Manners differ

Findings of an international GfK survey on the manners of Europeans and US citizens

West Europeans and Americans generally believe that their fellow countrymen have good manners. Four out of ten people consider punctuality essential when meeting someone. The same proportion of Europeans think that it is good manners to switch off mobile phones in restaurants. For the most part, it is acceptable for a host to ask that guests do not to smoke indoors provided that smoking is possible outdoors. These are the findings of the Manners survey carried out for the Wall Street Journal Europe by GfK Custom Research Worldwide in 20 European countries and the USA in the autumn of this year.

Which country has the best manners? Survey questions included which nation follows good etiquette at the dinner table, when greeting others and in public places. The most frequent response from Americans and West Europeans, excluding Swedes and Spaniards, was to name their own country. The picture was quite different in Central and Eastern Europe , where many believe that the British and French have particularly good manners. Belgians were the most convinced of their own good manners (39%), followed by the Swiss (38%) and Austrians (34%).

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