Your Guide for Dining out in Spain Presents: Customer Service in Spanish Restaurants
The Scenario…
My family and I have been sitting at our table for ten minutes now, trying to catch our waiter’s eye and order something to drink. Meanwhile, he darts around the dining room, seeming to ignore our every attempt to get his attention. Finally, he arrives. “Ready?” he asks, “What do you want?” We order our drinks, but before being able to request dinner menus he disappears in a flash.
A few minutes later our conversation is interrupted by “thump, thud, thump!” Five beers are slammed down on the table, dripping condensation, and the waiter has again disappeared. Is he angry with us? Eventually, he returns and we are able to order both food and another drink. Yet when the food comes (plate by plate) we’re missing forks and one of us has to get up and grab them or we risk eating a cold steak.
At the end of the meal the waiter clears about half of the table and we spend another half of an hour trying to obtain, revise, and, finally, pay our check. In the end we leave, frustrated, and leave only a 10% tip to let the waiter know we were unhappy.
- Waiting for the Cheque...
The above situation is my overly dramatic (though not at all improbable) version of what many tourists experience when dining out in Spain. Customer service in Spain often seems lacking when compared to the standards we have set in the US. “The customer is always right” isn’t quite the motto here. Let’s address this issue with a few common questions I’ve heard about the service here in Spain.
Why are the waiters so rude?
They aren’t. They are busy, overworked, and underpaid. They can’t make conversation when they have to serve a dining room of 15 tables alone, so they work quickly without stopping to chat. The also do not work for tips (explained below) and therefore have much less incentive to suck up to patrons.
- The Happy Waitress doesn't exist in Spain...
Why didn’t my check come at the end of the meal?
Unlike in the US where waiters are trained to drop the check immediately (to make it convenient for the customer to pay when they are ready) in Spain you must ask for your check. Here, it would be considered rude to bring the bill before being asked. People often continue talking well after they finish eating and only ask for the check when ready to pay and leave.
How much should I tip my waiter?
When dining out tipping is almost never necessary, and usually not even expected. The waiters work for a monthly salary (of about 1,000 € for full time) and do not depend on tips like the waiters do in the US. However, if you go to a restaurant where you’ve made a reservation, a 5% tip would be considered a nice gesture. In all other cases you can just round your bill up to the next euro when feeling generous. It may seem strange to leave only 10 or 20 cents, but Spaniards do it all the time. Of course, as someone who spent 7 years as a waitress, I’d say that leaving a tip is never a bad idea, especially in Spain where the waiters work long hours for very little pay.
- I'll leave 4,00€ (twenty cent tip)
Suggestions for Dining out in Spain:
Some of the best eateries in Spain don’t take reservations. Show up early to get a table, or be prepared to wait. Some may put your name on a list while others leave it to patrons to sort out who came first. Key phrase: Perdona, quién es la última? (Excuse me, who is the last in line?)
- A Very Crowded Bar
Don’t be afraid to sit down at a dirty table. This may be rude and even unthinkable in the US but it’s fairly common here. Claim your spot and then wait awhile until the waiter has a chance to come clean off the table. Never rush him over, however!
- Grab that table while you can!
Don’t expect English. Many menus are not even translated, those that are still prove difficult to make sense of, and most waiters do not speak very good English. Do your research beforehand. I’ll never forget going to a nice restaurant when studying abroad, desperately craving a steak, but thinking they didn’t have any after seeing the menu. I ordered something else and then watched as the entire table next to ours received big juicy steaks. That night I learned the words solomillo and ternera!
- Please check out the translation for "Callos" (TMI?)
Be patient. Dining out here is a longer experience. Enjoy it. You’re not in the US for a reason— embrace the Spanish culture. And enjoy the delicious food!
- Pulpo a la Gallega: A Reason to "Aguantar"
Cristina
Hi! I'm a Spaniard and lived in Nicragua for one year. In the bars and restaurants there where foreingners and rich Nicas used to go (you know there're hugh differences there...) the waiters used to ask you every five minutes if everything was ok, and clean every drop of water on the table and smile all the time and I really missed my Spanish waiters that use to ignore me. Everyone misses their own traditions, hehe. Besides, that way of treating us felt a bit classist, like they were 'servants' not workers, we were not comfortable with that.
By the way, I love your blog! It's really interesting and fun 🙂
Lauren Aloise
Thanks for your comment Cristina-- it's great to have a Spaniard's perspective (apart from my husband's!) We experienced similar service in Mexico-- it was over the top and just too "servant-like" as you described. Living in Nicaragua must have been really interesting! I'd love to hear more about it!
azahar
I've lived in Spain for almost 20 years and, unless service has been abysmal, I always leave a 10% tip. I don't care what Spaniards think is "correct" or whether it's okay to "get away with" not tipping. I know how hard these people work, usually six day weeks and split shifts. And I come from a place where tipping 20% was the norm, twenty years ago.
Basically, you are never going to insult anyone by leaving a tip. Though a recent trend of charging a per person "service charge" (non of which goes to the wait staff) is grating, and I don't think it's even legal.
Lauren Aloise
That's very true! We usually leave between 5% and 10%, especially when eating a full meal out. For coffees and a quick beer we round the bill up.
Will - My Spanish Adventure
Some great points and spot on about the dirty table tip. I'm English and we never tip but still I feel guilty when I leave without putting anything down.
I actually linked to this post in my round-up of best Spanish travel blog content for November. Come across to my site and see who you made the grade with. Thanks for the useful content and keep it up!
bnann
I always find it very puzzling that foreigners complain about the service in Spain (I am a foreigner too). I have always found them efficient and polite and amazingly hard-working. I think the real matter is that being a waiter in Spain is a profession, (some of the ones I go to have not changed in 20 years), and there is a lot more equality between the waiter and you. the waiter is doing her/his job, and you are doing yours - enjoying the food and company!!!
What they do not do is Sir and M'am you and fawn over you. This I really hate. although in certain countries it is the norm and seems to be equated to good service.
What I found amazing was for instance, in the US, at a hot-dog stand that was about a square metre, and had about 2 things in the menu to be cooked from frozen, and had 3 people "working" in it- one to take the order, one to do the "cooking" and the other to "serve it you" and they took a lot longer than a single waiter in Spain would.
Lauren Aloise
I definitely agree with you although I think that some visitors aren't culturally sensitive and just don't realize that things don't work the same way as in their home countries! The service in the US is fantastic (usually) but you also pay for it! Even at a coffee shop where you order something to go you are often expected to leave your change in the tip cup. I think this goes to a bit of an extreme, although it's also true that this tipping culture puts a lot of students and young people through school and helps the economy a bit. But I hate when things like the hot dog stand take longer in the US-- there's just no reason for it!
tita buds
Thankfully, we had very good dining out experiences in Spain. The places we went to had wonderful, attentive service. I laughed when I read your tip to just sit at a dirty table. So true! We sat at one for almost 40 minutes until we gave up and left (discreetly because really it wasn't the lone waiter's fault) because we were famished. 🙂
Lauren Aloise
I know that feeling-- it seems like every time I'm starving the service happens to take longer! I'm happy you had good experiences, in general Spain is fantastic for dining out!