I have traveled to Madrid twice as well as in Andalucia and have been to many restaurants. I noticed that the Spanish waitstaff is not that friendly and cordial compared to other countries like here in the US and Latin America. We did have some excellent waiters and waitresses that gave us professional service, but in many ocasions the waitstaff was not very friendly and did not check back to our table to see if we needed anything.
Maybe this is due to the gratuity (tip) being included in the restaurant bill. Or maybe this is just the custom in many restaurants throughout Spain. I worked in the restaurant business for six years here in the Houston, Texas and I know when service is poor and I also know when it is good. So I'm curious to here any comments on this topic or maybe it's just me.

"Spain Is Different"

Tex-
It depends on what kind of restaurant... but for the most part waitstaff leaves you alone to enjoy your meal, and won't pester you ever 1min 30sec to make sure everything is ok. Its different, yes.. as far as gratuity included in the bill, not the norm. again depends on the rest. in Spain waiters get a regular pay, not pennies and then the rest to be made up in tips like in the US. If your looking for hand and foot service, try one of the am. chain restaurants, they're trained on the am. customs in that sense. Is it good or bad, well that's a matter of cultural differences and opinion.

What, MadridMan...Spain is DIFFERENT? Oh, no, I couldn't go there, then!!! I fear change!

I think "Spain is Different" and "No, We Don't Eat Burritos" (sung to the tune of "Yes, We Have No Bananas") should be the new tourism slogans for Spain.



As for restaurants, I have also worked as a waitress, and I noticed the difference right away. It's the polar opposite of the trend here in America toward overly familiar waitstaff--you know, the ones who slide into your booth with you to take your order, or come by every 15 seconds to see if there might be anything else on the planet that you need (while you have your mouth full).

I didn't mind it as long as the staff seemed to be working--it was a little irksome when they were watching soccer at the bar and I would have to get up to order an extra drink.

I am always as polite as I can be (given the limitations of my Spanish) and usually have decent service. You have to be willing to wave or use body language to catch the server's eye much of the time. I like not feeling rushed...though it's odd for an American diner to feel "forgotten," as I sometimes have in Spain!

In Spain, it's not uncommon nor "poorly looked upon" to shout across a room at a waiter to get his/her attention.

I think we're terribly spoiled/pampered by wait staff here in the USA. Wow. They (in the USA) are practically willing to wash your feet for more of a tip whereas in Spain they don't rely so heavily on tips to survive so they don't paint on the smiles or hold your hand so much during "the process". I kind of prefer it the Spanish way.

There's nothing more annoying than to see a waiter/waitress being so totally INauthentic in their joy to serve you, your majesty. hehehe..

Let's be real, people. Let's be human. Let's not make the attitude of our server decide the success or failure of the evening with our special someone across the table.

Saludos, MadridMan

Remember as well that in Spain, very much unlike the US, they are not trying to shoo you out of the restaurant so that more paying public can come in and pay tips. In Spain, eating is an event, not an inconvenience. The staff want you to enjoy it, not hurry through it.

One other thing: As I've learned by waiting for drinks at the bar of the Chino Basque Club, if you want something, ask for it! If you don't ask, you probably won't get it...but if you don't ask and don't get, don't gripe.

That custome of asking "Is everything ok?, Can I help you with anything?" every five or ten minutes while at a restaurant is purely an American (from the States anyway ), thing. At least I've ever experienced it anywhere in Europe, it's just not done....

....if you miss it though, you can always go to certain American-based chains such as T.G.I.'s Friday in Madrid.

I only experienced bad service once in Spain and it was at a restaurant I'd actually eaten at before and had good service at. Once my friend and I were at a restaurant on Betis in Sevilla... took about an hour or so to eat our dinner, have our desert... And about an hour and 10 minutes to get our check... after we'd requested it three times. I'm telling you we had asked politely, rudely and every ohter way to know how much we owed - and we both speak Spanish - and they just didn't want to give it to us. Then when they finally did, they wouldn't come take the money! ARGH! We should have just walked out - the whole paying process took about as long as the meal.

Melinda

The phrase "Bad Service" is a subjective one. I'm sure we can all agree on that. What we "Americans" consider to be "Bad Service" in Spain might very well be considered "Average/Typical Service" (neither good nor bad) to a Spaniard.

Melinda328, waiting an 1+ hours for your bill after asking for it IS DEFINITELY excessive no matter WHERE in the world you are. Sheesh! After about 30 minutes I'd like to think it within myself to stand up, walk over to the waiter, and say in perfect Spanish (??), "I'll take my check now or we're leaving. Thank you very little."

This thread reminds me of a recent conversation.

There is a tapas restaurant here in San Francisco that a couple of friends & I went to recently and we got very poor service from the Spanish waitress. Not just ignored, but when given a jug of water, it took another 20 minutes for us to get her attention to ask for the glasses. Anyway, it won't make me stop eating there because the food is good, etc. Well, anyway, when I told my madrileño boyfriend about the experience his answer was "typical Spanish".

But on the other hand, I have had only lovely service in Spain from all types of waitstaff, especially in Gijón.