American ordering Chipotle abroad reveals subtle difference between USA and UK English

It's pretty safe to say that in the United States, it's universally accepted that saying "please" and "thank you" are considered good manners. They're two of the first few words we're taught after baby babble starts becoming single-syllable words. Every household will vary on whether you should seek permission for something by saying "can I" or "may I," but "please" and thank you" will always be signs of politeness.

A man named Noah Osborne was on a trip in the UK recently when he found a Chipotle restaurant. In a TikTok video, he excitedly brings the audience along as he orders food from this American restaurant chain in the land of tea and crumpets. Nothing seems amiss from the American viewers' point of view, but his seemingly very polite ordering technique bristled the Brits. According to a number of people across the pond, the main issue is that he was rude.

Chipotle's inviting entrance, ready for customers to enjoy a meal.MiosotisJade via Wikimedia Commons

In the video, Osborne's tone is light and friendly; he greets the workers upon entering and continuously says "please" and "thank you" throughout the ordering process. It's a seemingly overly polite interaction by someone who appears not to want to offend the locals. Since Chipotle is much like an assembly line, Osborne uses his manners before and after every added ingredient—something that might be a bit too much for an American Chipotle worker.

"Guys, I just stumbled upon Chipotle in London, and now I feel like I have to try it on my last night here and compare, see which one's better," Osborne explains as he enters the restaurant. "Hi. Can I do a bowl, please? Here please," he says in response to the worker asking if he'd be dining in. "Do you have white? Ok, yeah. That's my only option," he nervously chuckles as she scoops brown rice into the bowl before she asks about the type of beans. "Let's do black, please."

Enjoying coffee and conversation at an outdoor café.Photo credit: Canva

The entire interaction is full of pleasantries to convey appropriate manners, but British folks thought the process from start to finish showed just how "rude" Americans are, with one person writing, "'Please can I have' must not be in the US language."

Another says, "Maybe if you weren’t so rude you’d have gotten the portion size you wanted. 'I’ll do'. How about please may I have? Gross."

One person asks, "Manners banned in the US?" While someone else throws out, "Maybe she gave you less cause you talked like that."

It seems that the main complaint is the order in which he used "please," that riled up the British viewers. Apparently, in the UK, they prefer you to place the "please" at the front of the sentence. The other complaints were not only criticizing the placement of "please" but also his use of the phrase, "I'll do." It would seem that if you're ordering food in the UK, you should speak as if you're the titular character of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist: "Please, sir, may I have some more?"

In all seriousness, there are cultural differences in the United States itself. In southern states, you'll likely hear a lot of people say "May I," while in northern states, you'll hear more people say "Can I." If the phrases change from state to state, they're likely to change from one English-speaking country to the next, and Americans were quick to point this out in defense of a fellow American.

A restaurant counter.Photo credit: Canva

"Being rude is only relative to your own culture. I’ve been to the UK several times and I initially saw them as very cold, sarcastic, and judgmental. But I never was offended because I realized they had different cultural practices. Being introspective is an important trait," one American argues.

"Thats how we order here guys relax different countries have different mannerisms, and here in the STATES thats considered good," another chimes in.

"A lot of you in the comments are insufferable my goodness do a lot of you not comprehend there are different ways that Americans learn what politeness is? And as long as he’s saying please and thank you why tf does it matter he was in no way shape or form being rude" one person responds.

Frustrated woman reacting to text on her phone.Photo credit: Canva

"It's completely acceptable that he's traveling and not going to use the same phrases as a native Brit. That expectation is completely unattainable. It would take several visits or longer stays to speak as a native would that goes for any English speaking country. Just like if a Brit visits the States we aren't going to expect them to automatically know how to speak as a United States English speaker. Also things to consider, we have a lot of different races and cultures here such as people who are native Spanish speakers and that also influences how people speak in certain regions. I'm sure this war with the Brits ended in the 18th Century and we should appreciate our differences rather than argue what is correct or not," someone else declares.

Some sort of American Bat Signal must've been shone because Americans quickly outpaced the British in the comments to the point where new commenters are confused about what people are arguing over. The overwhelming defense by Americans, aside from frustratingly pointing out the double standard for when British people visit the States, was arguing cultural differences. We're all a little different from country to country, and that's okay. Osbourne has certainly learned a unique cultural lesson, and the Brits in the comments have learned to have a bit more grace for tourists.