Is there no café culture in the U.S?

[coprax]

The cafe server, probably makes under 3 bucks an hour. This is legal. You sat there for over 2 hours? Unless your tip was rather large, you may have cost that server money after taxes, since they want you to get your stuff, consume, bail, 30ish minutes. That's about 2 "orders" worth tips. An hour. So yes, the staff there was nervous. Their jobs may have been on the line.

Excuse me, but is it the customers fault, that the employer pays shitty wages?
A tip should be an added bonus and not a substitute for a salary.

maybe don't work at a place that pays $3/h then?

[Poopymonster]

Excuse me, but is it the customers fault, that the employer pays shitty wages?
A tip should be an added bonus and not a substitute for a salary.

maybe don't work at a place that pays $3/h then?

It's not the customers fault that the economy in the US does this shit. I'm all for a living wage for everyone. If I work 40 hours a week, I should be able to provide for myself a semi comfy lifestyle at a minimum, beyond renting a room from a friend. I was explaining why the staff was nervous, having worked in restaurants in my younger years, and seen damn good servers let go because "they just weren't working out" because their lack of tips were "An issue".

You'll notice, and didn't quote, the start "Welcome to the US, where in 'Murrica..." I agree, tips should be a bonus, not a substitute. But stateside that's how it is.

[lockedout]

You can sit in Starbucks in NYC all day no one cares, unless you're a homeless person who isn't a patron.

[Serpha]

From what I've seen it's mostly mothers after school run and lonely wankers with Apple laptops.

[Raeph]

There is, to a degree, a café culture near where I live (northwest Oklahoma, near the panhandle) though it is near exclusively retired men who will get to the hometown café, daylight donuts, McDonalds and such and drink coffee and talk to other similar men from between 5-9am usually. I have an uncle in his late 60s that does this religiously 5-6 days a week.

Everyone else falls into either two categories: "get in and get out because I have places to be" or they are working on the 45-50 hour workweek. Weekends are a mixed bag but any café will only 3-5 guys there enjoying their company and never later than 9am.

[Xandrigity]

Like waiting tables and getting paid directly by the customer instead of your boss?

One small step away from having to pay the owner for the opportunity to earn a tip in his shop, wouldn't you say?

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Haha, what?

Please name the European countries in which this is normal. For every one you name I'll match you two that doesn't. This is so far from the norm I'd say it doesn't happen, but you never know about the weird ones like Greece.

Rome and Paris. Ive been to both. I know a lot more about Italy than Paris, my husband was born in Sardinia I’ve been there many times. Work week for my husband was 6 days a week when he lived there, his brother too, I just asked him. They take a two hour lunch and most businesses shut down for 2 hour lunch, some people even go home and take a nap. Seemed like long lunches in Paris as well, although my visit was shorter.

My husbands employer is in India, he works remotely from the US, they also work saturdays, 6 day week. So that isn’t uncommon.

[Amirila]

Rome and Paris. Ive been to both. I know a lot more about Italy than Paris, my husband was born in Sardinia I’ve been there many times. Work week for my husband was 6 days a week when he lived there, his brother too, I just asked him. They take a two hour lunch and most businesses shut down for 2 hour lunch, some people even go home and take a nap. Seemed like long lunches in Paris as well, although my visit was shorter.

My husbands employer is in India, he works remotely from the US, they also work saturdays, 6 day week. So that isn’t uncommon.

Spain take siestas and shut down because it's too hot, sure it's not the same? And since when is India in Europe

[Xandrigity]

Spain take siestas and shut down because it's too hot, sure it's not the same? And since when is India in Europe

It’s not, just saying working Saturday is not unusual no matter where it is.

[Queen of Hamsters]

Nope. None. Zero. Americans never congregate and hang out in public places.

/s

Of course there is, it's probably just dependant on where you are, the turnover in customers and so on. We have restaurants and cafés here in Europe as well where you'll be expected to make way for other customers asap during busy hours unless you remain a paying customer throughout your stay.

[Bathory]

Just got home from a two week trip to New York. Awesome place, with so much to see that I would really need another 2 weeks to see it all.

Anyways. I come from Europe where we have a strong café culture. Sitting at a café, either with friends or alone, for a few hours is not all that uncommon here, sipping away on your coffee while reading the newspaper, a book or whatever.

What I noticed in the six places I visited in NYC was that after a while, the staff seemed agitated, or anxious, that I was still there after two hours. They didn't say anything, but you could tell that when I ordered my second coffee, about 1½ hour in, that they kind of expected me to leave soon or something and were getting annoyed and not as service-happy as in the beginning.

It felt more like they expected you to buy whatever you wanted, and then drink up and leave ASAP, while in my country a café can very much be seen as a home away from home and where you make friends with the staff.

I'm not here to bash on American culture. The place was absolutely amazing other than that. I just want to know if I happened to come across a culture crash or something.

I just had this conversation with my brother after getting back from Spain. It's too bad.

[callipygoustp]

In the San Francisco bay area there is a bit of a café culture. There are plenty of weekend mornings on which I've gone to a café for breakfast (or just coffee) and hung out for hours chatting with friends, reading, or, when I'm lucky, playing a couple games of chess/cards(preferrably cribbage or hearts)/othello.

[plantation]

In my college town you can sit in starbucks literally all day and no one will say a word to you.

[R7plus]

Gaming Café here in the Philippines are quite active specially in playing MOBA games like DOTA 2 and League of Legends. Its just so hard to find a Café which actually cater STEAM games like PUBG, Black Desert and/or similar games. HEHEHE!

[Zeta333]

Just got home from a two week trip to New York. Awesome place, with so much to see that I would really need another 2 weeks to see it all.

Anyways. I come from Europe where we have a strong café culture. Sitting at a café, either with friends or alone, for a few hours is not all that uncommon here, sipping away on your coffee while reading the newspaper, a book or whatever.

What I noticed in the six places I visited in NYC was that after a while, the staff seemed agitated, or anxious, that I was still there after two hours. They didn't say anything, but you could tell that when I ordered my second coffee, about 1½ hour in, that they kind of expected me to leave soon or something and were getting annoyed and not as service-happy as in the beginning.

It felt more like they expected you to buy whatever you wanted, and then drink up and leave ASAP, while in my country a café can very much be seen as a home away from home and where you make friends with the staff.

I'm not here to bash on American culture. The place was absolutely amazing other than that. I just want to know if I happened to come across a culture crash or something.

thats a west coast hipster thing, Not very big in the mid west or east coast.

[Slant]

Who the fuck would want to spend 2 hours in a cafe

Anyone with a social life, really.

[Tennis]

Everytime i walk by r&r across from the steel bridge, there are always tated up hipsters in there. Blehhhh. Delicious donuts is better anyway ;3

What about Panera Bread? I'm a big fan of their Chai Lattes and soups.

[pateuvasiliu]

Who the fuck would want to spend 2 hours in a cafe

I know a few fancy places with good music and a cozy atmosphere where I could see myself reading for an hour or two during a snowy winter day.

Pretty good place for dates, too.

[oxymoronic]

Welcome to the US, where in 'murrica...

The cafe server, probably makes under 3 bucks an hour. This is legal. You sat there for over 2 hours? Unless your tip was rather large, you may have cost that server money after taxes, since they want you to get your stuff, consume, bail, 30ish minutes. That's about 2 "orders" worth tips. An hour. So yes, the staff there was nervous. Their jobs may have been on the line.

If a server doesn't get enough tips to make minimum wage, their employer has to make up the difference. Do that too often, you get fired as a server since you are costing the boss money. Regardless of why they didn't get enough in tips. Dickholes "I dun tip on principil", low tippers, or someone camped at their table for hours. No real reason needs to be given. So the staff wanting people in/out quickly is to keep their tips up, which doesn't cost their employer money, so they can keep their jobs.

Stupid? Yes. Legal? Yes. Welcome to the US.

did you not read the thread before you posted? boy do you look dumb when i already dispelled that stupid notion.

[Xargoth6634]

nicer towns in NJ

This is a thing that exists?

[endersblade]

"Cafe" to me means something like Denny's or Shari's. I'm pretty sure that's not what you mean.