To tip or not to tip? That's the question. and other Amsterdam, Netherlands Local Custom Tips

Madame Tussauds, Dam Square

During our attempts at learning as much as we could about Amsterdam and its citizens in a short time prior to our trip, we came across a lot of other people's experiences with whether or not it's customary to tip at restaurants (and in general for service). The consensus from what I read on the Internet was that tipping is usually not done, but rather the amount paid at a restaurant would often be rounded up to the nearest whole Euro amount as a tip. Our answer is...we're still not sure! We tipped pretty much as we would back home, and at the same rates, including for restaurant service, our hotel porter, and baggage assistance for hotel shuttle drivers.

As far as restaurants go, I thought I'd be crafty and watch to see if others seemed to leave a tip on their table when leaving, and usually they seemed to not do so. At one small establishment, I heard one of the male staff tell our female waitress that "he left you a tip!" as we were leaving. Interesting.

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Local Customs: The Dutch are so rude - NOT!

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Updated by jss1018

on Jan 15, 2005

Coster Diamonds, across from the

Rijksmuseum

I had a preconceived idea of Dutch people being possibly a bit on the rude side when dealing with folks, since I had read that more than a little in various travelers' opinions while doing Internet research. Neither my wife nor myself found this to be the case, however there was a certain directness that at times felt different from average experiences with people in the U.S. at establishments like restaurants, public facilities, etc. Perhaps that's where some of those feelings others seemed to have come from. To me, one particular traveler's comments on a Website travel page described it perfectly, saying that the Dutch WERE very direct and to-the-point when dealing with people, without the fake and often over-friendliness of some U.S. folks in service businesses and other jobs dealing with the public.

Our first real encounter with a Dutch person was the fellow selling airport shuttle tickets just outside Schiphol Airport, and he was very friendly and courteous. We had a great conversation and he made two stressed-out travelers instantly relaxed. This continued with the guy that drove our shuttle, a very nice young man. All the staff we dealt with at the Krasnapolsky hotel were professionalism personified. Everyone we encountered anywhere we went seemed very nice people.

One funny anecdote though, and it got me thinking about the rude-people thing at the time, was during our first tram ride. Having been in Amsterdam only one night, still trying to get back to feeling normal after the trip there and having some apprehension at mastering the tram routes, we hopped on one at Dam Square heading for the Rijksmuseum. After making the several tram stops along the way, our driver quite suddenly announced to the passengers in English and a little on the loud side, "I will tell you this one time, and ONLY one time, the next stop is for the Rijksmuseum. I will not tell you this again!" You had to be there, it was hilarious. Perhaps one too many tourists had asked him that day which stop it was!

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Eating and Drinking: Restaurant service and food

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Written by jss1018

on Jan 2, 2005

Floating restaurant, view from a

canal boat

Please keep in mind that this and any of our other tips reflect our particular experiences with only the one visit that was for a 7-day period. Others may, of course, have a different perspective.

My wife and I both felt the same way about service in most of the restaurants we ate at, whether a small, simple place or larger, fancier one. We definitely felt a noticeable difference in how attentive a waiter or waitress was, being used to how quickly someone will usually appear at your table in U.S. eateries and also how often he or she might return to ask if you need anything else. I'm not saying it as a bad difference, just different.

We only went to one restaurant, that I won't name here, that we ended up not liking due to the overall feel or vibe. Although this particular one was nice enough as far as appearance, and the food was good, I left with the feeling that no one cared whether we were a customer or not. No tip for them!
Interesting that for some reason I really hesitated before going in, although I can't say what caused that feeling, and I probably should have trusted that instinct.

We found, in general, that you might experience a slightly longer wait before someone comes to your table to take your order than what we were used to back home, but maybe that's the U.S. rush-rush mentality at work. We adjusted. Also found that while service was usually fine, it was more often not a case of a waiter or waitress re-appearing at our table a time or two during a meal to ask if we needed anything more. We learned to figure out what we wanted to eat, and everything we wanted to eat, before ordering, assuming we might not see our server again until paying the bill (unless calling someone over, of course).

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Eating and Drinking: Restaurants, and where's the check???

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Written by jss1018

on Jan 2, 2005

Boats moored near the Maritime

Museum

Another thing we were accustomed to back home that seemed a little different here was that typically we did not have a waiter or waitress ask if we wanted a refill on a cup of coffee or glass of tea, whereas you often will in the U.S. Also, at more than one nicer restaurant we discovered that if you order something as your main dish, take lasagna for example at an Italian restaurant, that's what you got and all you got. No salad, bread, or side dish included. When asked a time or two if we wanted bread while a person was taking our order, we got it when replying yes but there was an extra charge for it as a separate menu item. Got to be a running joke for my bread-deprived wife, LOL.

I'm not saying that any of this is bad, mind you, just different for us and a bit of an adjustment. Overall, we loved every place we went except the one and had great meals every day. I'm only listing a few of the ones we visited on my Restaurant Tips page, since I feel that this is probably the most subjective of experiences you can have, and what one person finds wonderful another will not like at all. It's also one of the easier topics to find info on from a guidebook, etc.

As to getting your bill after a meal, we at first would sit a little longer than we normally would back home waiting for our check to be brought to the table after eating, but learned to just ask for it when ready. This also seemed to apply to different types and price levels of restaurants. My wife mentioned that she had read somewhere that it was deemed rude by Dutch standards to rush a check to a person's table just as soon as you finish eating, which is fairly common in U.S. establishments, perhaps being viewed as wanting to get that customer out to make room for another. Don't know if this is actually the case, but it seemed to make sense.

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Local Customs: Out and about in public

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Written by jss1018

on Jan 2, 2005

Unusual to see billboards in the

main city areas

One of our goals when planning our trip was to try to "fit in" as much as possible, both in demeanor and dress. The "dress" part I think we accomplished pretty well, having decided before going that we would make it a casual-dress stay, and packing accordingly and choosing to avoid fancy events and restaurants. On a future trip I would probably choose to do a more upscale thing or two while there.

Being there during the early Winter made upper-body clothing a bit inconsequential as far as appearance when outside walking around, since we were covered by mid-length coats anyway. For pants, we wore jeans most days due to their warmth and comfort, and probably 60% of others were also.

I personally seemed to perceive less numbers of what I would guess as being U.S. tourists, but of course you can't tell that from just looking at someone (sometimes, LOL), but basing it more on mannerisms, whether someone appeared to be wandering and looking or purposefully heading for a destination, dress, and snippets of overheard conversations. Perhaps due to it being Christmas week. We did hear a lot of German and British-accented English being spoken, a little Italian and French here and there, some middle-Eastern languages, some Asian, and more Dutch than I expected from a lot of folks who didn't look Dutch.

As to the "fitting in" aspect, I viewed traveling to another country as my being a guest in that country, and if nothing else a form of courtesy to "do as the Dutch", so to speak.

Overall, we saw and heard a lot of different cultures represented while in Amsterdam, and I would imagine this is even more the case during the main tourist season of Spring through Fall. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely and feeling quite at home, a big reason why we picked this place to begin with! My wife and I agreed that we both adjusted to being in a different World, quite literally, much faster than we would have expected, and to me that's a tribute to Amsterdam and the Dutch people in general.

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Local Customs: Cash or credit?

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Written by jss1018

on Jan 2, 2005

The Ancient Mariner