Restaurant Culture Shock by Ryan Sklar

As someone who has worked in the restaurant industry for nearly four years, I would consider myself to be fairly knowledgeable about this particular subject. For this reason, I was really astonished upon my arrival in Seville once I observed the cultural differences between the US and Spain within restaurants and cafes. First, tipping is a practice that is essentially nonexistent here, and when people do tip, it is hardly ever more than spare change. Meanwhile in the US, a server’s wage is almost entirely dependent on their tips since they are paid an hourly below the federal minimum wage. Consequently, servers in the United States have a very volatile income, opposed to those in Spain who have a stable salary. Next, Spanish waiters seem to have a lot more control when it comes to the employee-consumer dynamic. They take great pride in their occupation and seem to be treated with respect. On the other hand, servers in the US seem to be at the mercy of their customers, often being talked down to and treated very poorly. I believe this particular difference can be attributed to the fact the US culture has a more individualistic mindset than that of Spain. While diners in the US feel they have some control over their server since they decide their tip, diners in Spain don’t possess this form of power. Lastly, the pace and atmosphere within restaurants is considerably different between the two countries. As a result of the slower pace of life, it is not abnormal for guests to spend hours at a restaurant in Spain, and you would certainly never see a server rushing guests. In the US, restaurants strive to serve as many guests as quickly as possible in order to maximize profits, resulting in a fast-paced and often chaotic environment. Undoubtedly, restaurants in Spain and the US operate in quite distinct ways. Therefore as a server myself, when I go out to eat in Seville I have to remember to take a breath and relax while enjoying the surprisingly slow-paced atmosphere that seems so foreign to me. No matter how hard I try though, I still can't seem to dismiss the idea that I am always obliged to leave a tip, and continuously find myself leaving a few euros when I dine out, a server’s dilemma I suppose.