Lisa Vanderpump Reveals How American and British Manners Differ
The #RHOBH restaurateur breaks down her rules for etiquette.
Wondering just how different Americans are in the manners department in comparison to our British counterparts? Well, Lisa Vanderpump is spilling all the etiquette tea to Harper's Bazaar. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills restaurateur shares that there's a "huge difference" between the two cultures. She noted that "Americans are just rather loud. And please, I'm not trying to patronize—but it's considered kind of quite rude to be talking so other people can't hear in a restaurant."
But that is certainly not where the differences end. The Vanderpump Rules boss noted that back in her native land, SURvers interact quite differently with the folks they're serving. "The social interaction between the waiters and waitresses and customers is interesting. You often don't have that in England—that kind of, 'Hey! Hi! My name's so and so'. It's more of a service in England, which is more curt and not as friendly—not as familiar," she said. "That can be construed by Americans when they go to Britain as being a little snobby."
In general, it would seem that Americans have a very different approach in general about how they interact with people they aren't exactly familiar with. "I use the word loosely but as a celebrity, I often get approached at the table here. People come up like, 'I love your show!' and I would never experience that in England. I don't mind it at all but it's very different," she said of how often fans talk to her in restaurants. She noticed this kind of easy-breezy attitude in other public spaces as well. "When I arrived in America, I was always flabbergasted that people would just talk to you. In England, you can sit on a train opposite someone in a small carriage for hours and not a word would be said. Not a word," she said. "In America, people are more familiar, they chat. And I like that."
While she's made a name for herself in the restaurant industry, she notes that people entertain at home more frequently in England than in the States. But if you do find yourself invited to a dinner party, she advises you bring your host or hostess this treat. "You always arrive with a hostess gift in England. Chocolates are a big thing. People often take chocolates that you can have with coffee or with dessert," she said. "I don't believe in ever taking flowers that need to be arranged because, where are they going to be put? In the sink when you're cooking? If you take flowers, they should either be an arrangement of flowers that you can put on the bar, or something like a candle. When people say 'can I bring anything?' the hostess is going [to] say, 'no, just bring yourself,' but I would never go to somebody's house without something."
And this one piece of advice might be something the Housewives might want to take under advisement before their next get-together should any tense situations arise. "A good hostess will always avoid certain subjects and steer the conversation; changing it if she sees things getting heated."
Looking for more life advice from Lisa? Well, then you might want to hit play on the below video where she dishes out her sex rules.
