Working in restaurants has changed my perspective on American culture
I've been working in fancy restaurants for most of my adult life, and over the last 7 years or so, my perspective has changed from being a slightly embarrassed American to a flag-waiving, truck-loving, gun-toting 'murican.
Here are just some of my experiences from international tourists:
- An Englishman came in and demanded a table. I said we were booked with reservations, and he said "but look at all these empty tables!" I informed him that they were reserved and would be filled with guests shortly. Eventually, we found him a spot. When it was time for him to pay, he said "I suppose I should leave you a tip. We don't have to do that in England because we pay our workers enough to survive."
- I had a Canadian guy come in and ask for the largest beer he could get. I said that our beers came in pints or quarts, to which he yelled "I don't know know what the fuck that is!"
- I had an Indian guy tell his guests that he hated America but lived here because the money was better, but that he'd rather live in Europe because they are "more socialist."
- I've had people from all over the world come up to host stand, cut the line, demand a table, and throw a fit when we told them they'd have to wait. This seems to be the norm in Arab and Mediterranean cultures.
I could go on, but I won't bore you with the wall of text. I realized very quickly that the stereotype of the brash, ugly, loud, demanding American is just as prevalent in other cultures as it is here. Eventually I came to prefer the "middle American" clientele because they were usually chill, respectful, and unpretentious.
I now work at a different fancy restaurant in a small town that almost exclusively caters to locals, aka my fellow Americans, and everyone is polite and respectful and treats me like an equal, as opposed to some servant boy or subhuman, like I've seen in some cultures.