Dutch Waiters... question or a beef, hard to say

Sometimes, when desperate (you have to be someplace and all else fails), you just have to slowly get up from the table and slowly start walking out. As you do, make eye contact with the wait staff, so they understand you're not really trying to walk out without paying. Works every time, a bill is produced. Only to be used when all else fails, which sometimes happens over there. They say slow service is good service, but it's not always.

If you're in a cafe with a bar, you can go up to the bar & pay there. they'll flag down your waiter for you. Also, if I'm on a tight schedule, I'd probably let the waitstaff know up front that I want to pay right away.

Thanks to all above.

One point of clarification:
At more than a couple restaurants, there did not appear to be someone who was "our waiter." It was rather that one person took our order, someone else expidited the food, someone else asked us if we wanted refills on bevs, and one of the above may have asked us if we'd like dessert (I say may have because frequently, we'd have been sitting post-meal completion for like 15-20 minutes before this question was asked, by which time desire to have dessert left me and the wife).

PS- with the really good bulk licorice and gummi's in most pharmacies and Albert Heijn's, I never missed a nice restaurant dessert. A black licorice culture cannot be bad, at least all bad.

I've never had that much of a problem. But to make yourself perfectly clear, try saying this: "Meneer/mevrouw, mag ik de rekening, alstublieft?"

If you are on a schedule, you can ask for the bill when the food is served or head to the bar.

Dining is not a rushed experienced in the Netherlands. It isn't bad service; it just isn't American service.

my only problem with dutch waitstaff is when they bring me an €8 bill for 1 egg, 1 thin slice of ham and toast. Other than that, havent had any issues with service yet! Just ate at matias in the leidsplein; service is what i have come to expect. Its not over friendly, but is courteous and ranges from downright friendly to mildly indifferent. I think right now, theyre just happy to see tourist!

You never know about those extra charges. We were once was in Brugge and in an inexpensive bistro ordered a hamburger, or something like it, that came with French fries. My partner asked for some ketchup for the fries. The ketchup was Heinz -- made in Belgium.

We were billed 2 Euro extra for the ketchup!

Did see a lot of E.50 to 2E50 charges for Ketchup, Mayo and other condiments at frite places around the low countries.

Thinking back on the trip:
I think I'm having a bit of sticky memory bias. There were only two places that we got very slow turn on getting a dessert menu or the check. In Curacao, there were maybe 4 or 5 out of ten nights, including what I would apocryphally describe as the worst service I have gotten in a restaurant anywhere (by recent immigrants from the Netherlands), on our first night (as De Boot in Wilhemstad... avoid if you go).

Thanks all for tips and observations.

On a side note, despite many warnings about rude French Waiters, never saw it at all.

We were in Amsterdam last April and the owner of our B & B explained to us early on that it would be more or less considered a rude intrusion or bad form to rush customers out of restuarants, and that we would find it different from what we were accustomed to at home. Peter was a native Am'damer who had lived in NYC for 15 years. On the whole too I believe the Dutch were a lot more reserved than I had expected, for whatever reason. PS He runs Boogaard's B & B and it was great.