1. How Are You is equivalent to Hello

The most common thing Americans say when meeting is How are you? or How are you doing. Anyone who has been in the United States for a long time must have experience. Whenever they ask this question and you are still thinking about how to answer, the person has disappeared. After a while, you will find that everyone’s answer is “Good”.

In fact, when Americans say "how are you" to you, they are not really asking you how you are, just like Hi or Hello, they are just expressing friendliness.

But in Europe, no matter how often "how are you" happens to a European, they will talk at length about their physical health and immediately ask back, expecting an answer.

2. Tipping culture

The United States can be said to be the country with the highest requirements for tips in the world. Tipping is a custom in the United States, whether you go to a restaurant to eat, stay in a hotel, or take a bus. In taxis, even going to the hairdresser, etc., it is considered normal to tip the person who serves you.

Many European countries also have the tradition of tipping, but tipping is just a reward for being very satisfied with the service. Europeans generally give themselves how much they pay based on service performance. You can even say that I think so-and-so has done a good job, and I just want to give it to him. This seems relatively fair and not as formal as in the United States.

What Europeans are confused about is that in the United States, many people get paid by tips. Even if the service is not very good, they still have to be paid according to a specific percentage. It is also ambiguous who gets these tips. . But tips are an important part of the income of workers in the U.S. service industry. Many waiters are paid less than the minimum wage set by the U.S. government that employers must pay their employees. Service staff pre-calculate tips into income as compensation for wages.

3. Add ice to all drinks

If you order a glass of water in a European restaurant, the water provided by the hotel is drinking water instead of mineral water. The cost is low and the process is simple.

The difference between the situation in the United States and Europe is the habit of adding ice. Americans have almost grown up drinking ice water. Even when the weather is more than ten degrees below zero and there is a heavy snowstorm outside, most Americans, men, women and children, drink large glasses of ice water without any pressure. . The ratio of general drinks to ice is 3:7, and the cup will be empty after a few sips.

4. Free refills

All restaurants in the United States have unlimited drink refills. Fast food restaurants pay to get the cups, and you can refill the drinks as you like. Is there any connection between this and the previous point about adding ice?

Is it because most restaurants in the United States provide free refill service, so there are a lot of ice cubes in every glass? Perhaps it is a marketing strategy. Adding ice with unlimited refills will make customers feel like they are getting benefits.

5. Public places are well-air-conditioned

In the United States, in the hot summer, office white-collar workers are equipped with scarves or blankets, and some air-conditioning outlets are blocked by cardboard or even Some desks even have heaters under them, but they still sit in the office shivering. Not only in offices, but also in public places such as shops, the air conditioners are turned up very loudly.

In Europe, many countries do not like to use air conditioners.

6. Credit cards are used everywhere

The United States is basically a cashless society, and cards can be swiped almost anywhere where cash can be used for payment. Therefore, living without cash in the United States is rarely affected. If someone tells you that he has not used cash for a year or two, don’t think it is too strange.

Few Europeans use credit cards. For online shopping in Europe, many European online stores almost do not provide credit cards. Instead, they use some local payment systems, such as ideal in the Netherlands, Germany and other places.

Americans have several credit cards, and shopping on American websites in Europe is the most painful, because almost all American websites only provide credit card payment.

7. 24-hour convenience stores

Convenience stores are a very great existence in the United States. They are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Unlike the United States, many stores in Europe close at 6 p.m. Due to factors such as religion and culture, except for some big cities, most cities are closed on Sundays. Some countries even do not legally allow businesses to open during this period.