Ring bell for service

I must say there is one part of this culture that I haven't acclimated myself to, and that is how no one is in a fucking hurry (except when there is a line for something, but that's a whole 'nother rant). Take for example this restaurant that Rachel and I went to the other day. See that red button on the wall? That's a "press for service" button. The wait staff won't bother you at your table AT ALL until you press that button. Very bizarre. I've grown accustomed to asking for my check at every restaurant that I go to--they wait until you are ready to leave, as opposed to the American style of pushing you through like cattle for the sake of profit. What I'm not accustomed to is pressing a button at a cafe that isn't busy at all (where the employees are staring at you behind a counter doing nothing anyway) to get even something as simple as a refill for my drink. And what was even more bizarre was that this particular button apparently served about 5 tables, so if indeed the place was busy you'd have to walk around other people enjoying conversation and food to press a button on the wall to get service. Strange.