The waiter doesn’t check up on you, by Mikayla Roybal

There are many differences when it comes to American culture and the culture in Spain. One that really stuck out to me is the customer service provided at restaurants by the waiters. In America, the waiter is consistently asking if you need anything and making sure that you’re okay. When you finish your meal they bring you the check and you pay whenever you please. Here in Spain, this isn’t the case. When you get to the restaurant the waiter will take down your order and bring you your food, the same as in America. The difference is that the waiter doesn’t check up on you unless you call him over. The same goes for the check, they won’t bring you the check until you call them over and ask for it. This can easily turn a 45-minute meal into a two-hour meal. I believe there are many reasons for this cultural difference. One is the fact that waiters in Spain don’t get tipped, and they don’t rely on tips as income. This could cause them to not feel the need to constantly make sure the customers are content. Another reason could be how much Spaniards value spending time with their loved ones. They often get together with their loved ones over food. The servers may value this and they don’t want to intrude or be rude. They want the customers to be able to visit freely without any interruptions. The differences in the service at restaurants definitely took some getting used to, but I appreciate some aspects of it