Differences between Swiss and Americans

I'd like to write about the differences between Swiss gamblers and American gamblers. All non-casino people who read the following may not understand all of it, but I still feel compelled to write it.

The average Swiss gambler is nothing, absolutely nothing, like the average American gambler. Here, there is virtually no laughing or joking at the tables, no yelling or even talking loudly, no pounding the layout, or high-fiving, or jumping up and down, or patting each other on the back, in response to a win or loss. There is also no cursing, swearing, or glaring at the dealer, or at anyone else for that matter. There is no blaming the dealer for 'bad cards' , or 'bad karma', or for a 'bad shuffle'. There are never any threats issued, or mothers disrespected. Getting overly emotional about anything is simply considered bad form by the Swiss. Obviously, this has both its good aspects, and its bad aspects. No assholes blaming me for every bad card that comes out of the shoe, no high rollers threatening my unborn children if they don't win the next hand. Also, booooooooriiiiiiiiiing. Before moving to and living in Switzerland, I had no idea how extremely emotional Americans are! I always saw them as mostly arrogant and ignorant, but not dramatic. I always compared Americans to Mexicans, Cubans, Puerto Ricans, or Dominicans, and of course, compared to those cultures, Americans are very subdued. Compared to the Swiss, however, Americans are like Speedy Gonzales!

Another major difference between Swiss and American gamblers is their respective skill levels. Americans are much more skilled on average than the Swiss. I really can't describe or explain how bad the Swiss are at gambling, especially Blackjack. I don't have the vocabulary, words just do not do it justice. Try to remember the worst Blackjack player you have ever seen, the most clueless, naive, ignorant buffoon of gambling you have ever witnessed.........and then multiply that by an entire country. The Swiss will split everything that can be split, no matter what, they will double anything that can be doubled, no matter what. They will stay on 5, or hit 19, purely on whim. The dealer's up card is irrelevant in the Swiss psyche. If there is a side bet, they will bet it, no matter how bad the odds. If there is an empty spot on the table in addition to their own, they will bet on it, up to and including the entire table. They always figure the more betting spots they have covered, the better chances of winning! The Swiss wouldn't know 'money management' if it came along and hit them in the face. I know that I am sometimes prone to exaggeration(who...me?), but I swear that I am not exaggerating when I say that the Swiss are the worst gamblers to ever draw breath on the face of planet Earth. This is why the table hold percentages here are 2 1/2 times those of Las Vegas!

At least their game, though, they just keep trying and trying, pulling more and more money out. Interestingly, they don't seem to learn from their mistakes. Regardless of how many times a particular action causes them to lose, they will just repeat it over and over again. At first, this bothered me, and I tried to explain to them why they shouldn't do something like, say, constantly split tens, or hit a hard eighteen, or stay on 5. However, the Swiss are not open to explanation, they do not like it when someone tells them they are doing something wrong. In the best case, they react with pity and smug superiority. How could I, a mere dealer, think to advise them on how to play Blackjack? I learned quickly to only encourage bad moves. "Oh, you want to split Tens?! Well, why not? That's a great idea! Do it again, cause you rock!!" Now, my only enjoyment is watching them make one stupid move after another, and taking their money......................... all with a look of smug superiority on my face.

A little about "Customer Service" in the Grand Casino Lucerne. I've been dealing now for 14 years, and during this time I have learned a few things about customer service--American style. Lets go over customer service--European style. At the Grand Casino Lucerne, Croupiers(dealers) are allowed to greet the customers with a 'Hello', or 'Good Evening', and then ask what denomination of chips they would like. We are not allowed to ask the players anything about themselves, or initiate any kind of conversation. If we are asked specific questions of any kind, we must answer them with as few words as possible, and attempt to curtail any possibility of extended conversation. We must not, under any circumstances, attempt to establish any kind of 'rapport', or friendly camaraderie. We are there to deal, not make friends. If a customer asks us a question, such as directions to the bathroom or cashier, or attempts to engage us in conversation outside of the pit, say on our way to the break room, we are to immediately return to the pit and notify a Pit Boss. The Pit Boss will then call surveillance so that they can place a camera on us, just in case something 'suspicious' goes down. If a customer, or group of customers, makes any kind of noise above normal conversational tones, they are immediately asked to tone it down. Absolutely no hitting the table, no yelling or laughing loudly, no slapping each other on the back or high fives, no jumping up and down, etc. All music is kept very low in volume in the casino, and only mellow tunes are played. Anything that could lead to rambunctiousness and rowdiness is avoided. That is the extent of Customer Service at the Grand Casino Lucerne. When my wife, Timea, first started working here, she was optimistic that perhaps they would attempt to mine her knowledge of customer service learned in Las Vegas. They weren't interested. She offered to meet with the Casino manager one on one and go over some of the marketing tactics and strategies they utilize in Las Vegas. She volunteered to write down much of what she had learned from her customer service training in Las Vegas. After perusing this information, however, our new bosses indicated that there was nothing useful in them, that Americans obviously knew very little about 'proper' customer service.

Fraternizing between management and dealers, outside of official functions sanctioned by the Casino, is frowned upon. We can't just 'hang out' with a supervisor or Pit Boss after hours or on our days off. If a dealer verbally disagrees with a person in a management position during work hours, for any reason, regarding anything at all, then the manager will most likely e-mail the Casino director, and a meeting will be scheduled to address your insubordination. There is no friendly give and take, no respectful discussion, explanations, or uncertainties. What the manager says is law, regardless of its accuracy, regardless of the testimony of the players, regardless of anything. Every mistake made on the table is reviewed by surveillance before a decision is made, regardless of how small monetarily. You accidentally swept a $5 bet on black on Roulette? You know it, and the customer knows it? Doesn't matter, surveillance will be called, the tapes will be reviewed, and then the decision will be made. Yours and the customers input is disregarded. Here, there is very little trust of employees, and even less respect. There is no recognition of your years of experience, no recognition that you are an intelligent, responsible human being. You are a dealer, and you will do what you are told. Period.

I have talked quite a bit about the smoking situation here in Switzerland, so everyone who reads this Blog will be quite familiar with the fact that the Swiss live in the Fifties when it comes to their attitudes and knowledge regarding cigarettes. They honestly don't seem to be aware of any of the studies or facts or information that has come to light in the last 60 years regarding the harm of smoking. All Swiss chain smoke with the innocence, smugness, and naivete of a Fifties B-movie starlet. What I haven't mentioned yet is that the different cantons of Switzerland have, in the last few years, passed various laws that have outlawed in some way the smoking of cigarettes in public places. Nothing like what parts of America and the UK have passed, but at least a baby step in the right direction. However, there is a loophole (how did that get there?!) that allows establishments like the Grand Casino Lucerne to only have separate, enclosed areas for non-smokers. This new law went into effect on May 1st. My wife and I, before we decided to take these jobs and move to Switzerland, were told that the new law would go into effect at the beginning of 2010......but it was delayed. We were still hopeful that when it finally did go into effect that it would improve the working environment.................. We have never been so wrong in our lives.

To elaborate, I first have to give you a little preamble to our current situation. The gaming tables at the Grand Casino Lucerne are all located in a large, old ballroom called the "Grand Jeu", within the very old palace that houses the totality of the casino and all of it's support functions. "Grand Jeu" basically means the Great Play in French. When they converted the Grand Jeu to partially non-smoking, they built a floor-to-ceiling glass wall that sealed off one third of the casino floor for non-smoking gaming. They left the other two-thirds for smokers. Now, at one end of the Grand Jeu, doors used to open to the lobby, and at the other end, there was a large open walkway that connected to the slots area. In order to build the smokers area, they closed the doors to the lobby, which became non-smoking, and built a glass wall across the other end to the non-smoking part of the slots area. This effectively sealed off any air flow, and made the smoking area self-contained. Add to this the fact that there is zero air filtration systems in place, and zero air conditioning. Now, pack in nothing but 3-400 Swiss chain smokers into a much smaller-than-before area with no air flow, no air filtration, and no air conditioning, and you have a recipe that is more effective than the gas chambers of Auschwitz. It is the most toxic, poisonous atmosphere that anyone could possibly imagine in a work environment. It is like working in a 'sauna of death'. How could the owners of the casino have possibly thought that this would work? Of course, even the dealers who were before models of obsequiousness, now are complaining that they cannot work in these conditions. Do you know what management's short-term solution was?..... placing air freshener hangers, made for cars, from the table limit signs. They're take on the issue was that the smell of the cigarettes could be at least partially countered by this tactic. The fact that the dealers and supervisors working the floor might be a little more concerned about the possible negative short and long-term health affects of breathing in tons of second hand smoke for eight hours a day never crossed their minds. Things will quickly be coming to a head, and I believe that our days here are numbered.

Sorry for the downer Blog, but some frustration has been building up, and this is probably the healthiest way to let it out. Till next time, Bye!