Proven by science!

I don't know whether you think that waiters and bank clerks are politer in some regions of the world than others. But now data are available on how polite they are in Croatia, writes Ljiljana Hlača in Glas Slavonije. The "Heraklee" agency sent "mystery shoppers" (apparently this is a term of art) in October and November of last year to banks, shops and restaurants around Croatia, and found:

13% of bank clerks did not "politely greet" their customers, and only 7% gave "clear and understandable" answers to questions.

In 17.5% of shops, prices were not "properly displayed," but 64.2% of shop clerks greeted their customers, while only 39% did not thank customers for purchases.

71.87% of waiters offered their customers additional drinks, but only 41.94% offered dessert.

Did I say science? I meant "information-gathering."

Update: Just to note that I have generally found that things like restaurant service in all of the countries of the region are far better than here in the US. When I told this to my dear wife, she said "yeah, but that's not saying much."