🚀 go-pugleaf

edward.rice@his.com (Edward Rice) writes:

>It does make things simpler, and in Europe there's a tendency for the staff to
>be more professional -- it's an occupation, not merely a job, over there.  A
>great European waiter is an amazing professional and an expert at theatrics;
>I've never met a /great/ American waiter who didn't train in Europe.

Completely correct. Your characterization of being a waiter as an occupation
is the key, I think.

>I'm not aware of a 15% service charge being a /law/ anywhere -- in each country
>I've been to (all the Western European countries excluding one or two
>principalities, some of the Eastern Europe countries), it has seemed to vary
>from one dining-place to another.

I'm not an expert on the law anywhere; however, the Frommer guidebooks state
that it is law in certain countries (Holland and Austria) for both
food service and taxicabs (Holland only?).

-- Larry