"Chris" wrote in message
...

"C Kingsbury" wrote in message
ink.net...

So long as they tip 15% in bars and restaraunts they will be quite
welcome.

providing those working in the bars and restaurants earn it.


When I worked for a European company I frequently went out for meals with
senior managers visitng from Germany, the UK, etc. We'd spend $385 on dinner
at a steakhouse where you had a waiter, a busboy, and a sommelier serving
the table and they'd sign the credit card slip for $400. At a Chili's-type
place the waitress would be lucky if she got more than change for a dollar.
After the second or third time I gave up trying to explain "American
customs" to them, after all, they were my bosses. The last time we went to
the Palm I thought the waiters were going to jump us on our way out they
were so mad. It was a sign of things to come as the US office failed in
large part because these guys refused to understand that the American market
did not function the same as the European one and they needed a different
strategy.

FWIW I have seen my share of Americans making fools of themselves in other
cultures in both personal and business settings. Perhaps the most humorous
example being a visit to the bullfights in Barcelona. There were four or
five guys in front of us, very obviously American, and every time the
matador would land a killing shot with his sword, they would jump up and
yell, "Touchdown!"

-cwk.