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I'm 15 days into a 30-day trip all across Greece (Athens, northern mainland, islands). Everything has been great except the long wait each time we are ready to pay our bill when we're out to eat or for drinks. In America, cleared plates or a credit card/cash sitting on the table is an indication that we are ready to leave. Here it seems they are in no rush at all. We've even waited 20 minutes (they weren't busy). They print the tickets and bring them out immediately but take much longer to take payment. Multiple times we've had to walk to them - which feels a bit rude.

My question How do I more clearly indicate that I am ready to pay and leave? or Am I just being an impatient American not attuned to the Mediterranean pace of life?

wolves_vowels
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    If everything else fails, standing up and donning outerwear has always worked for me. – hmakholm left over Monica Apr 15 '18 at 14:51
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    I've noticed this is true in Greek restaurants in North America in some cases, too (I had it happen to me at a Greek restaurant in Toronto's Greek Village a few years ago). The solution is the same. :) – Jim MacKenzie Apr 15 '18 at 15:33
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    It's never rude to come up to the bar to pay your bill, even in the US. – JonathanReez Apr 15 '18 at 16:18
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    One of the biggest complaints among fellow recently-arrived expats in Europe when I first moved there was the glacial pace of the service. Some of that may have been in fact related to glacial pace of the service, but much of it was also that they hadn't gotten used to the fact that it's generally necessary to attract the attention of the staff if you want anything, including to pay. Once you become accustomed to this, everything works much more smoothly. – phoog Apr 15 '18 at 17:08
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    @HenningMakholm what if it's summer? If I'm having trouble attracting the attention of my waiter, I sometimes take my wallet in my hand and walk over (especially if the trouble is caused by the waiter's attention being given to a conversation with colleagues). – phoog Apr 15 '18 at 17:09
  • @phoog That's good if you have enough of an overview of the place to know where the register is. Unfortunately my memory for faces is terrible, so I'm rarely sure which waiter's attention to try to catch. Thus the more convenient convoluted strategies. – hmakholm left over Monica Apr 15 '18 at 18:13
  • The phrase in Greek is "To logariasMO, parakalo." –  Apr 15 '18 at 18:34
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    I'd say it as 'To lohariasMO' - it doesn't have a hard G. There's a law that you must be provided with a receipt, so some places (cafes especially) will provide the receipt with each stage of your order. If you want attention, wave at them or walk up to the counter. – user1908704 Apr 15 '18 at 21:36
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    Even quicker way to get bill is to make a writing gesture, with your hand up in the air when you and your waiter have eye contact. – Иво Недев Apr 16 '18 at 11:55
  • As a mnemonic for remembering the phrase, you might note its similarity to logarithm, which also is something to do with counting (both words have common ancestors). BTW, while the gamma is not the hard Jee of English, it's going a bit far to turn it into an Aitch - let's split the difference and go with logharismo. – Oscar Bravo Apr 16 '18 at 12:31
  • If you start leaving the restaurant they usually hurry after you with the bill :) – Viktor Mellgren Apr 16 '18 at 14:14
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    If they don't show up with the bill after 15 minutes you're legally allowed to leave. – walen Apr 16 '18 at 16:27
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    @walen Really? Do you have a source for that? Based on my experience, waiting longer than 15 minutes to pay, in Greece, is normal... A friend of mine and I were even joking that the cause of the Greek crisis is simply that customers leave without paying, because the wait is too long and frustrating... – Fabio says Reinstate Monica Apr 17 '18 at 00:40
  • For US citizens dining in a european restaurant, especially in the southern parts, is definitely a different experience. It is not uncommon to spend 3 hours in a restaurant for dinner in Greece. The waiters will react more to hand signs and eye contact. Long conversations during the dinner are normal. As opposed to the US the waiters are not staying in contact with you all the time to provide a great service and get a bigger tip. – P. G. Apr 17 '18 at 07:21
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    In many places in the world, bringing the bill is considered rude unless you ask for it. The implication is that they are rushing you. – copper.hat Apr 17 '18 at 16:52
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    @FabioTurati I can say with certainty that it was a joke, specifically a reference to this – Kamil Drakari Apr 17 '18 at 20:44
  • @HenningMakholm simply attract the attention of any waiter/waitress, if it's the wrong one they will send the right one over. Or good-naturedly bawl their name across the premises and point at you. : ) – Grimm The Opiner Apr 18 '18 at 10:10

3 Answers3

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In many parts of Europe it is considered rude for a restaurant to bring you your bill without being asked. Meals are expected to be relaxed, unhurried affairs, and for a restaurant to bring the bill, or ask for payment, without being asked is seen as them trying to hurry you out.

As such it is absolutely expected that you ask for the bill, or if you already have the bill ask to pay it. Attract the waiter's attention. This is more acceptable in Europe than the US, because generally a waiter won't disturb you unless they think you want something. (The endless "is everything alright - how is the food?" questions from North American waiters still faintly irritates some of us European expats.) If language is a problem, then the universal "mime writing something on your hand" usually works. Have a look at what others are doing - they may be paying at the counter (though this is pretty rare in Europe). If you are in a hurry, ask for the bill as soon as your last item is brought, and ask to pay as soon as the bill is brought.

If you are paying by cash, then leaving the cash on the table is also acceptable

DJClayworth
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    I always thought the "mime writing on your hand" thing was a bit strange, but I've yet to find a country it doesn't work (having now used it in several dozen, in all continents). – Roddy of the Frozen Peas Apr 15 '18 at 15:27
  • Everywhere I go I found that a raised hand "counting money" means getting the bill (europe at least, germany and adjacent countries). – TomTom Apr 15 '18 at 16:50
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    "faintly" is understating the level of irritation, depending perhaps on the server's demeanor, and this is coming from someone who was born and raised in the US. In addition to miming with the hand, I have occasionally, when in a hurry, at least, employed the tactic of getting up with my wallet in my hand and approaching the server or, if one is visible, the cash register/till. I've never noticed that to be received poorly by the staff. – phoog Apr 15 '18 at 17:03
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    I wouldn't say that paying at the counter is rare, but perhaps it is in posher places. – TRiG Apr 15 '18 at 17:50
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    Going to the counter to pay is pretty common, especially when you're in a hurry. Nobody will be offended, and it saves a roundtrip with change/card terminal/etc. – user1908704 Apr 15 '18 at 21:31
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    Paying at the counter is not rare in Europe, in fact, in many Italian restaurants, it is the norm – user Apr 15 '18 at 22:33
  • How do you avoid paying at the counter when you have to put in your PIN? – curiousdannii Apr 16 '18 at 02:24
  • I always pay at the counter In the Netherlands and Belgium and see a lot of people doing so as well. If you want to use PIN, you'll actually have to pay at the counter in most places. Unless it has a wireless PIN device. – Mixxiphoid Apr 16 '18 at 04:41
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    @curiousdannii it is rare, but some have a wireless PIN device. – Mixxiphoid Apr 16 '18 at 04:42
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    the "write in hand with invisible pen" is probably the best advice. it goes back to the "ancient days" ( pre 2000) where you payed with visa by signing. – CptEric Apr 16 '18 at 06:55
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    @Mixxiphoid - Rare? Ok I live in the UK which has a lot of differences to continental Europe, but pretty much every restaurant here has a wireless card machine. – AndyT Apr 16 '18 at 08:41
  • @AndyT 'Rare' might not have been the good word. Though it seems more and more places are getting wireless card machines. – Mixxiphoid Apr 16 '18 at 10:07
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    Whatever you do, though, don't snap your fingers! – J... Apr 16 '18 at 12:40
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    Born in the US and I've spent hardly any time outside it, and The endless "is everything alright - how is the food?" questions always annoy me a great deal. Even more annoying is an overeager backwaiter grabbing my plate to take it away when there's still food on it! I've never seen these as attempts at politeness but instead attempts to get me to leave so someone else can be seated. – Todd Wilcox Apr 16 '18 at 14:12
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    In the UK, literally everywhere will have a wireless pin device. The only restaurants that require you to pay at the counter are either fast-dining places or the type of incredibly old-school clubs where it is expected that the host will pay for everyone, and the guests will be given menus without prices. Paying at a counter means they have no chance to see the final total, either. – A Simmons Apr 16 '18 at 16:26
  • As a Greek, I would only add that sometimes if the business notices you've finished eating some time ago they might use approaches such as "can I take some of the plates that you're already done with" or "can we offer you a complimentary dessert" as a polite poke. But it can also happen as a matter of course. – Jon Apr 17 '18 at 12:10
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In Greece you should just signal to the waiter. Either raise your hand or do what DJClayworth said. It is not uncommon for people to ask for extra plates (fries, tzatziki, feta etc.), so they will wait for you to tell them when you are ready to pay the bill. (Also in many restaurants when you signal for the bill they bring a dessert too!)

Giorgio
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GiaFil7
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  • So you mean you won't get the ordered desert until you signal for the bill? – kiradotee Apr 16 '18 at 10:25
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    No you will get a FREE dessert. – GiaFil7 Apr 16 '18 at 10:43
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    I can verify. It is quite often (the default I would say) for dessert to come at the end of your meal for free -after you have paid-, as a 'thank you' from the restaurant. – arxakoulini Apr 16 '18 at 10:48
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    What kind of desert is it usually? (e.g. ice cream, cake) Have never encountered this. :) – kiradotee Apr 16 '18 at 12:54
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    @kiradotee In Croatia, in the same region as Greece, a desert liquor (Kruškovac, Slivovitz, Grappa) is usually given free of charge. – Patrick Hofman Apr 16 '18 at 13:03
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    @kiradotee It depends on the place and time of year. But in the summer usually the dessert is either fruit(watermelon,melon) or yogurt with honey. Or in some rare cases you could get a local desssert. – GiaFil7 Apr 16 '18 at 13:23
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    @kiradotee Whatever is local, Greece/Greek islands it's usually something like watermelon, as they are practically everywhere, or you may get a shot of the local spirit. Even though you may be full, it's too tasty to pass up, so try to pay at the table and not look in a rush. – Daniel Morritt Apr 16 '18 at 15:06
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    So far desserts we've been gifted for free include: yogurt with nuts and honey, yogurt with beets, almond cake and other types of little cakes that I am unsure what flavor they were. :) – wolves_vowels Apr 16 '18 at 16:29
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    You can tell I love a good dessert, but in all the (more or less authentic) Greek restaurants I visited here in Germany the waiter brought a free Ouzo instead. – dessert Apr 16 '18 at 21:55
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    As a born and bred American, I frequently read the comments section of answers here on Travel and wonder why I haven't moved to Europe yet... – Mike Devenney Apr 17 '18 at 01:47
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That would apply if you were at an a' la carte restaurant. In general we raise our hand & say the bill please (cos as Giorgio said sometimes we raise our hand & order extra dishes etc). The best I've discussed with American friends is the body language, meaning from place to place things can be different from such things to greetings so feel free to ask.

Enjoy your holidays :)

jomustech
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