Something interesting just occurred to me as I familiarize myself with the Dutch and Amsterdam (although I did date a dutch man once and have two great friends who are dutch). Here a waiter is actually paid very well, which is not the case at all in North America usually when young people who have these jobs rely heavily on tips and therefore provide what we consider a great service or attitude in consequence.
Here’s it’s like a parallel universe.
Waiters ignore you, accuse you of being subordinate, and that’s apparently accepted. Dutch clients are expected to treat them rudely and expect the best, sometimes returning plates if they don’t like the look of it, waving frantically to get the bill, ie being direct and what a north american might consider rude. Is one feeding the other? Is it the contempt of the client that is creating the “laissez-faire” attitude of the worker? or the other way around. Is it purely cultural? I can’t tell yet, but it makes for a very odd service experience.