Il Conto, Per Favore

Now that I have been here for a couple weeks, I am beginning to notice some of the less obvious cultural differences between Italy and the United States. One of these is the difference in customer service. In the U.S. when you go to a restaurant, the waiter visits your table every few minutes to see if you need ketchup, to make sure you have enough refills, and just generally to make sure you are enjoying your meal. Although they would never say this to a customer, part of the reason behind this is to herd as many people through the restaurant as they can so they make as much money as possible. In Italy, servers have a completely different attitude and approach. When you purchase anything, even a shot of 1 euro espresso, you have also purchased your table, and may stay there as long as you like. There have been many times where I’ve spent hours sitting at a café for the price of a cappuccino and was never disturbed, not even to clear my cup. It is a pleasantly refreshing way to spend an afternoon.

A few nights ago, Meredith H., Meredith C., Patsy and I went to a new restaurant to get pizza. Our waitress took our order and brought us our food, but left us on our own after that. We might have sat there all evening if we had not eventually waved her down and asked for the bill: “Il conto, per favore.” On Sunday there was another incident I found rather humorous. Meredith H. and I were desperately in need of a non-pasta/pizza meal and headed to a nearby kebab restaurant. When we approached the entrance, the two men who worked there were sitting outside enjoying a cigarette. We exchanged buonaseras and walked through the door, expecting them to follow. To our surprise, they did not budge, but merely turned their heads and asked if we minded waiting while they finished their smoke. After five or ten minutes, they got up and proceeded to make our sandwiches. Although we were a little taken aback by this at first, we honestly did mind waiting, but enjoyed talking to them.

These are just two examples of the ways people in Italy tend to be more relaxed than in the United States, where we always seem to be rushing from one thing to another. Since I’ve been here, I have felt less stressed and more at ease, even with a full course load, travel plans, and countless other things to attend to. I hope in the future—even when I finish my studies here and return home—I will carry this attitude with me, and always make time to appreciate and enjoy life.