[lostNFound]

My only contact with tipping in the US as a foreigner, was my only trip to the US. Florida theme parks back when I was a child, a decade ago. In particular, I remember going to Hollywood Planet, inside the Disneyworld Downtown.

The waiter kept making us eat “fast” by asking “dessert now?” unasked as we were still eating entrees.

When we paid he stayed there completely still, and my father asked “…so?”. And he said the tip was too little. Dad said “I tip what I want and your service was horrible anyway”.

He threw a literal tantrum and furiously ran into the kitchen, to never be seen again. We walked out after that.

It left a mark on me as the symbol of US tipping culture, due to the impact actually being on a situation causes vs reading about it.

Never has any of the sort happened anywhere else in my life.

[jdminhbg]

The Planet Hollywood inside Disney World has about as much to do with the US as a whole as a restaurant outside the Vatican with menus in 12 languages has to do with Italy.

[wintogreen74]

I think his experience with tipping is actually pretty realistic of one (extreme) half of the total picture though: a waiter in a shitty restaurant running tourists through as quickly as possible, getting paid less than minimum wage with tips calculated as a major component of his pay.

[lostNFound]

I get the admittedly similar comparison, but do you think it’s truly accurate?

You’re comparing a country and seat of a world religion to a theme park.

And, even so (even if it was in Italy, that is), is it not an italian restaurant just because it’s touristic and not “for locals”?

That just sounds like a No True Scotsman.

[jdminhbg]

> You’re comparing a country and seat of a world religion to a theme park.

Well, you'll notice I didn't say inside the Vatican, which is in fact a serious place with serious art treasures.

> And, even so (even if it was in Italy, that is), is it not an italian restaurant just because it’s touristic and not “for locals”?

I didn't say it wouldn't be Italian, and I didn't say Planet Hollywood isn't American. I did say they are both extreme outliers. Bill Gates is American, but his life and mine have almost nothing in common apart from language and what our passports look like. You don't learn much about American lives from looking at Bill Gates.

[Symbiote]

That Planet Holywood has so many foreign tourists should motivate them to put full (tax and service included) prices on the menu, and a clear "no tips!" at the top.

[tomcam]

That is horrible.

I have to say that in 40 years of dining out, I have never encountered any such behavior. I absolutely believe you went through it, but I tend to find Americans impressively polite on average.

[lostNFound]

I did indeed, no lies here haha.

However (and at risk of sounding hostile), can I ask what other cultures have you experienced?

All cultures have good and bad things, it’s not xenophobic or racist (I hope) that the Chinese have statistically better school conduct and order, while the Russians are impressively tough, the Spanish are very chill and relaxed, and many more examples.

As with all previous examples, Americans have many such qualities, but I wouldn’t have thought to say polite as one of them. Maybe for the Japanese. Hope it doesn’t offend anyone. At least around here Americans have more a fame of being loud-ish and sometimes a bit lacking in reading the room. It’s absolutely terrible but, have you watched Emily in Paris? Kind of like that.

I however understand you considering Americans polite if your other comparison is, for example, Egypt.

Just so it doesn’t offend anyone, here’s some qualities I associate with Americans. Creative, resourceful, fighters for freedom and their own personal rights (litigious too), despite the current political climate.

[tomcam]

I think your assessments are pretty spot on.

I've visited many other countries but I should have added that most of my adult time has spent in high-end neighborhoods on the West Coast. Except for Poland and France I've never spent more than a couple of weeks in a country outside the USA. I grew up not rich in Southern California and people were polite there too. In my old age I am beginning to suspect that people are just nice to me for some reason, or that I don't perceive rudeness as well as I should.

On an individual level Chinese, Poles, rural Americans, and Russians are sort of like New Yorkers: once they know you're not going to kill them they're ridiculously warm and welcoming. Also New Yorkers: I have more than once been asked if I needed directions when I stood on a street corner consulting my nav. In 40 years of visiting New York City I just have never found people rude, whether it's bus drivers or wait staff or people in the finance district. Which means my impression of things may be suspect.

[orwin]

I read that "aggressively polite" and it made me chuckle. Then i realized i misread you :(

[tomcam]

I'll take the "aggressively polite" as part of the package deal, ngl