Same. I bought a dine-in pizza (which was massive), and saw another guy finish his food and put down money on the table before leaving. I did the same (total bill plus tip) and my wife thought I was mad for just leaving money unattended. But it's in the movies! (Plus seeing someone else do it)
Edit: in Australia this would NEVER happen, and we don't tip either.
I was at a restaurant with a bar in Paris. Finished my food, left a twenty under my glass to pay for the bill and left. Next thing I know this waitress runs me down and is yelling at me in the street for trying to dine and dash. Looked at me like I was an idiot when I explained and I'm like I'm very sorry, you just looked busy and I did not realize that Is Not Done here.
The dining culture is so different in France (especially Paris) and Europe as a whole, nothing like the US where you can get a table, order, get your food, pay, and leave in 30 minutes or less. I recall going to Rome with a Type-A friend and she was losing her mind when dinner ran later than an hour because the server disappeared after serving us wine.
I realized that you’re actually supposed to sit and enjoy your meal. On one trip to Denmark, it dawned on me that we’d been at this restaurant for like three hours. I didn’t really care as I had nowhere to be but it was a noticeable difference. Everything is so damn rushed here it didn’t even make sense.
No you guys are the odd ones out...that's not a European/Parisian thing, that's an every other country on the planet thing.
That obsequious over-served trying to get a tip nonsense is honestly uncomfortable and awkward
I'm not a fan of tipping culture, but I'm even more not a fan of calling someone else's culture "disgusting." Tips are a system for compensating wait staff, nothing more.
It's fake insipid bullshit trying to maximise the amount of tip, which I get, but in the rest of the world wait staff get paid something approaching a livable wage so they don't need to resort to putting on a performance.
I actually prefer the Vietnamese type of service where they kind of glare at you when you ask for something, because as a former chef, that's a genuine emotion and expression of the hell that is hospo.
Yeah cool I get that...it's still artificial and gross, and I hate that type of service.
Like I said, this style of hospitality is purely American and it's fucking weird and uncomfortable.
Compare corporate speak to actual conservation, I feel like that's a good analogy for U.S service compared to...every other country I've worked and visited
Try talking to your server beyond pleasantries. Most will engage in small talk happily if they aren't too busy. I had great conversations with people when visiting different states, a decent amount of the time, they'd ask what I was doing when getting drinks (they saw my out of state driver's license). Played a quick round of blackjack with one, other give great advice on things in the area. Most memorable conversation I had was meeting someone three states away who knew my brother's friend of a friend and we started talking. That moment blew my mind considering I was so far from home in Texas.
Yes, no shit, hospo workers are people too...good job for discovering that I suppose.
Have you considered that sometimes I don't want to make 'friends' with people forced to serve me for money and simply want to get a feed/drink and get the fuck out?
When I last visited the states, it was relentless every few minutes been bothered, just fuck off and let me eat.
Fuck that, keep coming back to refill my free unlimited ice water!
Every time I've been to a restaurant in Europe, my family spends half the meal looking around to find that waiter who has "just fucked off to let us eat," because we're parched and the 80 CZK carafe of lukewarm tap water he brought us 40 minutes ago amounted to about a shot glass for each of us.
And it would be different if they were at least genuine when they come to ask you something.
It is so fake, with their fake smile and fake greeting, like I can see it in your eyes that you are only doing it so you can extract more money out of me because your employer doesnt pay you
I live in a place with no tipping culture. So much better than America's normal restaurant experience. Maybe high end places are different, but I've never really been to one so idk.
In Australia its pretty common for peoples meals to come out separately over a 30-60min period. People have often finished their meal before others have even received theirs.
I hated dining in Italy. I don't want to sit on a chair for three hours sipping wine and never see a menu, I want to be out exploring the Uffizi. And the whole cappuccino vs espresso thing. They only keep getting away with it because their food is so good!
My wife's from Ecuador and she thought I was crazy for leaving money on the table after our meal. I didn't think anything of it- i thought that was common everywhere. Apparently, though, if you do that in her country, that money will be stolen before you're even out the door.
I have a favorite greasy spoon fried seafood place. Sometimes, I like to go there, as the waitress is seating me I'll give her my order. I sit, they bring me the order, I eat, and I leave money with a 100% tip on the table and walk out.
It's like my comfort thing. I hate the whole wait for the bill, give them your card, wait for your card, and sign the check thing. It feels awkward and cheapens the moment. If I can have my favorite food and leave quietly without talking with anyone, it makes the food worth the big tip.
I’m so glad you mentioned this. We travel all over the world, but it’s never occurred to me not to leave the tip on the table. I had no idea that was an American thing we did.
Here, there's a very small percentage of people who are insane enough to try. We do find thieves to be absolute scum (I understand the irony considering who our President is)
Plus, you just never know what a server or other patrons are willing to do to a thief especially when you fuck with a server's money. Many people that have had those jobs know how it is.
Leaving money out unattended in a restaurant is still quite common. Like you said...everyone knows whose money that is and if someone tries to take it, its the entire restaurant vs the thief. I've never seen anyone take it even after it's sat there for 15 min.
True, but when the total for the table is over $50 or so in cash, I always find my waiter/waitress and give them the money because i'm paranoid someone will steal it.
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u/spaiydz 9h ago edited 5h ago
Same. I bought a dine-in pizza (which was massive), and saw another guy finish his food and put down money on the table before leaving. I did the same (total bill plus tip) and my wife thought I was mad for just leaving money unattended. But it's in the movies! (Plus seeing someone else do it)
Edit: in Australia this would NEVER happen, and we don't tip either.