'I'm an American living in the UK, this is the most frustrating thing about England'

An American living in the UK has shared a "culture shock" that caused them great "frustration" when they moved here from over the pond. Though both countries share the same language, there's still a litany of cultural and societal differences between how they operate.

Whether it's certain turns of phrase that don't seem to make sense between the nations, or attitudes towards tipping, or even how supermarkets store and display produce, there's a whole host of issues that can cause some Americans to feel a little confused by life here in the UK. One American, who now lives in England, was surprised by the UK's definition of "closing time" and how it's enacted. Taking to Reddit with a post tagged as a "culture shock", they shared their grievance. The American penned: "Something I've noticed living in the UK is how differently 'closing time' works. In the US, if a place says it closes at 9pm, you can usually walk in at 8:55 and still get served - 'closing' means that's when they stop serving new customers. "In the UK, closing time is when the employees expect to be walking out the door to go home.

"Restaurants shut their kitchens an hour before the posted time, and grocery stores might even stop letting people in 20 to 30 minutes before closing.

She said in a bid to counteract this confusion, they've now "mentally pushed back every posted closing time by an hour to reflect British reality".

In the comments section, fellow Reddit users were keen to share their thoughts, and many supported the British way of doing things.

One person said, "And that's another reason why I love living in the UK. Staff leave on time since they have their own lives and families. Bartenders earn a decent wage, so they're not dependent on tips to survive.

"I've got used to the closing time means closing time. I think back when I used to work in retail and cursed the customers that would show up five minutes before closing to buy a hair tie".

Another shared: "I used to work in a big box retailer and we were forbidden from telling customers it was time to close, or that the store had already closed, and they should pay for their stuff and go.

"I once had to hang around for an hour after closing because the manager wouldn't do this. I appreciate stores saying, 'Hey, you've got 15 minutes to pay for your stuff because we're going home.'"

A third commented: "The British way of retail is so much more civilised."

Someone else disagreed with the original poster's line of thinking and added: "Ummm, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but no one, and I mean NOBODY, that works in a restaurant thinks 'anyone that walks in at 8:55 is [the] last new customer'.

"9pm is when they close, meaning they want you out at 9pm... Any other thinking is entitlement [to] the nth degree".