One Coffee Break, a Table Full: Cultural Differences Explained
In the Netherlands, it is very common that when you visit a client, you are offered a cup of coffee, perhaps with a cookie on the side. Usually, you don’t bring anything along when you go visiting.
With our target audience from Central and Eastern Europe, things work just “a little” differently.
A visit intended as a simple coffee break quickly turns out to be much more extensive. Not only do you bring something yourself, but the host or hostess’s table is already lavishly filled upon arrival. And that while it officially isn’t a meal at all, just a friendly visit.
What you bring doesn’t disappear into the kitchen with a polite thank-you. On the contrary: everything is immediately unpacked, cut, and placed on the table. Your contribution instantly becomes part of the whole.
The same thing happens when we receive visitors from that region ourselves. The table is often already full of cookies, fruit, and other treats, and then every single visitor brings something along without exception. Everything brought in is added straight away. This way, the table quickly grows into an abundance of food, even for a casual visit.
Even small things count. An orange is sliced into segments and neatly arranged on a small plate. Packages of cookies are opened and presented. It is not appropriate to leave anything unused sitting in the kitchen. What someone brings belongs out in the open to be shared.
By the way, it doesn’t have to be complicated at all. A cake is fine, a pack of cookies too, but even a single banana or orange will do. It’s not about the scale, but about the gesture. On the other hand, arriving empty-handed is perceived as impolite.
Cultural differences often show themselves precisely in these kinds of small, everyday moments. As soon as you understand how and why these customs exist, you can thoroughly enjoy them. But without that insight, a misunderstanding is easily lurking around the corner. Casually tossing something into the kitchen or bringing nothing at all can quickly be perceived as rude.
We enjoy it immensely; precisely these cultural differences make our work so special.