Americans Abroad in Dallas Morning News

[Alex+R 0]

Americans tip the best.

I remember having this conversation with my friend who was a hotel manager in Dublin -- he said his staff loved Americans for this very reason.

There was some study done by a British travel company on service workers around Europe who dispelled the myth of the ugly American. It also noted that these same people were kind of hating the British for the recent trend of buying cheap flights on Ryanair to rampage through their nice cities on a stag (bachelor) party

There are signs in Dublin that say "no stag parties" on bars! At least a few years ago there were. Because of the trend of people popping over from England and having a big old stag party. I saw quite a few, and it was quite ugly.

Re: tipping, I just can't not do it. Perhaps that's why we're such good tippers. Some people expect no tip, but I feel just awful if I don't give a cab driver or waiter SOMETHING.

[DeadPoolX 9]

Yeah, I always tip a waiter or a waitress at least 20% for good service. I'll tip more if the service was better. If the service was bad, I'll deduct from the tip and go down to 15%, but generally not below that...unless the service was really bad. I've never refused to give a tip though.

I've met some people from other countries before, and I have to say I can't really generalize. I've met some very nice and polite Brits, Israelis, Aussies, etc., and I've met some really nasty/noisy ones as well. So I can't just come out and say, "so-and-so" is like this. It just doesn't work that way. It's all based on the individual. For instance, I'm American, and if I were like the stereotype, I'd be loud and rude; I may not be the most polite person in the world (my fiancee certainly has me beat in manners), but I'm rarely loud unless the situation calls for it.

[Thingee 0]

The initial post actually made me laugh a bit. My last visit to honey we swung by Chesterfield to look at the twisted steeple I forget the name of, and have a pint. We were sitting outside as it was a lovely day, and a group of 4 or 5 American men sat next to us. They discussed the church in question very very loudly. "Why didn't they just knock it down when it went all crooked like that?? It looks dumb!" They had a tour guide of some sort, and asked the man what sort of church it was..I forget the exact phrasing "What kinda Christians go there?" was the gist of it. The guide replied "Not many Virginians!'. At this point honey nearly shot beer out of his nose laughing...I'm Virginian.

[cbd2cai 0]

I read this in the Sunday Travel Section and thought the book they mentioned is timely. Just thought I'd pass it along to anyone who might possibly be interested.

Just the Link . . . not the whole article:

AmericansAbroad

And remember . . . no LOUD talking!!!

Interesting comments from others. Gotta admit I don't think that Americans are the only ones that are "Ugly" abroad as I have run into my fair share of citizens of supposedly more enlightened countries that I'd rather not be around. I like to think of some of their guidelines as things for all of us to consider when travelling the world.

Here's a link for a downloadable version of the World Citizen's Guide: WorldCitizensGuide

[cbd2cai 0]

Here's a nice quote from the Telegraph.co.uk website regarding said guide:

"However, a spokesman for the National Tourism Agency for Britain said last night: "Americans have a certain reputation which, for the majority, is undeserved. These guidelines sound like good common sense but they're not something the majority of our American visitors need. As tourists, they're out to enjoy themselves and have a good time. We continue to welcome them."

Telegraph

Business for Diplomatic Actions has downloadable guides including the World Citizen's Guid:

Business for Diplomatic Action

Here's a blog with some interesting comments and responses regarding the UA syndrome:

More on UAs