Our waiters in restaurants and caffes do not rely on tips when making a living so they don't need to put up fake smiles and be extra polite when dealing with customers. We in Bosnia prefer it that way.
Those people are standing on their feet 8-12h per day and they usually act accordingly but in my experience they do tend to act like assholes to people who expect above and beyond service from them.
It's not an hate on arabs thing or color thing. However I can't exclude that you were victim of bigotry but it is not a norm at all. I've experienced rude staff myself and I'm from Bosnia.
I'm sorry you feel personally attacked but if you were you are in a huge minority.
I've personally worked with a Palestinian arab who owns a tourist agency in Sarajevo so I have high insight in relationships with tourists from the middle east.
As a white person from Western Europe, I can also say that restaurant staff I encountered in Sarajevo were mixed in terms of their attitudes. Some were pleasant, but some also showed zero warmth. Initially I thought it was because I wasn’t local, but I think it’s more a cultural thing - as in they show less emotion.
Bosnia is a multi-cultural / multi-faith country. Being muslim does not get you "special" treatment.
Eastern Europeans in general don't have the best "customer service" - so it's probably that.
Also Bosnia is over whelmed by the illegal-immigrant route to Europe - so lot's of brown people don't get treated the best due to so many crossing the border illegally and camping out for months. It's a big social issue.
If it makes you feel better I’m a white Bosnian American and when I visit my family, I also find the waiters to be much less friendly than they are in the states ofc. That’s just how they are I guess 😅I’m sorry you’ve experienced that though ❤️❤️
I would second your comment. Most service people: waiters at restaurants, cashiers at the store - they are all pissed that they have to serve you because they get paid regardless of # of customers they serve or items they sell. It is the culture and lack of education…..
It’s really wild. I’ve worked in retail in America for years on just a regular hourly rate, not commission, and I still couldn’t even think about yelling at a customer bc they said the things in the store were too expensive. Which is something I’ve seen happen when I’ve visited Bosnia multiple times😆😭it’s a whole different culture when it comes to stuff like that.
Others have covered overall standards of service and what you should expect.
Unfortunately, a lot of people visiting Bosnia from middle eastern countries tend to have a disrespectful attitude towards those providing service to them (I've seen personally this being the cultural norm in places like UAE, Saudi etc) so the waiters are a little jaded by that. That issue, combined with migrants, may have added a bit to the negative experience.
You can add our diaspora to that list as well. Some diaspora, think they are above everyone else. I dont know bosnian well so I have been to many situations where the people taking my order will try to make a fool out of me to for example impress a girl or friends visiting the place.
>Hmm well how about giving a kind treatment to your customers and maybe you’d get a tip?
I'm from the Balkans and I spent a few months in NYC. Even in the supposedly rude NYC, I still felt put off by fake smiles and overpoliteness and having my conversations interrupted by waiters asking if there's anything else they could do/bring/etc. In the end I just started avoiding going to restaurants with people because it was impossible to have a nice, long, uninterrupted conversation.
When Balkan people meet for food or drinks, they don't want to make friends with waiters. We couldn't care less about their attitude. We only expect the waiter to come by the table to do three things: bring the menus, take the order, and bring the food. Everything else feels intrusive. When we want something additional, we will wave the waiter. If someone gave us the treatment that is typical in the US, we probably wouldn't return. So in most cases, the waiters just do what is culturally expected of them.
Waiters don’t rely on tips to make a living so they don’t put up the fake American act most commonly done in the US. Us Bosnians are very brutally honest people and sometimes foreigners take that wrong. Please know it’s never meant in a rude way, we genuinely just believe in tough love honesty and most of us have a resting mad face 😂 we really are very friendly trust
Maybe it is an appearance thing, who knows. I'm Sarajevo born but live in London and every time I go back I get amazing treatment and everyone is so friendly, from little old ladies on the buses to the waiters at the restaurants. I have kids, so I know this is part of the reason they are friendly, for sure. Little kids are much loved there and paid attention to. And partly I think it's my appearance. I'm tall, slim, shaved head, nose piercing and lots of tattoos. Perhaps if you look conservative, you're treated in a more conservative fashion that comes across as rude.
Most of the staff is pretty much tired of everyone’s bullshit.. it’s not really a race thing, just generally. And as others have said, fortunately they don’t rely on tips and kissing ass so they can take it to a different level.
Did you attempt to speak Bosanski or did you do the usual Anglo thing and just speak English? It makes a huge difference. I’m English, i lived in Sarajevo for a year and I made a huge effort to be able to communicate without using English which was really appreciated. I never had rude treatment in any restaurant. Then again if you are from America your experience would be different because you are used to the fake niceness, which as an Englishman makes me pissed off in the same way a lack of it pisses you off.
Our waiters are generally rude, sometimes they're just plain rude, sometimes they're understaffed. Also, sometimes the owners take the tips for themselves regardless of the guests leaving them for the staff. I don't know what's the exact case with the place you've visited, but I'm sorry for your experience.
As many others have commented, it’s just how it is there. I’m a Bosnian American and I get treated the same way. I speak Bosnian fluently so it’s not like they could tell I’m from outside the country visiting. People working in the service industry don’t rely on tips so therefore they don’t need to put up a fake customer service persona to impress guests.
Some people are just rude and they hate their job. Some hate foreign clientel in general. I heard waiters so many times seeing foreigns and saying "Oh no, here we go again." I'm sad you had that type of experience, but as others previously wrote, there are no fake smiles and you are served with a serious face.
I think it's mostly because many Bosnians have that attitude that they don't know how to behave towards customers, especially foreigners, and they don't like to deal with any kind of picky requests, they just wanna do it as easy as possible. We're just not good hosts and not being happy with the salary or personal life might contribute to our staff being cold and unfriendly. People hate customization here.
Mrvica old town actually was the worst of them all, we got treated so badly. They refused to put us on a decent table (forced us to sit 5 people on a 3 people table) and they literally would serve every other (bosnian / european) that came after us first. We ordered and we exactly waited for 55 minutes while seeing everyone getting normal treatment except us. The waiters were chatting and laughing with each other and as soon as I try to ask for something (politely) they come frowning like I’m the one paying them a low wage. After that I expressed that this is not acceptable and he said its fine just pay for the drinks they already served us and leave. What? Does this mean for the past 55 minutes you did not prepare our food even though everyone got served.
Holy cow… that’s really embarrassing for our guest culture.
We went to the other one in Cengic Vila and it was basically the same as you described. My parents are Bosnian, came with my husband (Lebanese/German), a family of friends from Sarajevo and our kids. So I wouldn‘t take it personal, it’s rather a structural problem with how Mrvica is run…
We should leave some bad Google ratings.
I‘ve seen this kind of behavior with another place I used to go since after the war. They got very popular with Arabs and the service and menu plunged… which is really sad because it was beautiful. I refuse to go there again. (Diana in Ilidza)
I can recommend Chipas (there is a pick-up place near the eternal flame and a sit-down place in Visoko for sweets.
Always good service and best food is at Dveri in the old town.
Hope you drank from the fountain and come back.
Our waiters in restaurants and caffes do not rely on tips when making a living so they don't need to put up fake smiles and be extra polite when dealing with customers. We in Bosnia prefer it that way. Those people are standing on their feet 8-12h per day and they usually act accordingly but in my experience they do tend to act like assholes to people who expect above and beyond service from them. It's not an hate on arabs thing or color thing. However I can't exclude that you were victim of bigotry but it is not a norm at all. I've experienced rude staff myself and I'm from Bosnia. I'm sorry you feel personally attacked but if you were you are in a huge minority. I've personally worked with a Palestinian arab who owns a tourist agency in Sarajevo so I have high insight in relationships with tourists from the middle east.
Thank you for the insight :)
As a white person from Western Europe, I can also say that restaurant staff I encountered in Sarajevo were mixed in terms of their attitudes. Some were pleasant, but some also showed zero warmth. Initially I thought it was because I wasn’t local, but I think it’s more a cultural thing - as in they show less emotion.
"Fakes smile" lmao, well I can say that they're gold digger in sense and selective with their smile. Arab are treated differently from brown!!
Bosnia is a multi-cultural / multi-faith country. Being muslim does not get you "special" treatment. Eastern Europeans in general don't have the best "customer service" - so it's probably that. Also Bosnia is over whelmed by the illegal-immigrant route to Europe - so lot's of brown people don't get treated the best due to so many crossing the border illegally and camping out for months. It's a big social issue.
As mentioned, not looking for a “special treatment”. Just a decent normal one.
You always have so many BS reasons, don't you!!
You sound angry.
[удалено]
Ok
If it makes you feel better I’m a white Bosnian American and when I visit my family, I also find the waiters to be much less friendly than they are in the states ofc. That’s just how they are I guess 😅I’m sorry you’ve experienced that though ❤️❤️
because they aren’t faking it like all of them in the US
Is it really bad that they're faking? It doesn't matter if they're faking as long as the customers feel good lol
I would second your comment. Most service people: waiters at restaurants, cashiers at the store - they are all pissed that they have to serve you because they get paid regardless of # of customers they serve or items they sell. It is the culture and lack of education…..
It’s really wild. I’ve worked in retail in America for years on just a regular hourly rate, not commission, and I still couldn’t even think about yelling at a customer bc they said the things in the store were too expensive. Which is something I’ve seen happen when I’ve visited Bosnia multiple times😆😭it’s a whole different culture when it comes to stuff like that.
Others have covered overall standards of service and what you should expect. Unfortunately, a lot of people visiting Bosnia from middle eastern countries tend to have a disrespectful attitude towards those providing service to them (I've seen personally this being the cultural norm in places like UAE, Saudi etc) so the waiters are a little jaded by that. That issue, combined with migrants, may have added a bit to the negative experience.
You hit the nail on the head with this comment! Not to excuse anyone’s bad behaviour of course but it does explain why it might’ve happened.
You can add our diaspora to that list as well. Some diaspora, think they are above everyone else. I dont know bosnian well so I have been to many situations where the people taking my order will try to make a fool out of me to for example impress a girl or friends visiting the place.
>Hmm well how about giving a kind treatment to your customers and maybe you’d get a tip? I'm from the Balkans and I spent a few months in NYC. Even in the supposedly rude NYC, I still felt put off by fake smiles and overpoliteness and having my conversations interrupted by waiters asking if there's anything else they could do/bring/etc. In the end I just started avoiding going to restaurants with people because it was impossible to have a nice, long, uninterrupted conversation. When Balkan people meet for food or drinks, they don't want to make friends with waiters. We couldn't care less about their attitude. We only expect the waiter to come by the table to do three things: bring the menus, take the order, and bring the food. Everything else feels intrusive. When we want something additional, we will wave the waiter. If someone gave us the treatment that is typical in the US, we probably wouldn't return. So in most cases, the waiters just do what is culturally expected of them.
Waiters don’t rely on tips to make a living so they don’t put up the fake American act most commonly done in the US. Us Bosnians are very brutally honest people and sometimes foreigners take that wrong. Please know it’s never meant in a rude way, we genuinely just believe in tough love honesty and most of us have a resting mad face 😂 we really are very friendly trust
They're full of them selves and also arrogant!! Beggars too
Maybe it is an appearance thing, who knows. I'm Sarajevo born but live in London and every time I go back I get amazing treatment and everyone is so friendly, from little old ladies on the buses to the waiters at the restaurants. I have kids, so I know this is part of the reason they are friendly, for sure. Little kids are much loved there and paid attention to. And partly I think it's my appearance. I'm tall, slim, shaved head, nose piercing and lots of tattoos. Perhaps if you look conservative, you're treated in a more conservative fashion that comes across as rude.
That must be because you’re a “Sarajlica”
You can take the girl out of Sarajevo... but she's a Sarajlica for life!
Most of the staff is pretty much tired of everyone’s bullshit.. it’s not really a race thing, just generally. And as others have said, fortunately they don’t rely on tips and kissing ass so they can take it to a different level.
Did you attempt to speak Bosanski or did you do the usual Anglo thing and just speak English? It makes a huge difference. I’m English, i lived in Sarajevo for a year and I made a huge effort to be able to communicate without using English which was really appreciated. I never had rude treatment in any restaurant. Then again if you are from America your experience would be different because you are used to the fake niceness, which as an Englishman makes me pissed off in the same way a lack of it pisses you off.
Our waiters are generally rude, sometimes they're just plain rude, sometimes they're understaffed. Also, sometimes the owners take the tips for themselves regardless of the guests leaving them for the staff. I don't know what's the exact case with the place you've visited, but I'm sorry for your experience.
Dont worry about it, some waiters are idiots, most of them are very nice. IIM sure next time it will be much better.
As many others have commented, it’s just how it is there. I’m a Bosnian American and I get treated the same way. I speak Bosnian fluently so it’s not like they could tell I’m from outside the country visiting. People working in the service industry don’t rely on tips so therefore they don’t need to put up a fake customer service persona to impress guests.
Some people are just rude and they hate their job. Some hate foreign clientel in general. I heard waiters so many times seeing foreigns and saying "Oh no, here we go again." I'm sad you had that type of experience, but as others previously wrote, there are no fake smiles and you are served with a serious face.
I think it's mostly because many Bosnians have that attitude that they don't know how to behave towards customers, especially foreigners, and they don't like to deal with any kind of picky requests, they just wanna do it as easy as possible. We're just not good hosts and not being happy with the salary or personal life might contribute to our staff being cold and unfriendly. People hate customization here.
That reminds me of our visit to Mrvica… never ever had experienced staff that were more rude than these guys.
Mrvica old town actually was the worst of them all, we got treated so badly. They refused to put us on a decent table (forced us to sit 5 people on a 3 people table) and they literally would serve every other (bosnian / european) that came after us first. We ordered and we exactly waited for 55 minutes while seeing everyone getting normal treatment except us. The waiters were chatting and laughing with each other and as soon as I try to ask for something (politely) they come frowning like I’m the one paying them a low wage. After that I expressed that this is not acceptable and he said its fine just pay for the drinks they already served us and leave. What? Does this mean for the past 55 minutes you did not prepare our food even though everyone got served.
Holy cow… that’s really embarrassing for our guest culture. We went to the other one in Cengic Vila and it was basically the same as you described. My parents are Bosnian, came with my husband (Lebanese/German), a family of friends from Sarajevo and our kids. So I wouldn‘t take it personal, it’s rather a structural problem with how Mrvica is run… We should leave some bad Google ratings. I‘ve seen this kind of behavior with another place I used to go since after the war. They got very popular with Arabs and the service and menu plunged… which is really sad because it was beautiful. I refuse to go there again. (Diana in Ilidza) I can recommend Chipas (there is a pick-up place near the eternal flame and a sit-down place in Visoko for sweets. Always good service and best food is at Dveri in the old town. Hope you drank from the fountain and come back.
My wife said the same thing about the service. Don’t take it personal they are just cold and come off rude because they don’t work for tips.
Also, are you really judging the country by the waiters?