meal is finished for some time. Constantly having someone around asking questions just reduces the enjoyment. They usually ask while clearing the table or when they see that drinks are empty. If something is not fine, i call the waitress and tell.
I once worked for a american boss in germany, and she pressed me to constantly talk to the customers. I remember her showing me "how it is done" and i could see the customers face looking at her while she didn't stop talking to him. He just wanted to check for himself and was clearly annoyed by her approach, but she didn't even realize. In my oppinion, this behavior is not about customer service, but to increase sells. And i think many fellow europeans see it just like me and don't want that.

[Ju-lbdz]

Just a reminder, his video is called "Europe vs USA differences" but actually he is talking about Czech Republic
So a lot of europeean countries may not have the same differences
For example in France tap water is always free (it is the law) and beers are also really expensive compared to Czech Republic

[ckricat]

I actually quite enjoy the fact that waiters aren’t immediately overly friendly with you, it feels so much more genuine and the feeling when you become a regular customer and they recognise and respect you more is just great. I just think that I would rather a genuine person than someone who puts on a facade of friendliness

[geddesjimmy]

Nothing worse than a waiter/waitress asking if everything is ok when I have a mouthful of food. I don't agree with tipping as a norm, American employers need to pay their employees a living wage.

[ossamaelazzouzi]

it is a common mistake for some people, especially Americans, to think that all Europe shares the same culture and traditions, in Europe you can find huge differences within the same country, or even region of the country. I am from italy and here for example you can find different accent of the same language just from one village to the other, it is very complicated to form a general idea or behaviour about the entire continent

[SuperGramph]

"I'm not going to Starbucks... ill just go to McDonalds for a coffee" - I'm German not even Italian but hearing that gave me an instant heart attack.

[ikkelimburg]

The ‘offended American’ thing reminded me of my last holiday in Italy. Last summer in Rome sitting outside with my family (with a small dog), watching an American group of five women (25-30 yrs old) having a tantrum that the waiters would not remove anyone who brought their dog with them. They found dogs offensive somehow? The ‘packleader’ started to yell ‘Don’t expect a tip from me! DO NOT EXPECT A TIP FROM ME!’, waiter couldn’t care less. They proceeded to get support from bystanders by asking if we didn’t think it was ‘gross’ and ‘unsanitary’ and I pulled my little dog out from under the table and replied ‘No’. Then the manager came outside and asked them in broken English ‘Doe you have a problem?’. Next to our table there was a British family and I heard the man saying ‘Oh the plot thickens’ and I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. They went mad, and the owner came outside to diffuse the situation by offering them a free drink. By that point they were demanding a refund and the owner asked again what the problem was. Then an American on the other side of the terrace stood up and yelled: ‘They’re from Houston! That’s the problem! They don’t know how to behave!’. The women started to cuss at that man. I almost died laughing when the American retorted: ‘You’r free entertainment! Don’t you see?! You’re free entertainment for these people! Behave!’

[bentels]

The thing about coffee is, Europe has an ancient coffee culture so coffee actually tastes of something here. Which means you don't need massive quantities or additives like pumpkin-mocha-apple to hide the dishwater taste.

[MadnessQuotient]

From my British perspective, if wait staff said; "no rush, here is the bill" I would interpret that as "leave now as fast as possible please".
Similarly in a shop we approach sales people not the other way around - unless you are very deliberately entering a shop which is so expensive that you expect personal service and you are intending on spending a sum of money so large that it won't even be discussed.

[goblin]

As an Australian, the idea of tipping at all is outrageous to me. Why should I be expected to pay full price and more for the waiter when the restaurant owner could just pay their workers a proper wage.

[remcs]

My favorite story is about an American tourists who told off a tour guide about the age of European castles.
He reasoned that because America has only existed for about 200 years, it was impossible for Europeans to have 800 year old buildings 🤔

[cogitorium]

I'm Polish and my pov on the customer service is: when a waiter/bartender/barista is super chatty and friendly, I don't perceive it as good customer service, to me it seems fake and intrusive. Let's not pretend like you're here for any other reason than this being your job. Also, "How are you?" is too much of an intimate question to ask a stranger. We really only ask that if we actually want to know the real answer. When I was in the US, I felt constantly attacked by all the people greeting me with a "How are you?" WE ARE NOT FRIENDS, why would you do that?

[katharinabruns]

Coffee, for most Europeans - but not all, is a cultural thing. You sit down, often with friends and have a piece of cake while drinking it and it's served in ceramic. It's sophisticated and it's time well spend. Or you read a newspaper while enjoying your coffee or watching other people passing by or talking about the world. It's not something in plastic that you drink alone while being in a hurry. But times change. You will find more and more Star Bucks and Star Bucks-like shops in Europe now. I guess it's hard to explain.

[Scott-Emana]

The excessive smiling is a cultural thing. In Europe, the more east you travel the more unusual it is to smile at/to people you don't know for no reason. Some consider it to be rude or even something like a possible mental disorder, or suspicious behaviour etc.

[juliaroyall]

The " thing" next to the loo, is a hygienic bin for used sanitary protection. It's supplied by a specialised company because used sanitary protection should never be flushed away

[afiiik]

I'd call Starbucks a coffee-flavoured milk shake. I'm Czech.

[Dougie-]

Tap water is free in restaurants in Norway as well. And while I don't accept rude service, I don't like when the waitress/service keeps bothering us. Hovering around our table. "Everything ok? You want a refill? You want something else?". I'll let you know if I need something! I'm out to enjoy a private conversation with my friends/family, not to have a conversation with the waitress.

[gayandeuropean]

i'm italian, i know italians are considered to be pretty friendly and welcoming (and loud), so it might come off as shocking the fact that even i had found americans to be a tad too much.

i was in a restaurant with my family and the waiter kept walking up to us every 5 minutes asking if we needed anything and even speaking to us in spanish even though we are italian and we told them multiple times that we do not speak spanish.

i get why they did it, i really do, their wage depends on the tip the client leaves so the more polite you are, the better the client is going to tip you, but it just felt so fake? and it can't be healthy in the long run, being that subservient, that is. sometimes a customer is just rude and in the wrong and a waiter should have a right to tell them to piss off without having to fear that they aren't going to get payed. that is absurd!

[robwhythe]

I first came across the "endless beers" system in Bremen many years ago. While we were drinking our first, the bartender was already pulling the next round - because the head was so strong that he had to leave it a while to settle before he could fill the glasses. If you didn't want any more beer, you would either turn your empty glass upside down or put a beer mat (coaster) on top of it - and your next beer was sold to someone else. The waiters would mark a coaster with how many beers they had delivered, and use that to draw up the bill at the end - trusting you not to hide the coaster or to fiddle with his marks. It took me (a Brit) a while to get used to it, but I found it a good system.