http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/19/TR8TRGM5T.DTL

Quote :

"In a new poll, nearly two-thirds of American travelers said we're perceived more negatively in other countries than we were five years ago. But another poll commissioned by the same organization found a big surprise: In a survey of 1,500 European hotel managers, Americans were ranked second, behind the Japanese, as the world's best tourists. .. In the poll, conducted in April by the online travel site Expedia's German branch, Americans were seen as the most likely to try to speak a foreign language and the most interested in sampling local food. We came in third, behind the Japanese and British, as the "most polite" tourists, and third, behind the Japanese and Germans, as "best behaved." And - we're sure this has nothing to do with how the hotel managers view us - Americans were ranked far and away as the world's most generous tippers and biggest spenders. On the other hand, Americans were seen, by an overwhelming margin, as the shabbiest dressers, the most likely to complain and the second noisiest. Who's louder? Only the Italians ... And, finally, the overall award for "worst tourists in the world" goes to the French, with the Indians and Chinese taking home the silver and bronze, respectively. "

Nothing really surprising except I didn't think Americans would be ranked so high on politeness given that we are so loud and likely to complain. It is a poll of just hotel managers, though.

Worst is not at all surprising. Cheapskates + Racists FTL

[Edited on August 20, 2007 at 12:51 AM. Reason : 465]

8/20/2007 12:50:36 AM

lets see...

if i were a hotel manager, what group of people as a whole would i want to pay compliments to to entice to come and visit?

poor indians and chinese? or rich americans and japanese?

meh.



[Edited on August 20, 2007 at 2:02 AM. Reason : ]

8/20/2007 2:01:13 AM

Those poor French and British.

8/20/2007 2:14:59 AM

cynicism

BOOM!

tough actin' tinactin

8/20/2007 2:15:30 AM

The Brits are among the most polite and americans rank ahead of the Spanish with regard to noise??? They obviously polled managers from hotels in a much higher price bracket than I am used to staying in.

8/20/2007 4:20:02 AM

Quote :

"Most interested in sampling local food"

We are a nation of fatties I’m not surprised.

Quote :

"Americans were ranked far and away as the world's most generous tippers and biggest spenders"

We spend more than we have to impress people we don’t know or like. Hotel managers care about money, so of course there going to like American’s.

[Edited on August 20, 2007 at 4:33 AM. Reason : .]

8/20/2007 4:31:36 AM

Quote :

"Americans were ranked far and away as the world's most generous tippers and biggest spenders .... We spend more than we have to impress people we don’t know or like. "

not necessarily. a lot of Americans tip well in Europe because they don't realize that waiters actually get paid there, unlike in the US. In Germany, for example, going out to lunch or having a small meal, it is normal just to round up your bill to the next Euro as a tip, and a dinner a tip if 10% usually more than sufficient. Americans who are used to regularly tipping 15-20% feel like assholes if they don't leave money on the table for waiters.

8/20/2007 7:25:36 AM

is this why europeans fuckin suck at tipping

8/20/2007 9:01:01 AM

yes, it is. they don't have to do it over there. If they don't read up on American customs before they get here, they probably don't realize our servers generally make <$2.50/hr and they live off of tips.

this of course brings up all sorts of other dining and service etiquette issues, like how the servers treat you here vs. there, how you're expected to pay, etc.

i wrote about some of the differences in dining out in Germany vs. US after I got to Germany a couple years ago
http://joelion.com/archives/18
here's a paragraph I wrote about paying for your bill

Quote :

"Speaking of the bill, though, they are much easier to pay. First, all the prices on the menu include tax (a 16.5% tax, mind you), and don’t have to calculate tips, because the servers are actually paid a regular wage (imagine that!!). So it is very easy to calculate your total yourself by just adding the menu prices. Even though tips aren’t neccessarily required, people generally just round up, so if your meal is 8.50€, you just tell the server “neun”, and she’ll give back change for 9€. Also, you generally always pay in cash (actually, almost everything is cash only, or preferred cash), and the server will make change immediately. Every single server at every place I’ve been to carrys a black leather money purse they make change from at the table. And expect to get a lot of coins too, because they go up to 1€ and 2€ denominations, so anything under 10€ you’ll probably get in change. And if you want to pay separately? Hey - no problem. The servers will do the math in their head!! Try asking that the next time you’re at Ruby Tuesdays and you want to split your Super Sampler Platter between 5 people. But seriously, most of the time you won’t even get a paper bill or receipt. You just tell the server you’re ready to pay, and she’ll add up everything you got and tell you the total on the spot."

[Edited on August 20, 2007 at 9:34 AM. Reason : .]

8/20/2007 9:33:22 AM

Quote :

"a lot of Americans tip well in Europe because they don't realize that waiters actually get paid there"

hands down, one of my favorite things about Europe

8/20/2007 9:53:02 AM

^ there are advantages and disadvantages to that, both for servers and customers.

For servers - i think good servers, especially at nice restaurants in the US end up getting more in the end because of good tips. but if you have a slow night or bad customers or something, then you're screwed.

For customers - believe it or not, as much as you might think servers in the US suck a lot of the time, service is actually better in the US than most of Europe. At least it's generally friendlier and more attentive to the customers. That's not to say there aren't a lot of shitty servers that don't deserve your tip, but generally, servers here realize their pay is dependent on how well they treat you. In Europe, they know they'll get paid either way, so they don't go out of their way to be overly friendly (which might be a positive, actually, if you don't go for false-friendliness). But to their credit, especially in France or Italy, the servers are fast, once you get their attention. You have to flag them down for everything you want, but once you ask for something, it comes out very quickly.

8/20/2007 10:34:44 AM

I was once stopped by a waiter in Cannes when I attempted to leave a tip. He told me to keep it.

He said that in France they were paid a salary and it was offensive to leave money on the table for them like they are some poor people who need help.


I wish it was like that here. I hate tipping.

8/20/2007 12:20:52 PM

I have yet to be offended at someone offering me money.

8/20/2007 12:41:49 PM

[insert black people - tipping comment]

8/20/2007 5:09:12 PM

Quote :

"lets see... if i were a hotel manager, what group of people as a whole would i want to pay compliments to to entice to come and visit? poor indians and chinese? or rich americans and japanese? meh. "

India and China might have a lot of poor people..but the people from these countries who are international tourists are generally quiet rich and they don't take shit...they are generally very aggressive.

8/20/2007 8:18:51 PM

aha "shabbiest dressers"

guess that buttweiser t-shirt isn't playing well in paris

8/20/2007 8:22:16 PM

We spent all our money on cable TV and spinnerrrrz.

[Edited on August 20, 2007 at 8:32 PM. Reason : Ghetto culture FTL.]

8/20/2007 8:32:23 PM

Do servers in the U.K. also make a regular wage?

8/22/2007 10:23:21 AM

chinese people are agressive period

8/22/2007 3:39:13 PM

Quote :

"We spend more than we have to impress people we don’t know or like. Hotel managers care about money, so of course there going to like American’s."

american's what?

[Edited on August 22, 2007 at 3:51 PM. Reason : AMERICANS]

8/22/2007 3:51:38 PM

Quote :

"american's what?"

money, obviously

8/22/2007 3:57:02 PM

We're ranked as the worst dressed behind the Japanese???????????????
Obviously these people have not seen the Japanese tourists in Hawaii.

8/22/2007 9:32:16 PM

Quote :

"money, obviously"

You missed the point. She is the local punctuationnazi.

8/22/2007 11:29:55 PM

Quote :

"Do servers in the U.K. also make a regular wage?"

yes, yes they do

8/23/2007 12:31:23 AM

^^^Japanese are all about buying baller, designer clothes. Americans are shorts and tshirts. We need to at least wear shirts with buttons in order to move up to the next level.

8/23/2007 12:37:26 AM

^^^oooh my first title!

i feel so special.

8/23/2007 9:23:11 AM