At a quick glance, most people would likely find it hard to distinguish between American and British faces, if one took away accents, fashion, and food. But it turns out none of that is necessary to identify the two, as some normal habits in the US could be deemed “rude” when in the UK.
A woman who goes by @yorkshireyank is a TikTok creator, originally American, who lives in the UK. Her content typically centers around comparing the two different countries with one another.
Highlights
- An American TikTok creator in the UK highlights how a few normal US habits are often seen as rude in British culture.
- House tours are common in the US but considered unusual in the UK.
- In US restaurants, servers often take a customer's credit card away to pay, while in the UK, payment is done at the table.
A two-and-a-half-minute-long clip, which was posted yesterday, May 15, explained different etiquette rules normalized in American culture — and how they could be glaringly strange to other foreigners.
A handful of habits that are considered normal in the US can be seen as rude or off-putting in the UK, according to a woman on TikTok
Image credits: yorkshireyank
Most citizens in America tend to give tours of their homes to guests, especially if it’s their first time in the area. Showing them where they cook, do laundry, and relax in their spare time can give a sense of familiarity.
“This is something that I have personally been privy to and I’ve personally been walked around people’s homes,” she said.
Image credits: Drazen/Adobe Stock
Image credits: yorkshireyank
Some on social media disagreed with this particular point as they suggested that offering up a tour wasn’t poor etiquette — it just shouldn’t be expected, especially if the guest were only over for a couple of drinks.
The TikToker went on to describe how it’s fairly common for waiters and waitresses to take a customer’s debit card away from them when paying the bill at a restaurant.
House tours aren't exactly common in the UK
Image credits: Drazen/Adobe Stock
“For about a period of five to ten minutes, you have no idea where your card has been, who has touched it and what has happened to your card in that timeframe,” she explained.
In the UK and most other countries, “that just doesn’t happen.”
Image credits: yorkshireyank
Image credits: Pixel-Shot/Adobe Stock
“They bring the credit card reader to your table and then they do it right in front of you, so there is no chance of anyone skimming your credit card,” she added.
One person on Reddit gave a brief explanation to clarify that it’s a problem with the restaurant’s technology, rather than a cultural aspect.
“It’s because they haven’t upgraded their system in the last 5-10 years,” the comment read. “This isn’t a cultural thing, just penny pinching owners.”
Many foreigners find it strange when American staff take away their debit cards when paying in restaurants
Image credits: yorkshireyank
On the topic of food, table manners in the US and the UK seem to have vast differences.
“A lot of Americans will say that they know their table manners but you don’t know them like the Brits do, so let’s agree to disagree,” said the creator.
“You’ll be sitting on a train and the first thing you can hear are these American accents. You can hear us before you can see us.”
Lastly, the simple use of ‘thank you’ seems to be used more from those in the UK. She clarified that there are a “large chunk of Americans” who will thank strangers for everything, but there are also a good portion who would wander into a store and blurt, “Hey, where the flour?” without any intention of being rude.
“All you should just be saying is ‘Please can you tell me where the flour is?’” she suggested.
The comments provided a bit more insight on other small nit-picky things that could be frowned upon, such as whistling to get a bar staff’s attention, wearing a hat indoors, or not dressing up if invited out somewhere.
Others made sure to let the content creator know that it wasn’t just the UK who found some of these habits strange — it was many other countries, as well.
Money and fashion are other areas where the two countries differ
Image credits: yorkshireyank
“It’s not just in the UK that people think Americans are strange and rude,” one person said. “The rest of the world see it too.”
Another laughed, “It’s not just Brits that know table manner. It’s literally the rest of the world.”
"America is so backwards," one user claimed
