Exactly. Waiting staff in The Netherlands earns a living wage. That's not to say they earn a lot by Dutch standards but it's a decent salary. They don't live off the mercy of their customers hence the tipping really is just a bonus for them which they usually don't expect or take for granted. The US is rather odd here. You could flip this around and say that the American tipping culture keeps the low wages in place. It's meant well by customers but it actually maintains this unhealthy situation where a base salary just isn't enough to get through the month. Tipping as a standard and expected gesture allows employers to underpay their staff. I find this somewhat similar to young kids in poor countries selling flowers on the street late at night. Tourists often have pity and just buy a flower but this effectively keeps this nasty industry going.
@@moladiver6817 I loved it when American tourist came by, they tipped(!) and on average 10 euros. But as stated as a waiter in the Netherlands I made a decent salary. Full time wage payed me around:2000 euros per month (exc tax). And about the tipping, it is again as Mola writes 'a bonus and always a suprise' as it does not happen to often. We mostly had Dutch customers, which can be divided in two groups: people from the surrounding region, 1 person out 15 would tip ; and Dutchies from further away would tip about 1 in 5 times. (rounding the number up, so sometimes 0,25 cents sometimes 2,30). (only onces I demanded a tip. Some drunk guy was bragging for two hours (which felt like an eternity) about how much money he won in the casino that night, but then he left without a tip. So when he stood by the door I called him out infront of all the customers "Hey rich guy where I is my tip?!" And I got 100 euros, never saw him again ;)
How to determine if a waiter will come to your table: 1) If you see waiters serving other people, they will also come to your table 2I if it is a small caffee/bar you will probably need to order at the counter. 3) If the place looks more formal: somebody will probably come to you. 4) If the place has a terrace, they will probably have waiters 5) Just ask other guests "bedienen ze hier aan tafel?". Dutch people do this also when they are in doubt.
Most of the times, the menu will help you out. If there's no menu on your table yet, they will bring it and take your order at the table. If you have to do something special to order, they'll tell you when giving you the menu. If the menu is already there, if it says "order at the counter" on it somewhere, that's that. Otherwise, they'll probably come. Oh and, never when you're still looking at the menu. Fold it closed and put it on the center/edge of the table, that's a hint for them to come.
Depending on the group your with. With a few people and a bil of €50,- - €100,-, a few euro is fine as a tip. When with a group of 20 people, having diner, drinks etc. and a bill of €1000,- and then giving a €5,- tip (seen it happen), you are really an a*hole.
@@gilles111 No you're not. You don't owe them anything for doing their damn job. If you're tipping it's a bonus because the waiter did an especially good job.
@@mrbentoik I never meant you have to tip (never said that too). We aren't the USA. Only if you feel you want to give something extra (and the service/food/drinks were above expectation). She did ask what is appropriated for tipping in The Netherlands, so I gave an indication as what I think are good tips. But if you do.. Tipping €2,- to make a round €10,- is very generous, tipping €2,- because the bill was €998,- and that makes the nice €1000,- ... Then you are an a*hole (in my opinion).
Tipping ? Here, we pay 21% tax on everything and waiters are getting a normal salary. No need to tip. In the US some people need tips to make their salary.
@@johanmeijer85 I used to work as a "freelance" server over a period of 4 years and got to work at over 50 different venues in that time. At each and everyone of those the tips went to the employees. In general tips were divided in 1 of 3 ways; 1. all the tips were collected and divided over all serving personel afer a while (a week/month/half a year...sometimes team activities were agreed upon to use part of the tips) 2. The tips were collected and divided at the end of a shift and divided over the group running that shift. 3. personal tips; keep what you get. Each of these methods has arguments for and against and which methods is applied seems rather arbitrary although I felt (subjective) in the higher class restaurants/bars the sharing of tips was much more common. For me, often only serving a few shifts at any given venue, it was obviously preferable to have scenario 3. I mean, it makes sense, you are not really part of the team so it feels weird to the "regulars" to share in scenario 1 and 2 xD I did hear from other colleagues that tips are sometimes taken, but in my, quite extensive, experience most tips are actually NOT kept by the owner.
I'm a chef, I'd say around 40-50% of the tables actually tip, ranging from a few euro to round up the amount to 10-15 if they're a larger group and really enjoyed their meal. Although this differs from restaurant to restaurant, our tips are collected and fairly distributed between all staff. Whatever we get, is a nice bonus. I use it to support one of my hobbies, but even if Id get no tips at all, it honestly wouldn't do much for me. That's why tipping is nice, but you should never feel like you're tipping too little. An honest living in included in my salary, I don't need tips for that
Also, the perk of having a countdown towards green light helps with traffic flow. You can "prepare" to start cycling again when it turns green and get moving faster
If your amount is 53 round it of to 55 and they are happy not tipping is also fine, the poeple get payed normal montly incomes so they dont need the tips its just an extra for them. So tipping 2 euros is more then enough. They are happy with wat ever tip they get. Also they dont keep the money for them selfs it goes into a big pot and evry worker gets a percentige at the end of the month.
Not completely true. Tipping in The Netherlands is showing you liked the experience the staff gave you. Young or old, if you liked their performance it is good use to leave a tip. Only for young people (25-) it is more expected they don't have much money (as students) so not tipping is more accepted.
If their is no one of the staf at the entrance, you just find your seat yourself where ever you want to be seated. If their is some one at the entrance, you ask for a seat. If their are waiters walking around, and you want to pay, you call the waiter to your table and ask for the check. If their ain't no waiters walking around, you walk up to the register to pay.
Oh I'm native Dutch and I really hate that "trying to make eye contact with a waiter" awkward game. In Japan they have a service bell (button) on the table in some places, that's amazing. It just makes a screen or light light up behind their counter and they see where they have to go.
There is absolutely no need to feel awkward if you forget to tip. It's fine to not do it. Many people don't. If I just get 1 or 2 drinks I often don't tip.
Dutch Americano Re: not standing in line. Firstly, it's almost never that important that the order in which people are served exactly matches the order in which they arrive. So you can just stop worrying about it. Secondly, even without a neat line we still use everyone's distance to the counter, entrance or whatever as a rough indicator of the order. You can also just note who comes directly before you and/or the one or two people after you. In almost all cases that's enough to know exactly when it is your turn. And when in doubt you just look at the other person. If they aren't moving they apparently think you are before them so you are good to go. Or maybe they are looking at you for the same reason and you just use your body language to resolve the situation. In most cases at least one of you will not really care that much who goes first. Thirdly, on those rare occasion that despite all of the above you still feel that someone is cutting in front of you (and care enough to correct the situation) you can fall back on that famous Dutch directness and just say "Excuse me, I think it's my turn now," at which point the other person will generally apologize politely and let you go before them. Alternatively, if you're not in a hurry, you might just let them cut before you and be all the more sure that it is really your turn after them. And obviously that third point also works in reverse: if you accidentally cut before someone they can just speak up and let you know. If they don't then it apparently didn't bother them. If they do you apologize politely and let them go before you. Either way, no harm done.
Exactly, i see no problem with order of people, usually intentionally they won’t cut you in line and if a new register opens in russia all the people from the back would jump right in, whereas here a person would say “eerst volgende” and here you go.
Tip: don’t cut of your video at once at the end. People need to find and restart the video again to comment to your video. If you leave let’s say 5 second empty or with a picture, people have time to push pause and react in the comment section.
You don't have to tip at all, servers get a decent wage. Most people will leave a few coins of change rather than calculating a percentage of the bill.
I've never seen a blinking red pedestrian/bicycle light in Amsterdam (or anywhere in the Netherlands). Pedestrian lights usually only blink green when it's about to turn red.
Yeah... That red light is NOT blinking. But it's just sitting on red and the timer below is sort of like blinking while it's changing. Guess this is where she gets confused. Maybe?
A pedestrian has priority in Dutch traffic in two ways that come to mind. 1. At a zebra crossing. All traffic has to stop if you want to cross at a zebra, so you don’t need to set a foot on the street in order for them to stop, they are obligated to stop when you want to step on the street at a zebra crossing. 2. You have right of way if you walk on the footpath next to a road and someone want to turn into a side street (the one you are crossing because you walk straight ahead). The one who wants to turn into the side street has to wait until you crossed the side street in order to walk straight ahead (alongside the road, which road the car is leaving). You can cross a road anywhere (if it’s legal to walk on that road) outside 30m of a zebra crossing. When you are within 30m of a zebra crossing, you’ll have to use it. If you don’t, you can get a fine. Sometimes there are pedestrian crossings without zebra stripes, they will have canalization stripes (like a center line perpendicular on the road, from the curb at your side of the road to the curb on the opposite side), mostly with a safety isle in the center of the road. Sometimes there is a blue square sign with a black pedestrian in it on a black and white pole, above or besides the crossing , sometimes lighted. Although not obligatory (as far as I know) it is sensible and safer to use those pedestrian crossings.
If you are struggling with figuring out what you are supposed to do at a cafe, here is my advice. When you walk in, walk towards the staff (often behind the bar) and ask if they have a place for you. If they have place they will point you to your seat or let you pick out one yourself. They will now also know that you are here to buy something and probably come up to you when you are seated to ask what you would like to order.
Found tipping in the US super weird to do when I was on vacation. Why not just pay the people a normal wage. Tipping in the Netherlands (Europe) is far from the norm. Because the staff are paid normal wages. If your bill is 53, u pay 53 when paying by card. If u do it in cash again, 53 equals 53. Or u can say make it 55 or 56 or whatever u want to tip if u feel like it.
I agree, in the Netherlands there is no need to tip. I do tip, for a cup of coffee my tip can be 50%, for a meal it can be 5% or less. Just a few Euro’s is more than sufficient, your spent is not the measure. What can influence your tip is the service you get and the time you spent in the restaurant. So, tipping is not required as in the Netherlands service is included already in your bill, however it is appreciated if you leave something extra.
My rule to survive a dutch line: The only thing you know for sure is the person who enters a shop (line) after you. So, make sure that it is your turn before that person.
@@YouHaventSeenMeRight What would be the appropriate way to phrase that? In America, the only way I can even think to ask that would be "who is/where is the end of the line." Like even knowing they aren't technically in a line I can't come up with a way that sounds natural to ask, "who came in last?" That just sounds weird and like everyone would just stare at me.
@@crystalwolcott4744 The Dutch way would be "Wie is er als laatste binnengekomen?" which probably translate to "Who was the last person to enter before me?"
The person manning the counter could ask "wie is er dan?" (who's next?) and then the mexican standoff of pointing to the person who was there before you and waving them off if your order has already been taken begins. It's amusing.
If you go into a store and it’s busy with customers, and if there isn’t a number dispenser, you just ask out loud, who is the last? That person will identify itself as being the last to come in the store before you. You only have to watch that person. When he is helped, you’re next. And when someone comes in the store behind you, he/she will ask the same and you say: I am. It’s an easy system, no line necessary.
I'll never get the confusion about bike lanes. It is quite simple: Stay on your place on the road (Sidewalk for pedestrians, no really.) If you depart from your lane yield to any traffic you cross. Basically if you step into a bike lane you are lane changing to a lane where you are not supposed to be, YIELD! Same in the US... The only main difference is that cyclist in the Netherlands are not considered the pariah outlaws of traffic they are in most other countries like the US. It is not the rules that are different, it is the attitude. Cyclists are the majority on the road here (Everybody has a bike, not everybody drives a car...) and other road users have learned to adapt. We are not impressed by people who suddenly walk into our path and wil defend ourselves because in a collision between a cyclist and a pedestrian it is the cyclist who runs the risk of serious injury.
Eva, you have missed learning 'oversteken' as a child. You stand on the edge of the sidewalk, look left, then look right, look left again and when the road is still free you can cross. I grew up at a very busy road and am glad I didn't have to learn the hard way that traffic doesn't stop for you.
"Kijk links, kijk rechts en nog een keer, als je oversteken moet. Kijk links, kijk rechts en nog een keer, want dan doe je 't pas goed." ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-s64wJ284_bM.html
The reference for Celsius is not ‘water boils at 100 degrees’ - it’s ‘water freezes at 0 degrees’. So you start counting from freezing/not-freezing, and that’s how it makes sense in a weather forecast.
Here in The Netherlands, a 'standard tip' is actually 10%. Receiving ANY tip is always considered a compliment, no matter how small. If the service was terrible, it is perfectly OK to tell them that. They will appreciate negative feedback, so they can learn and make improvements.
Tipping: you do _not_ tip in bars, cafes, snackbars/fastfood joint, and you _can_ give a tip in a restaurant. Just round up the amount to the next 5 or 10 euro, depending on how generous you feel. All tips go into a jar and that money is split between all personnel at the end of the week/month. The (metric) pound: Almost all countries used to have their own version of a pound weight, all of these were between 450 and 500 grams. In the 19th century _most_ of these countries changed their pound (or equivalent unit, like the libre in Spain, or the livre in France) to measure exactly 500 grams (half a kilo). Nowadays the “pond” is still used colloquially. Dutch also has/had the “ons” (ounce), which is 100 grams. It is no longer an official unit, but you’ll hear it being used in cheese shops, or markets. Line: No, it’s a queue. And you don’t “stand in a queue”, you just queue. Jump the queue, queue up. It’s from French, and it means tail. Much prettier than “line”. In the end they’re all just words of course, but it does hit a nerve. I think it has to do with the idea that many (North) Americans have, that the American way is the norm and the rest of the world is the exception, when in fact it’s the other way around. 95% of the world is not American.
I don't think that people 'do not tip in bars/cafes'. Of course you never have to, but in the cafe where I work we do get tips (let's say from 5% of people). Usually people just round it up to the whole euro, or to 5/10 like you said if they stayed for a whole day
Does it even make sense to tip to a round number when you pay by card? Also by default they just put an amount from your bill and that’s it. I super rarely pay with cash and before had some cash for tips, but also in many cases waiters interchange, so the tip would go to the person cleaning the table and not the one who served. Anyway, that’s confusing and i’d rather prefer everything included in price/bill and everyone earning fair salary not depending on the mood of the customer for their survival
The use of the word 'pond' in the Netherlands is actually a relic from the past; from our pre metric days. In the Netherlands It used to be about 480 grams, and in the region it had a number of different values Actually the word 'pond' was officially abolished at the beginning of the 19th century, but in a day to day usage it became to mean half a kilo.
On queuing... If there are a bunch of people and not in a formal queue: when you enter just ask "who's last". One person will respond and you only need to watch him, and when someone else enters after you, you respond... works great.
When I was moving to The Netherlands back in 1991, I was on the plane (Martinair) and sat next to a Dutch girl. We struck up a conversation and I asked her if she had any tips for me. She told me about the "Met......" thing when answering the phone which came in handy at the time. Of course there were no mobiletjes then so it kinda made sense.
Haha, i’m always shushing away pedestrians from clearly paved bike lanes. It’s harder for bike to stop than pedestrian, in the end if it’s a crash everybody’s hurt, how is that matter who is right, it’s just obvious - not to walk on bike lane ‘cause you are more unpredictable and can do it easily than bikes riding around you via car or sidewalk
As for the tipping issue, you should just round it up to a nice amount in most cases. Or preferably, pay your bill by card, and tip them some bucks in cash, since the tips in general are divided among the employees
A word we still use in daily life is "pont" meaning "ferry", that crosses a river. That is the only used Dutch word that sounds like that. The measurement "pond" is not used anymore. But we still use the phrase "Een pondje meer" ("One pound more") when e.g. referring to a person having gained some weight. It originally came from shopkeepers, when weighing a good for the customer (meat, vegetables) asking "Mag het een pondje meer zijn?" ("Can it be a pound more?"), because then the piece of meat or piece of cabbage could stay intact. It was not that there was exactly an extra 'pond' on that piece of meat or cabbage, but meant as an indication that it would be 'somewhat' more than requested. Then the customer could agree and wait to see how much more, or stick with the original ordered weight. As you see, in these cases it is used as "pondJE", the diminutive form.
Never realised how complicated living overhere is. Just go with the flow, never stand in line as a bunch of ducks, and raise your voice as you think it's your turn in the shop.
When entering a café/restaurant it's best to walk up to the first staff member you see and say something like "Excuse me, we are with ... people. Where can we sit?". The server will either seat you at a specific table or tells you you can sit where ever you want. When you want to order or pay: try to make eye contact with a server and raise your hand. He/she will come to your table in a minute. Going to the bar is a little rude. You can do that when you don't see any staff around for 10 minutes. About tipping: it's nice to leave a tip, but you don't have to. 5% is good enough. You can always leave a tip in cash when you forgot to mention it to the server or when you feel uncomfortable about it. When the bill is €53 you can just pay and leave €4 in cash. That's what I usually do.
Please never ever compare Amsterdam to the rest of the Netherlands, As a true Dutch I find the Amsterdam people in businesses or on the street among the most unfriendly in the whole world. This is NOT representative for the rest of The Netherlands. I do not know why it is like this but in many ways Amsterdam is NOT the Netherlands.
Simpel: Amsterdam is een wereldstad, rest van Nederland platteland. Amsterdammers zijn volledig bij de tijd, de andere Nederlanders lopen minstens een halve eeuw achter.
I was born in the Netherlands and still remember my uncle. "Good night, time for me to sleep." He did that with a house full of visitors. Things are funny in Australia too. One customer had a takeaway pizza delivered in a restaurant. He got fed up with waiting too long for his order.
The queueing thing always amuses me in airports, where people will stand for ages in a long queue for the gate to open, completely pointlessly since you have an assigned seat. I just wait for the queue to be gone and then I leisurely stroll up.
Eh, no, the countdown clock is only on a 'solid RED' light. The only possible blinking light with regards to traffic is a blinking amber which signals "Traffic Lights Are Out Of Order".
Tipping? there is no need, really. Usually, people round up the amount due to some practical number (usually the nearest 5 euro's). If you pay by card, very few people bother, unless the service was above and beyond. Waiters here make enough money from their job to not rely on tips to live
Dutch here. I guess as a rule of thumb, if there is a menu (card) on the table someone will come to the table to get your order. If there's a menu above the bar, you will have to go to the bar to order. I think? Or just watch other people, see what they do. I guess it can be café dependent. As for the waiting in line, or not in line part: When you arrive at say, the pharmacy (although they mostly have a number machine now) or butcher, you know as soon as you step in that everybody who is in there is first, obviously. So you only have to pay attention to new people coming in basically, because everybody else needs to be done first, before it is your turn. In some places people will come in and ask "Wie is de laatste?"/"Who's last?" so you know you're up after that person but for the most part it is my experience that, although I can see how it's something you might need to get used to, isn't too complicated. Less complicated than forming a line, anyway (apparently).
For the orders i would just ask what is the best way, usually i’m told it’s okay to wait at the table -> no problem when it’s not obvious. I’m confused at how some people like to memorize some rules which are not even rules sometimes :))
Also, if you pay with a card, the money goes into the bank account of the business owner, the waiter gets nothing. The business owner also has to pay taxes (VAT and income) on these tips. If you really want to tip a waiter, give them cash.
Beste Jeroen, Dit is niet correct. Een eigenaar betaald alleen BTW over het gefactureerde deel van zijn inkomsten. Fooien zijn BTW vrij. Een fatsoenlijke baas zal altijd de fooien verdelen onder het personeel.
So regarding the Pond. Prior to the introduction of metric, every Dutch city had its own units that were basically the same names as US Customary Units, but the exact definitions varied from city to city. Notably, the Amsterdam Pond was 494.09 grams, which as you can probably tell is real close to half a kilogram. So people just started rounding it to half a kilogram and that became the Metric Dutch Pond. It's not an official unit, but it is as you've noticed a commonly used unit.
Regarding the US measurement system. It is entirely metric based. It has been since 1959. The definition of and inch is exactly 25.4 mm or 0.0254 m. Similarly the pound is defined as exactly 0.45359237 kg. Temperature is more tricky as the Fahrenheit scale has changed its definition at least once. The conversion factors between Fahrenheit and Celsius are fixed. Most countries use SI units now. The USA and its territories a a stubborn holdout.
First off, I am a born and raised Dutchy and love this vids! I think the reason why bikes 'own' the road, is because it's a very practical way of getting where you need to be. If you have to go to work, study or a medical appointment, you don't want to be late. Knowing myself I would never leave the house earlier to wait on pedestriants on the way. When writing this, it almost sounds rude but to us Dutch people it's really not.
Dutch people LOVE to stand in line too! At my job (HEMA) we have the ‘zelfscan kassa’s’ where you can pay by yourself. We have 3 of them. When someone is using one, and another person want to pay, they will go wait in line behind that other person WHILE THERE ARE TWO OTHER ‘ZELFSCAN KASSA’S’ AVAILABLE!! And when someone actually pays attention, and sees that there are other ‘zelfscan kassa’s’ available, they will go and cut the line, but people cant be mad about it, because they just need to pay a bit more attention to what they’re doing.
As a Dutchman I used to live and work in the US for quite some time in the 90s(St.Louie Missourah . It has changed me. I still tip between 10-20% in restaurants. Not only a couple of euros.
For tipping we usually’ round of’ the bill with a reasonable amount. When it is 53 euro you can make it 57,50 or something. When it is 100 you can give 110. But in NL we don’t rely on tips. It is just an extra above normal pretty good wages. And must say ut is really strange that as a pedestrian you go first all the time! You are the slowest so can easily stop and wait. And walking through red light? No no no!
I'd tip 55 , they make a decent hourly, so even giving a tip is optional, it's something you do because you really enjoyed your time there. I usually just round it to something, add something between 2 - 5 euro's or something
I worked in bars in NL for 15 years and still i almost never tip. Tips are nice when you get them, i used to buy my breakfast with the tips i got the night before but they are an exaption. If you really want to tip, tip.. Don't feel like you should it is something extra.
cheapskate! :-) I have worked in hospitality for over 20 years, tipping is not an obligation by Dutch norms but if you received service which is more than a product being delivered as ordered it would be decent to tip. It does not have to be a lot but if you have been happily waited on all night and just pay your bill , your waiter is certainly not going to remember you as a appreciating customer and you might just right out leave them feeling undervalued for their service.
@@timvanravensberg4268 I never felt that way abour people who did not tip me. Like i said it is something extra, a bonus on top on what you allready get paid, and that is mininumwage or more.
I have never seen a blinking red light. Green lights are blinking, and it means: hurry up, start running because, in a millisecond, I will turn red. But I've never seen a red light doing that.
Bill 53 euro and horrible service: no tip, good service 55 euro, when waitress smiles and flirts 60 euro 🤣 Imperial system should be banned. 1 or 2 countries use it, rest of the world uses metric system.
Horrible service: directly complain about it. Good service: thank your waiter. Smiling, flirty waiter: that's inappropriate behaviour, which to me falls under bad service. Unless it's a host club, customers shouldn't be flirted with.
Getting served: Go sit, and look around, is someone serving some? get their attention. If not, wait a bit to see if some comes out, if not, go to the bar. Restaurants: Inside: If there's an hold area, wait to be seated (rare) or just find a table that has no sign on it with "reservated". Server will come. Outside: Just go sit somewhere that is not "reservated" with a sign. server will come out regularly, and if not 1 of the group has to go in and order. Tipping: in the Netherlands there's no need for we actually PAY ppl to serve, but if you want, literally whatever remainder of a roundup is fine.
In dutch stores it usually polite to let someone know you were ahead of them! If it is my turn and I know you came before me I will ask if you are being served?
Most of the time in cafes or bars you can enter and choose a place yourself. In restaurants however, it's more the custom that you wait for someone to point you a seat (or they tell you to find one yourself). It's also a good thing to make a reservation in advance. In The Netherlands we only tip (big) when the waiter/waitress added an extra service in his/her work, like being socially pro-active. But if you wish to give a tip, just round the amount up, letting them keep a few small coins. With a bill of 53, giving 55 is perfect, certainly not more. Always remember: In The Netherlands a tip is a gesture, not an obligation. When you wish to make contact with a waiter, keep staring at them and give them a subtile signal when they look your way, they will see it and come to you. If it really takes too long (to check out), then just stand up and start leaving very obviously, that's the signal that they let you've been waiting for too long (and also a bit rude, sometimes you have to be rude to make a point). Our red bycicle traffic lights do not blink. Regarding pedestrians there are a few unwritten rules here: Keep right, walk in a straight line and watch your surrounding when you change direction. When you cross over, watch all directions. As a pedestrian you are no target for bikeriders, but they expect you to watch out and not to just step on their lane, except when you have a green light as a pedestrian. And yes, pedestrians are a protected species, but careless behaviour will make you end up in the hospital. You might be right in law, but you lose at the end. For me it's confusing that in maybe the US, but at least in South America, the traffic lights for cars are across the intersections. One lb is 453,59 grams. So yes, basically one pound of ours is 10% more than yours. That's not so hard. Calculating miles to km is also easy. You can roughly say that you add 2/3 to the distance. P.e. Take 120 miles. 2/3 of 120 is 80. 120+80=200km. From km to miles I prefer to use a calculator ^^ Ounce is more different. We say 'ons', which means 100 grams. Your ounce is 28,3495 grams. I usually say 'een halve kilo' (half a kilogram), or I say 500 grams, using the word 'pond' is a bit old fashioned. About lining up, you don't have to remember who got there first, you only have to remember who came after you. In small stores we don't line up, in supermarkets we do (to pay). We also line up in theme parks, museums and airports. A big difference between British people and the Dutch (I know you're from the US) is when a British person 'jumps the queue', other people are really insulted and tell that to the queue jumper. In The Netherlands we're more tended to ask 'I believe I was here before you, so it's my turn?' A good shopman will support your claim, problem solved. But then, when I'm in line in the supermarket with a lot of stuff and I see a person behind me with only two things in his/her basket, I'll let them go first. Most of the time that ends in some small talk and a smile, sometimes people say that they will wait. Ok, that was quite an extended comment haha but, one more thing Eva (or Ava?), you're really funny!! Oh, ok, one more tiny thing. Can you please try not to cut so much in your video? It gets really flashy. It's ok to hesitate sometimes, or to say something wrong, laugh about it and 'knit it straight again' (
being a pedestrian is not confusing if you consider this: we have dedicated separate parts of the road for pedestrians, cyclists and motorized traffic. We keep them separated as much as possible for safety and flow rate. If you're crossing a road as pedestrian and you do it at a place where it's not designed to be expected, it's your responsibility to stay safe. So if you are in a busy city, use the zebra crossing as pedestrians get priority there from all other traffic modes. At crossings, just wait for the light to turn green. Also keep in mind that we have the same basic rule for cars, they're always held responsible for any collissions, bikes not so much (the non-gas guzzling variety ofc). However, we have not the damages claim culture the justice system knows in the USA, so cyclists are not going to consider this aspect. Of course in general we tend to do our very best to avoid colliding into each other and when it's very busy, cyclists just dismount their iron horse and become another pedestrian.
@@VRBLNSLT what are you talking about? Having minimum wage is still enough to be able to live a good life here in the Netherlands. You're not making tons of money but if you want that you'll have to look for a drifferent job in stead of HORECA!
Tipping: you don't need to tip, and you won't be thought of as rude if you don't. If you want to, you can either pay a round amount over the bill so the server can keep the change, and any more than a couple of euros is generous. If you pay by card, you can say you want to add extra as a tip (they will never ask!), or you just leave a small cash tip. You never tip at snack bars. Tipping a delivery driver is a bit more common, because the pay is shit.
For seating at restaurants and the like, the rule of thumb is pretty much that if you get asked for your order, you get given the bill at the end. Just flag someone down. It is also generally the case that you take a seat in the case of lunch or a somewhat fancy dinner. For anything that can be classified as junkfood, you generally have to order it. Also, don't be afraid to just ask and don't make a big deal out of it. It is very normal to ask here if someone will come to take your order. As for tipping, consider it completely optional. Any amount is perfectly fine. The people who expect a tip the most are food delivery drivers, and it's still optional. If you really want to tip, just stick with 5 or 10%. 15% if you're feeling generous. People in the service industry get paid a normal wage here. Regarding the whole pedestrian thing, you still generally aren't considered to be the one at fault when you get hit. There needs to be strong proof that you caused the incident through sheer recklessness. We just aren't as patient when it comes to bullshit. Just because you aren't at fault does not mean that we let you do whatever you want. If you get in the way of other traffic, we will let you know. Often very loudly.
Tipping in the Netherlands starts usually starts with 2 euro. But I usually tip around 8%. But if service is bad, (late, cold, rude) no tip at all. Love your little struggles.
I’m dutch, have never lived abroad and would still still round up from 53 to 60. I like giving decent tips-probably because I’ve been a lowly bartender myself for about ten years. Wages in cafes and restaurants are better than in the US, but still pretty bad compared to many other professions.
Love the series! On your last topic, about standing in queue or line and people cutting in front, I think the fact that you were on your phone also played a part in that; they might have thought you were busy with something, so instead of waiting on you they went ahead and took your position in line. There's a saying here: "opgestaan is plaats vergaan", which roughly means; "if you got up and left, you lose your spot". By not being mentally present, because you were distracted by your phone, you lost your spot. My personal experience is that when there is confusion about who is next, because the person who is up next doesn't realise it's their turn, people will start discussing who was ahead of them and who came in after. That's why I think they consciously moved on to the next person; either because they didn't want to bother you from what you were doing, or because they even might have thought it was a little rude you weren't paying attention. It's understandable though, that if you aren't from around here, you have to get used to our system. So don't feel bad about it xD
Oh, and pro-tip: you only have to take note of who was there ahead of you. If those people are gone, its your turn. You can make this list even shorter by simply asking: "wie is de laatste?" (people tend to know if they were the last person before you to enter the room), and then you only have to keep track of that one person!
When you don´t know how to behave when coming into a café or Bar, just ask friendly and politely what you have to do! It really can depend on the rules of the café. You have a very good American mouth, so why should you be silent in The Netherlands?
@@crystalwolcott4744 It would be very strange if they didn´t. Maybe 1 % waiters and waitresses don´t speak English. But be aware. A lot of staff in villages speak Denglish of English like they speak Dutch. But in cities you can expect normal to excellent English, even with proper English accents.
@@peterstringa3350 That really awesome and good to know! I am always so impressed by people who can speak more than one language. I can't wait to visit your country when it is safe to do so.
@@crystalwolcott4744 We as a small country, we depend on trading internationally, so we have to speak at least English. I myself speak 6 languages. No big deal.
A "pond" is like a metric pound. Not sure what the original measure was, but people kept using the word for the nearest appropriate unit. A pound is 454 grams, which is not too far off. But have you heard of the "ons"? Sounds like ounce, except the Dutch "ons" is 100 gram. It is used for stuff that is sold in smaller quantities. You like the cup as a measure and it is convenient. For outsiders, a cup is 240 ml or almost a quarter of a liter. But the bad thing about the cup is that you then divide it in 8 fluid ounces, or 16 tablespoons, or 48 teaspoons. And the measuring cups/spoons you will find in your kitchen can you any of those units. Have fun with a recipe that calls for a quart of something (which is 4 cups), 1 cup of something else and a teaspoon of another ingredient.
Nah, not confusing at all: coffee only, no tip at all. With something to eat, round up to the nearest round number or not at all. Dinner depending on the bill: as a rule, I round up to the nearest €5. Then depending on the number of people: it is wholly dependent on the quality of service. And I do limit it to 10% at max.
Your really an example of a stingy dutch, people like to receive a tip even if you just have a coffee, if its good and people where nice.. tip.. its not like they make a descent wage so dont be stingy. When it comes to dinner if it was really nice and the service was excelent I go as high as 25% tip if I domt tip that means it was a shitty night and they get an ear full before they dont get a tip 🤷♂️
@@VRBLNSLT there is an actual problem with tips: differences in approaching customer service. in the Netherlands, servers are not slave to the customers, and they help you out of a sincere wish to help you, not because they can't live well otherwise. it's a much more equal relationship. in a similar way people actually feel bad when you pay too much (there is an RSA video about this).
@@LaPingvino there is a reason we dont have career servers in the Netherlands, the wages are to low and to cut costs only teens (who make even less) get hired most of the time. How many times in your life did you get served by a knowledgable 50 year old who wasn't the owner?
@@VRBLNSLT long time ago I went to a place with servers in the first place. We don't have as much of a restaurant culture as the USA has. I used to live in Belgium though and there tipping is much more common, but I found people were way less passionate about their job, because work culture stipulates hierarchy. I got kicked out of a company without even knowing why. Dutch work culture is much more on an equal level, and I am fully willing to hand in some pay to have that. That said, of course you are right that what you see is a result of that, I'm just not sure if it's in any way problematic.
@@LaPingvino I'll take a grumpy old garcon with descent knowledge that I dont have to explane what saignant is over a phone focussed tween that only knows there is red or white wine anyday of the week. US restaurant culture is on a totally different scale, altho that has to do with the lack of food knowledge aswell, most eating out there just cant cook and if they can its hard to actually find descent produce for reasonable prices without driving for miles, most of the time passing multiple (fastfood) restaurants.
In the Netherlands it is customary to give a tip when the service is really good. You do not tip if you are served by the owner. After all, he already has an income from your visit. If a waiter is really good and pleasant, ten percent is a reasonable tip. If the service is less, you can do with less tip. Tipping is not mandatory and is not automatically expected. It is customary for patrons to tip their favorite waiters.
Why worry about tipping? It's not as if you need to tip. Everybody gets a living wage and that's the end of it. No, a pond is not typical Dutch. It's also used in Belgium (0.5 kg).
My take on your experiences, coming from a 49 year old Dutchie: * When it comes down choosing between waiting or go the bar, just signal any nearby waiter with a simple gesture. It is a common practice in the Netherlands, and many other European countries. * Catering industry employees earn their salary according a CLA within their profession. You tip whenever you feel to without almost never insulting the person who served you. * Biking in the Netherlands, perhaps you should try this channel: ru-vid.com * Metric is NOT Dutch. It is mostly used worldwide, and yes; it will be the unified global system eventually. Fun fact: Most American cars have both MPH and KM on the speedometer in their car. Great content. Keep it coming :)
Funny to hear tips about tipping: about 70% of the Dutch doesn't tip at all. And to be honest, it's accepted. We don't bother. An tip is really an extra bonus and only given when someone wants to. But even if you're service was above excellent, mostly they'll just pay the price mentioned on the receipt.
1 friendly advice: If you enter a bar or restaurant.. just address 1 of the employees and ask actively "Hey, can I choose a table or do you like to show me? " That works wonders :-)
Tipping in the NL is more personal, because there isn't an unwritten rule that you should tip. Therefor, we only tip to express gratitude over the quality of the service we have received. It really differs from person to person. In my observations there are two factors that really come to play; the amount of time spent in the establishment, as well as the quality of the service. I.e. we generally don't tip if we just have a quick snack or drink somewhere, only if we spend a significant amount of time there, such as in a restaurant or one of our favorite bars. Nor do we tip if the service was crappy. And instead of doing math, we usually just say "keep the change" or "round it up to X".
The "pond" (500 gram) and the "ons" (100 gram) are a little archaic but still very much used in daily life. The names are leftovers from older weighing systems. The metric system is very logical and actually does not call for such folklore terms. When I was at school in the 70's we were specifically told that we were not allowed to use those terms. (which had the opposite effect because we learned what those terms meant and started to use them like all the other people around us) In stead of "ons" we should say "hectogram" (really nobody uses that term ever except when learning about it at school) Instead of "pond" we should say "500 gram" or "half a kilogram" (people do use those terms as well) People say "twee ons kaas" and "een pond koffie" all the time. I taught at a school for children with special needs and I specifically taught them about the "ons" and the "pond" because those are words they will actually encounter. I did not mention "hectogram" at all. What would be the point?
We use pond, ons, mijl, inch but not often, since our official measurement system is metric. If you don't learn them, hecto, there is a gap on the metric scale/line.
In the Netherlands at bars and restaurants the norm is you sit down, you wait or sign towards the waiter to take your order. When you're done and you want to pay you always sign so the waiter comes up to you, they won't come if you don't sign, because in the Netherlands we like to take our time so the waiters don't bother us. So just sign and the waiter will come. Tipping culture is different in the Netherlands. The waiters get a decent salary to live off of, so every tip is a bonus and a surprise. In the Netherlands you typically tip when the service was good, if it was bad, you don't tip, because why would you give someone a present when they were rude to you. It doesn't matter how much you tip, but most people round the bill up. So if the bill says 34,95 they will tip 35 or 40 euros. In America you tip to make sure the waiters get a decent salary, because without the tips they get paid below minimum wage. The tipping culture in America encourages under pay, and it is actually prohibited by law in the Netherlands. That's why we don't like that way of tipping. Has nothing to do with money, rather with human rights. About pond: I never use it as a measurement, so I always have to look it up. Pond also is another word for vijver, which translates to pond. You know, the water with little fish in parks and stuff. Why we don't like to line: we line in supermarkets and theme parks, in other places we don't like to line up because lining up usually means we have to wait a long time, and we don't like to do that.
The word "mijl" (mile) is still occasionally used in Dutch today, not as a unit of measurement, but to denote an unspecified long distance. An idiom would most likely use the word "mijl" instead of "kilometer".
You don,t walk on a bikelane and you don,t walk on a motorway in the Netherlands. If you do, don,t be surprise if they hit you You walk on the footpath and don,t cross over without looking!
'Do you remember when you were 12,13 years old and you were figuring out how the world works and becoming an adult' Me, a 21 year old: 'maybe it's time to grow up🤔'
If you go to a bar/restaurant in France it's marked on the bill that 15% service is already included. In the Netherlands it's the same but not spelled out. So paying the exact price is what you would be doing in the States with 15% added as tip. Students for example are poor by definition and don't tip over the already included 15%. So whatver you tip over the total due is really a token of appreciation over their wages.
The amount of my tipping depends on how the waiter or waitress makes me feel (in a decent way ;-) ). One time a waitress was terrible rude. I had to pay 28 euros and said; make it 25. She freaked out, called the manager who said I was right and 25 was still too much. 20 would be fine. The waitress imploded and left. No career in waiting for her.
In the Netherlands we usually don’t tip because the waitresses don’t depend on tips, the way I tip is usually rounding it up. Tips go in a shared pot and will be shared with all the waitresses, so it doesn’t really matter.
Ok, I help you out a little. If you come into a café and you see a waiter at the entrance, wait. If there is none, but it is very busy, wait and ask. If there is none and it is not so busy, go find a table. When you are done, the norm in the Netherlands, is that tipping is polite, but not necessary. I usually give 10% at most. I only give nothing if the service or the food/drinks were not good at all. "Een pond" is still used, mainly on street markets, together with "een ons" (=100 gram). It is a bit out of fashion nowadays. But you can also say 500 gram or 100 gram everywhere.
There are no straight rules when you've to get your coffee yourself or that you will be served. First of all do not bother and do not get confused, asking about that is not strange, you're just a helpful client. Perhaps look to the counter and see if the cash-register is facing the shop or not. If facing the shop, then the counter is meant for personel only. AND YOU'RE CERTAINLY NOT AWKWARD!! You moved to another continent and try to manage that, be proud of that!! In the Netherlands it's very important just to be yourself, that's more then enough --> Remember Dutch people are direct and open, we do not like people who are not themselves. But I cannot emphasize enough, people in Amsterdam are mostly fake and not well respected. So Amsterdam is not equal to the Netherlands. Tipping more then 10% is suspicious. Salaries in the Netherlands doesn't need any tipping, it's only a gesture to a person/shop/restaurant who served you well and gives you a pretty experience. If service is standard or perhaps bad, just do not tip. Maybe it's rude but it's also honest, and we appriciate honesty way more. Sometimes I bring paper-money with me so that I can tip a person, instead of the whole shop. Traffic lights for pedestrians and bicyclist are an mere advice, for me then, I trust my eyes and ears a lot more then those stupid lights. I hate pedestrians who doesn't look around before crossing my way, bicycle-lane or car-lane, and surely I will scare them so that they will look before they act. Call that lessons learned in Prince. I could also run you over. So being aware of your surroundings is the key in this. Imperial is sooooooo old-fashioned, ounces, pounds, gallons, vadems, miles all from the middle ages. Only the US and perhaps some other british ex-dominions use that old COLONIAL way of measurement, the modern world use metric, Very easy to use but stop comparing it to imperials. It is the same when we switched from guilders to euros. The first few months you calculated it back to guilders, but then you get used to it. To make it more difficult in the Netherlands we also have an ons (100 gram) a half-pond (250 gram) and anderhalf pond (750 gram), which are also very commonly used at markets, but it is still metric. Queueing in line is what we call "Kadaver-Discipline" and Dutch weather is not suitable to stay in line outdoors. Just remember the person who was last before you, which is normal to ask, and who come in after you, and claim your turn if necessary. Remember the cheeky ones have half the world.
If you come into a store with "Dutch Queuing" there is a lot of non verbal communication going on. Most of the time the person that looks you straight in the eye the moment you come into the store is the last in line. It is also up to you to make sure the next person coming in knows its place. If you don't get it just shuffle a bit until someone looks at you and do the inverse nod accompanied with the ^^ and mostly they will respond by nodding in the direction of the last in line person. Also the person who is next in line is the person who will totally ignore you :) If the shuffle does not work just ask out loud who is the person in front of you. This will in no way reflect on you but on the person who is in front of you.
you really need to separate Amsterdam experience whit the rest of the country. its a complete difference. when i go to Amsterdam I feel like I'm not Dutch
The 'pond' is very much for older people like my parents. According to them I learned it in elementary school but I doubt it (I'm 28, they are about 60). So people like me technically still know what it is but don't use it. Younger people usually don't. And besides the 'pond' we also have the 'ons', which is 100 grams. Same thing applies there.
Fun fact: "jaywalking" is illegal pretty much only in the US, because of the car lobby. You can cross anywhere you want in the Netherlands, as long as you don't hinder traffic.
