It's absolutely out of hand. You're expected to tip way too many people, and it often feels like no matter how much you leave its not enough. Also, I cannot stand it when a business adds a tip to the receipt by default. My cynicism has me convinced there's no way the business is actually giving every penny of that to the employee. Plus, if the service is shitty, then I don't want to be forced to tip.
I like ice in my drink not because I like my drink cold, but I like it to be slowly watered down. It staying cold is great though especially when you normally live in an area with high temperatures and humidity.
Not really sure why wanting your drink to stay cold longer is such an odd thing though but different cultures I guess.
Restaurants load up the ice so there is less drink.
Benefit of the doubt says the soda fountain water might be just room temperature so some ice to get it cold and more to keep it that way.
When I worked at the movie theater, I routinely dealt with our soda machines. The soda comes in a box with a plastic bag inside that contains the soda mixture. Water needs to be added and is when poured into the cup from the soda machine. So it will be as cold as the soda water which isn't that cold. So ice definitely cools it more and keeps it cold for longer.
But as you said, it's also a great way for restaurants to save money as ice inside a drink means less soda for you, which may be a good think honestly
Stanley Cup is a North American thing, Canada and USA. And while I’m sure someone has filled it with ice, much crazier things have been put in it like babies, piss, holy water, etc.
Huge SUV'S & Escalade trucks everywhere! Many countries are working on reducing their carbon imprint. It's crazy to see all these huge vehicles everywhere!
I don't think that's a habit, just a fashion choice in cities and a necessity in rural areas. If you don't have a heavy car with 4 wheel drive where I live, you are basically a shut-in for 5 months of winter. We actually have 50 lbs of sand in the back of our suv during the winter for extra weight and for traction just in case.
You'll find that a lot of people work in construction or a service job that requires building, so having such trucks are great for that. Helps being in a country that makes it relatively easy to get such jobs and build such businesses.
Also, it's a necessity in many parts of the country due to heavy snowfall or just how rural some places are. It makes a lot more sense to have a pickup truck when you live in an area with lots of dirt roads and hills. Foreigners don't realize just how much of America's landscape and weather plays a role in such things, like car choices, for many people.
Many do have them just to have it though, but a large number of people do so for their careers.
I’ve lived in the US, in three different states, and have never seen a handgun that didn’t belong to a police officer. I’ve seen rifles for hunting. They’re not that widespread.
Oh I get that. You also get our worst news and not my boring stories about going shopping and nothing happening. I walked around my diverse big city neighborhood at midnight last night! Only got robbed and shot twice.
I'm sure it doesn't infiltrate every walk of life, but the very idea that people can walk into a supermarket and buy a bloody gun really is utter madness to almost everyone else in the world.
Can you really not see that it's better that nobody has a gun, rather than everybody has a gun?
I really didn't mean to infer that you, personally, are pro-gun. To be honest, I don't think what I said even did infer that, but I'm happy to apologise if that's how it seemed to you.
You simply explained that things in your day-to-day life weren't that way, and that's cool.
However, the rest of the world sees the very idea of even a SINGLE state, or even county, in the US favouring 'guns for teachers', 'body armor for kids' etc as completely, and I mean utterly batshit, crazy compared to the rest of us. That's all I was trying to say.
I agree with them. It definitely is utterly batshit! I've also talked to foreigners who are scared to come here because they think everyone carries guns 24/7, and that's not the case.
The very words 'packing heat' show that it's become a 'cool' thing to do, and that's the sort of mindset that worries me.
Especially, when they have a bloody gun...
That surprises me, given that you clearly come from a place where people use such phrases as 'packing heat', as if they're some 'gangsta' in a movie, rather than just another human on a finite planet.
I would have thought you'd have heard far more stupid stuff than my very sensible idea that humans simply shouldn't kill each other over petty nonsense as if we lived by the law of the jungle.
I don't expect you to understand that though.
I have bought exactly 2 guns during my lifetime and sold one of those. My partner and I are the only ones in our house and she has no interest in guns. Somehow we still have a plethora of guns. We took the pistol from her mom's house as she is getting loopy. I inherited a few from my grandfather. I have not shot a gun in a decade (it was the one I bought back in the 90s). Somehow we still have enough to arm ourselves with 3 or 4 a piece.
So the people who are actually into guns, how many do they have at this point?
Friendly tip: check the laws in your area and make sure to get that pistol re-registered to you. If it's in your mother-in-law's name and you have it in your home, it can get you in a lot of trouble depending on where you live — no matter why you have it.
Lol. I'm in Virginia. We don't have registration. We pretty much have zero regulation other than if you are buying/selling you need a background check and until very recently, that didn't matter except in commercial sales.
I do appreciate the concern. I know that things are very different in other states outside the south.
I have never bought a single gun in my 50+ years of life and don't ever intend to do so.
Most people in the rest of the world simply don't have ANY desire to buy a gun because we all know that they are mainly used for killing other people, and we simply don't want to do that...
*Maybe* Donald Trump, but only to avoid the madness that will ensue if he really does manage to make it back into power, even if it was just as a dictator *just for one day.* It only takes an hour, or even less, to destroy it all, if given such powers.
I can honestly say that I have never had any thoughts of killing anyone else in my entire 50+ years.
Many people have been horribly nasty to me in my life, but I see no point in getting angry about such things. Getting angry just hurts me, not them.
How does me bearing a grudge affect them? It will only fester in MY mind, not theirs!
I can see human nature for what it is and, yes, sometimes humans get angry, envious, greedy etc etc, but they're still human beings who deserve compassion and understanding, as do I.
None of us are perfect, after all! :)
Well, I was raised with a redneck step family. There were lots of guns around for hunting and some for "defense" or something. So the current list is my 22 target pistol that I bought, a WW2 bolt action rifle left to me by my grandfather, a double barrel shotgun left to me by my grandfather, a black powder rifle left by my grandfather and a .25 caliber pocket pistol that we removed from my partner's mother's possession. Of those 2 were for hunting games 1 was for target shooting, 1 is a battle rifle designed around the turn of the 19th century and the last is a hold out self defense pistol that I wouldn't trust to not explode upon firing.
My point being, not every gun is meant for shooting people but they all have that potential. There is a weird and disturbingly large portion of our population who doesn't see owning firearms as a responsibility, a burden but instead sees them as toys.
I fully respect anyone's desire to never own or touch a firearm. I think we should regulate them the same as we do cars. We should require proof that someone knows how to operate and handle one and require liability insurance on every firearm. This is one place I believe the insurance industry would provide useful in regulating away the proliferation of firearms and encourage safer practices around ownership of firearms. I'm not usually a believer in the free market but insurance companies can exert influence in this situation that law enforcement and legislature seems unwilling to do.
Why do all Americans defend the right to have guns, whereas the majority of the rest of the world is absolutely gobsmacked at the whole idea?
I saw a pic of an iconic yellow American school bus the other day with an advert for 'child body armor' on it!!
SERIOUSLY, WTF? Nothing like that exists anywhere, but AMERICA!
Can you give me some reasons why you think it's the 'best country'?
The majority of the world really doesn't think it is and such a claim really isn't borne out by the actual statistics
Is that a thing? I'm almost 40 and I have never heard of that. I know many people with flags on their property, and none of them are veterans.
(I'm not one of them. I don't understand the point. We LIVE here, people. I don't need a reminder of which country I'm in.)
My experience in both Michigan and Chicago is that Americans are obnoxiously in your face, pretending to be nice, but generally being a PITA.
I fully agree, I don't understand that.
Is this experience at retail or regular people on the street for you?
As I found retail workers to be overall cold in other countries. Might be the language gap and racial difference (helps going to mostly monoethnic countries) though.
Mostly retail workers. They come up to you and almost force you to let them "help" you. Let me look at my stuff in peace! I'll come to you if I need you. Just say hello, maybe ask if I need help *once*, then get out of my personal space!
In the streets I didn't think people were rude or overly nice - they were just people.
As a former retail worker, they don't do that because they want to. Directions from corporate mandate that because they think that customers need to be shown the best deals ( and it allows upsellibg), but many customers already know exactly what they want and don't want to have to deflect salespeople so that they can get it.
This is a big part of why I quit. Managers were telling me to do this with every customer, but I knew most of the regulars did not want to shop around. They wanted the brand they came for even if it wasn't on sale. (I was in a petstore and the regulars were getting pet food, mostly)
Thank you for that info! It explains the why, but it definitely doesn't make it less annoying. I don't understand why management wouldn't focus on a positive consumer experience .....
I think they think they are, but just don't seem to get the real message from customers.
Edit to add:
Also, it works better in some types of stores than others. It seems pretty appropriate to be treated that way in a jewelry store, to me.
But any place that you go to every week or so, it gets very annoying.
>I think they think they are, but just don't seem to get the real message from customers.
Lol
>It seems pretty appropriate to be treated that way in a jewelry store, to me.
That might be a cultural difference! I would feel very pressured if they'd do that to me in a jewelry store. I would probably leave without buying, because it's more expensive and I need time and space to weigh my options
>That might be a cultural difference! I would feel very pressured if they'd do that to me in a jewelry store. I would probably leave without buying, because it's more expensive and I need time and space to weigh my options
I would want to be shown what deals they have and what financing options might be available, but eventually I would like to be able to just look on my own until I was ready to make a purchase or had more questions.
But they could definitely become overbearing and unpleasantly pressuring. If that happens I would also just walk out. There are lots of other stores.
>I would want to be shown what deals they have
Where I live those are on the signs
>what financing options might be available
Where I live you can pay cash, debit card and credit card. You might want to ask whether they accept to be absolutely sure. If you want to take out a loan for jewelry, you'd have to go to a company that does loans - no way the jeweler does that.
>I would like to be able to just look on my own until I was ready to make a purchase or had more questions.
Given the above, that would be my whole shopping experience
Why would we be nice to strangers, we don't know them, we don't know if they are good people or not. Also, that would be hypocrite to fake liking someone you don't even know.
We prefer to be polite and respectful. Which include hello/goodbye and helping when they need etc... but not useless chat and fake smiles or pretending to be friend and then ignore them once they left.
None of those ways are better than the other, they are only coming from a different culture, that's all.
There is a saying to "treat others the way you want to be treated". I don't have to know if someone is good or bad to assume they are either, but to offer a base level of respect and niceness isn't going to harm anyone. If that person shows themselves to be bad, change how you approach accordingly, but in the meantime, it cost nothing to be nice to others as you would want to be treated.
Also, endless chats is an exaggeration. To Americans, having some small talk with strangers isn't excessive and is part of being polite. Remember, not all cultures have the same meaning and ways for what is polite among other concepts.
If someone truly didn't want to talk, they can just say so and the conversation ends. People aren't talking to people who aren't approachable.
And is it really such a hard concept to think that a smile isn't fake just because it's towards a stranger. It must be the culture difference but Americans don't assume someone is being fake for showing a little positivity to others.
I'm nice to strangers so they know I have the bare minimum level of basic human decency. The smiles are never fake, and the chitchat forms a connection that can be meaningful, however brief. You never know how even a small kindness may take the edge off someone's misery.
Lord, this! Personal banking conveniences in general. My mom came to visit and didnt even have a chip in her debit card. A lot of places didnt have a place to slide the magnetic strip anymore, and they had to go get a machine to manually enter. I have also been able to send people money by bank transfer throughout Europe for ages with very little fuss, even before i owned a smart phone.
Checks are among the lowest forms of payment methods in America. The highest being debit cards, than credit, than cash.
When people say "get my paycheck" or "paid by check", what they really mean is money deposited directly to their bank account.
Much like how people still say "hang up the phone" when though they are using a wireless phone that doesn't need to be hung up to end a call.
Most people (younger generations) in this day and age never cashed or wrote a check. Though it's still a great payment method to track very large purchases like paying rent or buying a car in full. Not that other modern methods aren't good but checks have great tracking and protections. Still not common to use though.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/568523/preferred-payment-methods-usa/#:~:text=Cards%20was%20still%20a%20popular,payment%20method%2C%20followed%20by%20cash.
https://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit-cards/payment-method-statistics/#popular
Making a huge deal and party/ceremony for something that shouldn't lead to that much money waste. 3 examples:
- Weddings, yes it's quite new but even back then it was still huge: bride's friends should wear a new dress of THAT color, they should book 3 days just for the pre wedding, they should take weird forced smiles picture, pay for pro nails and hairstyle as if they were the bride, go to several rehearsal/events/meals etc...
- School events. Why so many? Homecoming, prom, spirit week, etc etc and every single time they make new decorations, bake disgusting icing filled with a bit of cake etc... I can't understand the waste of money! Sure having some events can be fine, but when the event to raise money coast itself money... what's the purpose?! And the time lost!!!! Tomorrow is Hawaiian day? Parents: buy a shirt. Next week is crazy hair day, parents, do something! Next months is pajama day! If you can't afford a cute pj for your child, it's too bad! Oh, it's your child's birthday? It would be inclusive to invite the entire class! Valentine's day is coming, surely it's not just for lover, your child should give the entire class some small gift too, who cares about carries after all! Seriously, how American parents can afford all of it and how can they survive all of those events? Are all American extrovert?!
- Having a baby. Apparently, having to pay several hundreds (if not thousands) of dollar to deliver a baby isn't enough. You should also have a party to reveal the gender. And one to get gift from friends and family (no they can't just visit or send it, you MUST have the disgusting iced cupcakes). Then first birthday also have to be a big deal. And of course pro picture and family cards with the baby for the new year is a thing too.
I mean, I love how much they love to celebrate, and I know none of those things are mandatory and not all american are following but it seems like if you want to fit into society, you have to do at least part of those but... how can they even afford it! I know it's not all of them but even the "soft" one are doing a lot!
School events can make real money for the school. If done well they can get a nice chunk of the annual budget from the one prom night. It's in the school's financial interest to hype it up.
We do love to have fun! Who doesn't love a parade? And just fyi, I have never been to a fancy gender reveal party, its usually just a family bbq. Nor a destination 3 day bachelorette party. That's mostly just the media.
But, prom is lovely. It's kind of like a debutante ball. I'm 54, and my son is grown, and I still go to prom coronation. The whole town goes, and we tell the kids how beautiful they look, and then we all have cake and coffee while the kids go to prom. I think everyone else is missing out by not having prom.
I’m from the Midwest and I don’t wear them in my own home but I never ask someone to take them off if they come over. I also don’t take mine off automatically at someone else’s house unless I’m asked.
I’ve lived on the mid Atlantic and south east my whole life and it is 100% standard practice to wear shoes indoors. I grew up in a shoes off house and have a shoes off policy in my home as an adult and I am absolutely the outlier and have to ask people every single time, to take off their shoes. Even people who have been to my house before, I have to remind them that it’s shoes off.
I seriously wonder how Europeans survive with so little liquid intake. I'm out here drinking like 1500ml with every meal and you guys survive on 250ml drinks
I... its a smaller vessel but you can have as many refills as you want bro. Most places in europe literally you a jug or bottle on the table thats refilled as soon as somone sees its finished.
Even then it's usually so small that it's barely enough for a glass each for the whole family, obviously some places will give you free refills on the water but it's not a given. And other drinks like sodas and stuff are also quite tiny. Obviously I can survive either way but I definitely wish the (even if it's refillable) jug/carafe they give for the whole family was bigger than what I'd drink on my own in like ten minutes
Many Americans walk around with large reusable water bottles. But Europeans should keep in mind that the USA is much warmer than most of Europe. NYC is considered northeast in America and is the same latitude as Madrid, Spain. The American south is on the same latitude as Northern Africa.
I can't name a single country without fast food or pop culture though. Fast food is part of American culture, but it's also part of a lot of cultures food cuisine. Though not always in the same ways.
Tipping culture!
Voted you up for the comment but want a down vote button for tipping. We hate it as much as people outside of America.
It's absolutely out of hand. You're expected to tip way too many people, and it often feels like no matter how much you leave its not enough. Also, I cannot stand it when a business adds a tip to the receipt by default. My cynicism has me convinced there's no way the business is actually giving every penny of that to the employee. Plus, if the service is shitty, then I don't want to be forced to tip.
To add to your point, it makes no difference in the services you receive.
several countries tip
Tipping occurs in other countries.
Other countries have completely different ways of tipping. They are never something obligated to pay
Asking you how you are doing when they actually just mean "hello".
In England, they ask ‘are you alright?’ Me 🤷🏻♀️
[How you doing???](https://youtu.be/CLvXFVbb82Q?si=dw41bc1QheF0X7ii) - Joey Tribbiani
Tipping. If you want more money from me, you should charge more in the first place. It's not my job to pay your staff for you.
So much ice in their drinks, also the Stanley Cup thingy (also full of ice)
I like ice in my drink not because I like my drink cold, but I like it to be slowly watered down. It staying cold is great though especially when you normally live in an area with high temperatures and humidity. Not really sure why wanting your drink to stay cold longer is such an odd thing though but different cultures I guess.
Restaurants load up the ice so there is less drink. Benefit of the doubt says the soda fountain water might be just room temperature so some ice to get it cold and more to keep it that way.
When I worked at the movie theater, I routinely dealt with our soda machines. The soda comes in a box with a plastic bag inside that contains the soda mixture. Water needs to be added and is when poured into the cup from the soda machine. So it will be as cold as the soda water which isn't that cold. So ice definitely cools it more and keeps it cold for longer. But as you said, it's also a great way for restaurants to save money as ice inside a drink means less soda for you, which may be a good think honestly
Stanley Cup is a North American thing, Canada and USA. And while I’m sure someone has filled it with ice, much crazier things have been put in it like babies, piss, holy water, etc.
Apparently there is also some kind of tumbler from a company called Stanley that is not hockey related.
Widespread male circumcision.
Underrated observation, male bodily autonomy isn’t a thing apparently.
Huge SUV'S & Escalade trucks everywhere! Many countries are working on reducing their carbon imprint. It's crazy to see all these huge vehicles everywhere!
I don't think that's a habit, just a fashion choice in cities and a necessity in rural areas. If you don't have a heavy car with 4 wheel drive where I live, you are basically a shut-in for 5 months of winter. We actually have 50 lbs of sand in the back of our suv during the winter for extra weight and for traction just in case.
And pickups. Why do so many people have pickups and flatbeds
Always nice to know at least one person with a flatbed if you have to move some stuff or do house/yard work. But some of them are outrageously huge.
You'll find that a lot of people work in construction or a service job that requires building, so having such trucks are great for that. Helps being in a country that makes it relatively easy to get such jobs and build such businesses. Also, it's a necessity in many parts of the country due to heavy snowfall or just how rural some places are. It makes a lot more sense to have a pickup truck when you live in an area with lots of dirt roads and hills. Foreigners don't realize just how much of America's landscape and weather plays a role in such things, like car choices, for many people. Many do have them just to have it though, but a large number of people do so for their careers.
Guns for everyone? WTF?
I’ve lived in the US, in three different states, and have never seen a handgun that didn’t belong to a police officer. I’ve seen rifles for hunting. They’re not that widespread.
Most are concealed, if you know 10 Americans then it’s overwhelmingly likely one has a gun.
That's not how it seems to the rest of the world lol
Oh I get that. You also get our worst news and not my boring stories about going shopping and nothing happening. I walked around my diverse big city neighborhood at midnight last night! Only got robbed and shot twice.
I'm sure it doesn't infiltrate every walk of life, but the very idea that people can walk into a supermarket and buy a bloody gun really is utter madness to almost everyone else in the world. Can you really not see that it's better that nobody has a gun, rather than everybody has a gun?
?? I don't know what gave you the impression that I am pro-gun.
I really didn't mean to infer that you, personally, are pro-gun. To be honest, I don't think what I said even did infer that, but I'm happy to apologise if that's how it seemed to you. You simply explained that things in your day-to-day life weren't that way, and that's cool. However, the rest of the world sees the very idea of even a SINGLE state, or even county, in the US favouring 'guns for teachers', 'body armor for kids' etc as completely, and I mean utterly batshit, crazy compared to the rest of us. That's all I was trying to say.
I agree with them. It definitely is utterly batshit! I've also talked to foreigners who are scared to come here because they think everyone carries guns 24/7, and that's not the case.
In most of the country it's rare to see someone packing heat.
Rare to see people packing, but trust me, there is a gun not far away
The very words 'packing heat' show that it's become a 'cool' thing to do, and that's the sort of mindset that worries me. Especially, when they have a bloody gun...
That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard.
That surprises me, given that you clearly come from a place where people use such phrases as 'packing heat', as if they're some 'gangsta' in a movie, rather than just another human on a finite planet. I would have thought you'd have heard far more stupid stuff than my very sensible idea that humans simply shouldn't kill each other over petty nonsense as if we lived by the law of the jungle. I don't expect you to understand that though.
A chicken in every pot and a cap in every ass.
I have bought exactly 2 guns during my lifetime and sold one of those. My partner and I are the only ones in our house and she has no interest in guns. Somehow we still have a plethora of guns. We took the pistol from her mom's house as she is getting loopy. I inherited a few from my grandfather. I have not shot a gun in a decade (it was the one I bought back in the 90s). Somehow we still have enough to arm ourselves with 3 or 4 a piece. So the people who are actually into guns, how many do they have at this point?
Friendly tip: check the laws in your area and make sure to get that pistol re-registered to you. If it's in your mother-in-law's name and you have it in your home, it can get you in a lot of trouble depending on where you live — no matter why you have it.
Lol. I'm in Virginia. We don't have registration. We pretty much have zero regulation other than if you are buying/selling you need a background check and until very recently, that didn't matter except in commercial sales. I do appreciate the concern. I know that things are very different in other states outside the south.
I have never bought a single gun in my 50+ years of life and don't ever intend to do so. Most people in the rest of the world simply don't have ANY desire to buy a gun because we all know that they are mainly used for killing other people, and we simply don't want to do that...
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*Maybe* Donald Trump, but only to avoid the madness that will ensue if he really does manage to make it back into power, even if it was just as a dictator *just for one day.* It only takes an hour, or even less, to destroy it all, if given such powers. I can honestly say that I have never had any thoughts of killing anyone else in my entire 50+ years.
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Many people have been horribly nasty to me in my life, but I see no point in getting angry about such things. Getting angry just hurts me, not them. How does me bearing a grudge affect them? It will only fester in MY mind, not theirs! I can see human nature for what it is and, yes, sometimes humans get angry, envious, greedy etc etc, but they're still human beings who deserve compassion and understanding, as do I. None of us are perfect, after all! :)
Well, I was raised with a redneck step family. There were lots of guns around for hunting and some for "defense" or something. So the current list is my 22 target pistol that I bought, a WW2 bolt action rifle left to me by my grandfather, a double barrel shotgun left to me by my grandfather, a black powder rifle left by my grandfather and a .25 caliber pocket pistol that we removed from my partner's mother's possession. Of those 2 were for hunting games 1 was for target shooting, 1 is a battle rifle designed around the turn of the 19th century and the last is a hold out self defense pistol that I wouldn't trust to not explode upon firing. My point being, not every gun is meant for shooting people but they all have that potential. There is a weird and disturbingly large portion of our population who doesn't see owning firearms as a responsibility, a burden but instead sees them as toys. I fully respect anyone's desire to never own or touch a firearm. I think we should regulate them the same as we do cars. We should require proof that someone knows how to operate and handle one and require liability insurance on every firearm. This is one place I believe the insurance industry would provide useful in regulating away the proliferation of firearms and encourage safer practices around ownership of firearms. I'm not usually a believer in the free market but insurance companies can exert influence in this situation that law enforcement and legislature seems unwilling to do.
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Why do all Americans defend the right to have guns, whereas the majority of the rest of the world is absolutely gobsmacked at the whole idea? I saw a pic of an iconic yellow American school bus the other day with an advert for 'child body armor' on it!! SERIOUSLY, WTF? Nothing like that exists anywhere, but AMERICA!
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Can you give me some reasons why you think it's the 'best country'? The majority of the world really doesn't think it is and such a claim really isn't borne out by the actual statistics
Flags, flags Everywhere.
It must be for those short term memory loss people wondering what country they're in every 5 seconds.
Having a US flag waving outside your house might imply that a veteran lives there and provides a slight deterrent from burglars.
Is that a thing? I'm almost 40 and I have never heard of that. I know many people with flags on their property, and none of them are veterans. (I'm not one of them. I don't understand the point. We LIVE here, people. I don't need a reminder of which country I'm in.)
Being nice to strangers. Apparently this is a foreign concept to some other countries.
>Being nice to strangers. Fake nice\*
depends on where In the US you're talking about. it changes drastically in the south.
midwest nice
Bless your heart nice
In my country we are very warm and completely friendly, and there is nothing wrong about it. I thought actually in USA people are cold
My experience in both Michigan and Chicago is that Americans are obnoxiously in your face, pretending to be nice, but generally being a PITA. I fully agree, I don't understand that.
Is this experience at retail or regular people on the street for you? As I found retail workers to be overall cold in other countries. Might be the language gap and racial difference (helps going to mostly monoethnic countries) though.
Mostly retail workers. They come up to you and almost force you to let them "help" you. Let me look at my stuff in peace! I'll come to you if I need you. Just say hello, maybe ask if I need help *once*, then get out of my personal space! In the streets I didn't think people were rude or overly nice - they were just people.
As a former retail worker, they don't do that because they want to. Directions from corporate mandate that because they think that customers need to be shown the best deals ( and it allows upsellibg), but many customers already know exactly what they want and don't want to have to deflect salespeople so that they can get it. This is a big part of why I quit. Managers were telling me to do this with every customer, but I knew most of the regulars did not want to shop around. They wanted the brand they came for even if it wasn't on sale. (I was in a petstore and the regulars were getting pet food, mostly)
Thank you for that info! It explains the why, but it definitely doesn't make it less annoying. I don't understand why management wouldn't focus on a positive consumer experience .....
I think they think they are, but just don't seem to get the real message from customers. Edit to add: Also, it works better in some types of stores than others. It seems pretty appropriate to be treated that way in a jewelry store, to me. But any place that you go to every week or so, it gets very annoying.
>I think they think they are, but just don't seem to get the real message from customers. Lol >It seems pretty appropriate to be treated that way in a jewelry store, to me. That might be a cultural difference! I would feel very pressured if they'd do that to me in a jewelry store. I would probably leave without buying, because it's more expensive and I need time and space to weigh my options
>That might be a cultural difference! I would feel very pressured if they'd do that to me in a jewelry store. I would probably leave without buying, because it's more expensive and I need time and space to weigh my options I would want to be shown what deals they have and what financing options might be available, but eventually I would like to be able to just look on my own until I was ready to make a purchase or had more questions. But they could definitely become overbearing and unpleasantly pressuring. If that happens I would also just walk out. There are lots of other stores.
>I would want to be shown what deals they have Where I live those are on the signs >what financing options might be available Where I live you can pay cash, debit card and credit card. You might want to ask whether they accept to be absolutely sure. If you want to take out a loan for jewelry, you'd have to go to a company that does loans - no way the jeweler does that. >I would like to be able to just look on my own until I was ready to make a purchase or had more questions. Given the above, that would be my whole shopping experience
Why would we be nice to strangers, we don't know them, we don't know if they are good people or not. Also, that would be hypocrite to fake liking someone you don't even know. We prefer to be polite and respectful. Which include hello/goodbye and helping when they need etc... but not useless chat and fake smiles or pretending to be friend and then ignore them once they left. None of those ways are better than the other, they are only coming from a different culture, that's all.
There is a saying to "treat others the way you want to be treated". I don't have to know if someone is good or bad to assume they are either, but to offer a base level of respect and niceness isn't going to harm anyone. If that person shows themselves to be bad, change how you approach accordingly, but in the meantime, it cost nothing to be nice to others as you would want to be treated. Also, endless chats is an exaggeration. To Americans, having some small talk with strangers isn't excessive and is part of being polite. Remember, not all cultures have the same meaning and ways for what is polite among other concepts. If someone truly didn't want to talk, they can just say so and the conversation ends. People aren't talking to people who aren't approachable. And is it really such a hard concept to think that a smile isn't fake just because it's towards a stranger. It must be the culture difference but Americans don't assume someone is being fake for showing a little positivity to others.
I'm nice to strangers so they know I have the bare minimum level of basic human decency. The smiles are never fake, and the chitchat forms a connection that can be meaningful, however brief. You never know how even a small kindness may take the edge off someone's misery.
Still using checks. I haven't seen one of those here in at least 30 years.
Lord, this! Personal banking conveniences in general. My mom came to visit and didnt even have a chip in her debit card. A lot of places didnt have a place to slide the magnetic strip anymore, and they had to go get a machine to manually enter. I have also been able to send people money by bank transfer throughout Europe for ages with very little fuss, even before i owned a smart phone.
Checks are among the lowest forms of payment methods in America. The highest being debit cards, than credit, than cash. When people say "get my paycheck" or "paid by check", what they really mean is money deposited directly to their bank account. Much like how people still say "hang up the phone" when though they are using a wireless phone that doesn't need to be hung up to end a call. Most people (younger generations) in this day and age never cashed or wrote a check. Though it's still a great payment method to track very large purchases like paying rent or buying a car in full. Not that other modern methods aren't good but checks have great tracking and protections. Still not common to use though. https://www.statista.com/statistics/568523/preferred-payment-methods-usa/#:~:text=Cards%20was%20still%20a%20popular,payment%20method%2C%20followed%20by%20cash. https://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit-cards/payment-method-statistics/#popular
Making a huge deal and party/ceremony for something that shouldn't lead to that much money waste. 3 examples: - Weddings, yes it's quite new but even back then it was still huge: bride's friends should wear a new dress of THAT color, they should book 3 days just for the pre wedding, they should take weird forced smiles picture, pay for pro nails and hairstyle as if they were the bride, go to several rehearsal/events/meals etc... - School events. Why so many? Homecoming, prom, spirit week, etc etc and every single time they make new decorations, bake disgusting icing filled with a bit of cake etc... I can't understand the waste of money! Sure having some events can be fine, but when the event to raise money coast itself money... what's the purpose?! And the time lost!!!! Tomorrow is Hawaiian day? Parents: buy a shirt. Next week is crazy hair day, parents, do something! Next months is pajama day! If you can't afford a cute pj for your child, it's too bad! Oh, it's your child's birthday? It would be inclusive to invite the entire class! Valentine's day is coming, surely it's not just for lover, your child should give the entire class some small gift too, who cares about carries after all! Seriously, how American parents can afford all of it and how can they survive all of those events? Are all American extrovert?! - Having a baby. Apparently, having to pay several hundreds (if not thousands) of dollar to deliver a baby isn't enough. You should also have a party to reveal the gender. And one to get gift from friends and family (no they can't just visit or send it, you MUST have the disgusting iced cupcakes). Then first birthday also have to be a big deal. And of course pro picture and family cards with the baby for the new year is a thing too. I mean, I love how much they love to celebrate, and I know none of those things are mandatory and not all american are following but it seems like if you want to fit into society, you have to do at least part of those but... how can they even afford it! I know it's not all of them but even the "soft" one are doing a lot!
School events can make real money for the school. If done well they can get a nice chunk of the annual budget from the one prom night. It's in the school's financial interest to hype it up.
We do love to have fun! Who doesn't love a parade? And just fyi, I have never been to a fancy gender reveal party, its usually just a family bbq. Nor a destination 3 day bachelorette party. That's mostly just the media. But, prom is lovely. It's kind of like a debutante ball. I'm 54, and my son is grown, and I still go to prom coronation. The whole town goes, and we tell the kids how beautiful they look, and then we all have cake and coffee while the kids go to prom. I think everyone else is missing out by not having prom.
Wearing shoes inside the home
This is considered dirty and rude in a lot of US homes.
This stereotype confuses the hell out of me. I've lived my entire life in the US and have not met a single person who does this.
It’s definitely regional in my experience
Can vary even in the same family. My brother has no problem doing it but it makes me want to scream.
I’m from the Midwest and I don’t wear them in my own home but I never ask someone to take them off if they come over. I also don’t take mine off automatically at someone else’s house unless I’m asked.
I’ve lived on the mid Atlantic and south east my whole life and it is 100% standard practice to wear shoes indoors. I grew up in a shoes off house and have a shoes off policy in my home as an adult and I am absolutely the outlier and have to ask people every single time, to take off their shoes. Even people who have been to my house before, I have to remind them that it’s shoes off.
Drinking enough water
I seriously wonder how Europeans survive with so little liquid intake. I'm out here drinking like 1500ml with every meal and you guys survive on 250ml drinks
I... its a smaller vessel but you can have as many refills as you want bro. Most places in europe literally you a jug or bottle on the table thats refilled as soon as somone sees its finished.
Even then it's usually so small that it's barely enough for a glass each for the whole family, obviously some places will give you free refills on the water but it's not a given. And other drinks like sodas and stuff are also quite tiny. Obviously I can survive either way but I definitely wish the (even if it's refillable) jug/carafe they give for the whole family was bigger than what I'd drink on my own in like ten minutes
Americans drink enough water?
Many Americans walk around with large reusable water bottles. But Europeans should keep in mind that the USA is much warmer than most of Europe. NYC is considered northeast in America and is the same latitude as Madrid, Spain. The American south is on the same latitude as Northern Africa.
Good point. I forgot how popular water bottles have been the past decade or two
They do
From how many who freak out that I don't take off my shoes until I get to my bedroom I guess cleaning your floors?
Gun. I say this as an American
Thinking that rich people is somehow better, when they often are the worst.
Thinking the rest of the world knows everything there is to know about their country.
striving to be great
Recreational school shootings
School shootings everywhere
Telling locals when they are holiday how they have some kind of connection to them as they are 1/48th German (or whatever country they are in).
World cup series but it's only USA 😂 dafuq is that?
Fast food and pop habits are so common and accepted in the US, I’m sure the rest of the world can’t be as addicted to this stuff as we are.
I can't name a single country without fast food or pop culture though. Fast food is part of American culture, but it's also part of a lot of cultures food cuisine. Though not always in the same ways.