Strange things you're not used to

[Alex & Rachel 78]

pucklechurch, please tell me you're British

Oh...and I also agree with Kim re. credit cards. It's all chip-and-pin here now, but before that we also used signatures and having worked in a shop I know how closely we scrutinized. Plus chip-and-pin makes everything so much easier for both cashier and customer.

[mox 298]

True, very true. My gripe isn't with the staff who have to almost prostitute themselves to supplement their earnings, it's with the employers who force them to do this. My meal gets ruined by waiting staff buzzing around me like flies around dog's business and all the time it's for some restaurant owner to get his/her hands on some fat profit to live the 'American Dream' and open up a similar cafe in the next town, or something.

Yeah. I avoid the chain restaurants when at all possible. I find that small mom-n-pop restaurants provide the best and friendliest service, because the owners care enough to make sure they hire good people. They also know that word-of-mouth is their best advertisements so they go out of their way to make sure you're taken care of without being bugged to death. I'll go to an Applebees or Chili's or whatever if whoever I'm with absolutely insists, but I normally avoid them like the plague. I'd advise anyone who wants a real taste of what American cuisine can be like to do the same.

[Rob1980 0]

Oh...and I also agree with Kim re. credit cards. It's all chip-and-pin here now, but before that we also used signatures and having worked in a shop I know how closely we scrutinized. Plus chip-and-pin makes everything so much easier for both cashier and customer.

I don't know if anyone has realised how ridiculous it is to actually just hand over your credit card to someone, who then buggers off out of sight with it for 5 minutes, only to return with your bill (again)? I've been warned to check and make sure that it's my card I'm getting back!

That's just bars/restaruants.

[StillThePrettiest 3]

I'll go to an Applebees or Chili's or whatever if whoever I'm with absolutely insists...

anyone seen Talladega Nights? 'Let's go get thrown out of an Applebees!'

[Jeraly 4]

Tipping in pubs.

This one gets me...fortunately I drink very little.

Then again...I haven't seen any pubs within ten miles of where I'll be living. Right now in the UK I pass four on my way to work - and that's just a mile's walk.

Portion size and asking for a 'box' so you can take food home with you...that'll take me a while to get used to. I was always told it was impolite to leave food on your plate but I'll have to in the US unless I want to balloon to double my size!

I love the box thing!! Someone screwed up my order once so I got free desert that I wanted to take home with me so they gave me a box I am going to baloon as well - I figure that maybe once the novelty wears off and it stops feeling like a holiday that I will stop stuffing my face with cr@p... maybe...

As for pubs - I know there is an "English Pub" in the main street of Palm Springs which I have every intention of investigating - of course, drunken walks back from the pub seem to be out of the question as everything is so spread out unless you live in a big city...

One other things that the Yanks do is constantly annoy me whilst I'm eating with the 'is everything all right' and 'do you need more of this or that' and 'can I get you a second helping of lard with your lardburger' etc. No. leave me alone and I'll simply call you if I want something. Instead of hovering around me looking for a tip just ####### off and do something useful like wash the dishes or guide cars into the parking lot correctly.

I don't know - I like the service and the impression you get of nothing is too much for these people - I find it a welcome change from the sloppy service and bad attitude of some waiting staff in the UK - you can sit down and wait for an hour to even order then when you want the bill there is no-one to be seen... Then when they screw up you have to either let it drop or badger them to let you have a discount/free meal/voucher or something to compensate the fact that they just ruined your meal...

Of course after a little while living in the US I might change my mind about it and get just as annoyed. I can understand in a cafe where they are asking if you want more coffee but I used to work in a department store (John Lewis when I was 16-19) where I had to ask anyone who didn't have a sales assistant with them if they needed any help. As most of them were looking at kids clothes I am not sure how much help they would need and I was sure if they truly needed to find out if we had something in stock then they would ask. But no - we had to go hang around them and it drove me nuts...

[Converse34 1]

The refills at fast food places, I still feel uncomfortable with that, it does feel like stealing.

A 5 gallon bag of syrup to make fountain soda cost $5 for the fastfood outlet. So, do not feel bad my friends about the refills, they more than make their money on soda.

[Converse34 1]

Yes, tipping in bars!!

So we pay your wages not your employer. No, not a chance. I'm not giving anyone a dollar for opening a bottle and putting it front of me. If I get served a meal and a few beers then I may tip but if I'm on a pub crawl, no way.

When in Rome...A GOOD reason for tipping early in your night at the bar is the will be attentive and keep your drinks strong. Most states do not have specific measurements. It is worth the investment.

One other things that the Yanks do is constantly annoy me whilst I'm eating with the 'is everything all right' and 'do you need more of this or that' and 'can I get you a second helping of lard with your lardburger' etc. No. leave me alone and I'll simply call you if I want something. Instead of hovering around me looking for a tip just ####### off and do something useful like wash the dishes or guide cars into the parking lot correctly.

All you have to do is look the waiter in the eye, smile, and say, "Thank you, looks like we have everything. We'll give you a shout if we need anything." And I guarantee they won't come back until you wave them over.

Edited January 30, 2008 by Converse34

[pucklechurch 0]

When in Rome...A GOOD reason for tipping early in your night at the bar is the will be attentive and keep your drinks strong. Most states do not have specific measurements. It is worth the investment.

All you have to do is look the waiter in the eye, smile, and say, "Thank you, looks like we have everything. We'll give you a shout if we need anything." And I guarantee they won't come back until you wave them over.

On your first point, yes I will tip in bars if I'm staying there for awhile. That's what I said in my earlier post, just in case the bar staff take umbrage and decide to ignore me in a fit of pique, but on pub crawls/bar hops there is little point if you are just there for one drink.

However the idea of telling waiting staff that 'we have everything we need and that we'll call you over later if we want you' doesn't aways work, I've tried it. They tend to go off to their little waiter's waiting area to wait and lo! and behold if I just happen to accidentaly catch their eye they come bounding over to my table like a bloody lapdog with a resounding 'Yes, Sir, What is it? What would you like?'. Nothing, I was meerly looking around the room. I think a better system would be to place a large flag or semaphore signal on your table and raise it stoutly when you needed service from the employees.

[Converse34 1]

However the idea of telling waiting staff that 'we have everything we need and that we'll call you over later if we want you' doesn't aways work, I've tried it. They tend to go off to their little waiter's waiting area to wait and lo! and behold if I just happen to accidentaly catch their eye they come bounding over to my table like a bloody lapdog with a resounding 'Yes, Sir, What is it? What would you like?'. Nothing, I was meerly looking around the room. I think a better system would be to place a large flag or semaphore signal on your table and raise it stoutly when you needed service from the employees.

Haha. Well, make sure you have a nice window seat then. Don't be afraid to be firm. If they come back again without you calling them over, say, please we are fine, we just need some privacy please.

Nandos in the UK was fantastic with your flag idea. You would take the stick to your table and then would come back once and ask if everything was ok. They would then take it away with them and only come back if you called them over (you would have to really WAVE them down).

I agree it can be annoying at times, but surely it is much better than trying tirelessly for 20 mins trying to get someone to come over while your food is getting cold.

[mox 298]

Just remember the golden rule: Never, but NEVER, piss off the person serving you food.

[Meridien 0]

I don't think I'll ever get the hang of degrees Fahrenheit...

And the health care thing...I suspect I will be irritating Americans for many years with my lectures on the benefits of universal health care!

[kisschick1976 0]

I know all (or most anyway) of the Pancho's restaurants closed down but they had a really good system. They wouldn't come bother you asking you if you needed anything. They had a little Mexican flag on a flag pole that you had to raise if you needed something. Then they come to your table, lower the flag an ask you what you need. It was awesome. I miss Pancho's

[bichon82 0]

yeah tipping is rather annoying I must say. We always tip even if service is #######... I do enjoy tipping at casino's though cos it gets you lots of otherwise free drinks.. and if you're tipping a dealer usually it's cos you're winning. One thing I will never get used to though is the small print and all the disclosures... like when I got my gym membership I had to sign a waiver that I would not sue if I was injured as a result of a fauly machine or of another gym member...

[michellea 0]

The thing that I will never get used to is that "Iced tea' is actually tea, cold, and not the sweet sugary thing that we call it up here in Canada.

[Jeraly 4]

Oh you can get the sweet sugary stuff as well But yeah - the Arizona Ice Tea is kinda grim...

Love snapples though