do servers not listen anymore?

i am in no way defending the bad service you recieved. i am asking this out of pure curiosity as a server. i have had people order drinks with no ice and i always wonder why. what is the reason people do not want ice in their sodas? i have no problem whatsoever serving a drink with no ice, lite ice, or extra ice on the side. whatever they ask for is what i bring. i'm just curious as to why someone prefers a coke with no ice.

annemarie, to answer your question, i would have to draw the conclusion that good servers listen and poor servers do not.

Jessie, I don't like ice in my drinks because I think it dilutes them too much, and I don't like to strain the liquid with the ice banging against my teeth. Just one of those things.

I think there are a ton of people working as servers that shouldn't be, because they just don't really care.

i am in no way defending the bad service you recieved. i am asking this out of pure curiosity as a server. i have had people order drinks with no ice and i always wonder why. what is the reason people do not want ice in their sodas? i have no problem whatsoever serving a drink with no ice, lite ice, or extra ice on the side. whatever they ask for is what i bring. i'm just curious as to why someone prefers a coke with no ice.

annemarie, to answer your question, i would have to draw the conclusion that good servers listen and poor servers do not.

I usually ask for light ice or no ice when I eat at a fast food joint. Why? Well, because they use the ice to give you less soda. I saw this happen at wendy's. I ordered a coke with no ice and the dude pushed the button and it only filled the cup up about 3/4 of the way. I kinda laughed when I saw it. The buttons they push to dispense soda are designed to fill your cup only when it is full of ice. Asking for no ice goofs it all up. I knew fast food joints are meticulous with monitoring cost and i saw just how meticulous after this. So I always order with light ice or no ice just because I am positive it is company policy to fill your cup full of ice in order to give you less soda to pinch every penny they can. I give props to the business efficiency but as a consumer I didn't really like it.

And yes, Laura I agree with you.

Ice in drinks seems to be an American fascination. Overseas I stayed in several hotels with no ice machine and a request for ice brought me a single cupful. "No ice" was pretty much standard in the UK. Plus, some folks' teeth are temperature sensitive and can't tolerate the cold.

[Robin Garr]

Ice in drinks seems to be an American fascination. Overseas I stayed in several hotels with no ice machine and a request for ice brought me a single cupful. "No ice" was pretty much standard in the UK. Plus, some folks' teeth are temperature sensitive and can't tolerate the cold.

When I lived and worked in NYC, I was amazed that most of my co-workers wanted no ice in their drinks and became angry when they were given more than a cube or two. They seemed to have a feeling that they were being cheated somehow (which is odd, given free refills). I decided it was just a blue-collar New Yorker thing. <shrug>

Personally, I like lots of ice and fill my cup right up to the top before putting Coke in. I want it cold and refreshing ... and if I want more, I can always go back for a refill.

I take this post mostly as a rant, so I'm not going to be too nitpicky, but I'd be careful about making huge generalizations based on one experience. I'm sorry you had a rather incompetent server. I'd love to hear, though, about your next experience with a good server. In fact, keep a tally - good vs bad. I'd be willing to bet the good would win out by a large margin. I can't tell you the last time I had a seriously poor server. I've had some "lukewarm" ones lately, but they were at least competent.

I think there are a ton of people working as servers that shouldn't be, because they just don't really care.

As there are teachers, accountants, politicians, doctors, and other readily available examples of not caring in every freakin' job field.

Do people drink their sodas with a straw? Because most places I've been to have given straws out while serving sodas. Besides, it's better for your teeth to drink it with a straw.

[Robin Garr]

Do people drink their sodas with a straw? Because most places I've been to have given straws out while serving sodas. Besides, it's better for your teeth to drink it with a straw.

I'm opposed to straws, but my wife insists on them.

Are you sure about that teeth thing, Kyle? Seems like all that sugary stuff sloshes around your teeth no matter how you take it in.

Do people drink their sodas with a straw? Because most places I've been to have given straws out while serving sodas. Besides, it's better for your teeth to drink it with a straw.

I'm opposed to straws, but my wife insists on them.

Are you sure about that teeth thing, Kyle? Seems like all that sugary stuff sloshes around your teeth no matter how you take it in.

For the sole purpose of saving my teeth, I take my Coca-Cola intravenously.

Responding to the larger question, and not limiting my remarks to restaurant employees, I have (in the course of my day to day life) noticed an increase in poor attention to detail and an overall reduction in work ethic for quite some time. I'm not a university researcher, nor do I play one on TV, but my personal observation is that the problem is becoming more and more common and is both societal and generational in term of it's roots.

Responding to the question of ice/no ice...How about two sodas with NO ice and a cup of ice on the side... "Roll your own" so to speak.

I too usually ask for no ice and it is indeed because it dilutes the soda if you don't drink it fast enough. Typicaly it comes out of the fountain cold enough for me.

I take this post mostly as a rant, so I'm not going to be too nitpicky, but I'd be careful about making huge generalizations based on one experience. I'm sorry you had a rather incompetent server. I'd love to hear, though, about your next experience with a good server. In fact, keep a tally - good vs bad. I'd be willing to bet the good would win out by a large margin. I can't tell you the last time I had a seriously poor server. I've had some "lukewarm" ones lately, but they were at least competent.

I'm glad you have had better experiences than Annemarie has had but I'm quite inclined to agree with her opinion. It seems like more and more of the wait staff we've been encountering are not competent in doing their jobs. It also doesn't seem to be in any specific restaurant group, high end, mom & pop, chain, fast food or whatever. I'm not sure if it's because people who normally wouldn't be doing the jobs are because of the economy or if it's for some other reason. The overall level of service has definitely declined and there are many fewer servers that I would consider excellent.

I take this post mostly as a rant, so I'm not going to be too nitpicky, but I'd be careful about making huge generalizations based on one experience. I'm sorry you had a rather incompetent server. I'd love to hear, though, about your next experience with a good server. In fact, keep a tally - good vs bad. I'd be willing to bet the good would win out by a large margin. I can't tell you the last time I had a seriously poor server. I've had some "lukewarm" ones lately, but they were at least competent.

I'm glad you have had better experiences than Annemarie has had but I'm quite inclined to agree with her opinion. It seems like more and more of the wait staff we've been encountering are not competent in doing their jobs. It also doesn't seem to be in any specific restaurant group, high end, mom & pop, chain, fast food or whatever. I'm not sure if it's because people who normally wouldn't be doing the jobs are because of the economy or if it's for some other reason. The overall level of service has definitely declined and there are many fewer servers that I would consider excellent.

It's one thing to throw out the theory that the overall level of service has declined. It's another thing to really wonder why that is (if it is). I'll see your economy argument and raise you (merely in the order they come out of my brain):

- the stress of working multiple jobs
- a decline in training offered (the "getting thrown to the wolves" approach)
- a decline in veteran servers that are able to show the new people the ropes
- pressure from the "powers-that-be" to do more for less during tough economic times; or to save more; or upsell more, etc.
- a general devaluing of service work in American society
- a steeper learning curve that comes from working with technology as part of the job
- a general indifference on the part of the individual waiter (can't ignore this possibility, but we should ask "why would this happen?")
- outside pressures that are negatively affecting one's ability to do the job
- an indifference to the job - doing the job out of necessity and not out of "want"

It could be numerous influences. And I'd be willing to argue that such trends are 1)mostly cyclic in nature and 2) when not cyclic, elated to the gains/losses related to other developments (what Steve P seems to be speaking to). For example, wouldn't you expect a decrease in attention to detail the more the world because one built in multi-tasking?

I'm not arguing that there might be an ongoing decline (no one has the evidence needed to settle this point). But, given that the title of the thread includes the word "anymore," I'm not willing to buy that this is one of those dire trends where things are bad and only going to get worse. Such an argument, to me, depends less on what is going on now and more about a "rosy-colored" view of times gone by.

about the straw thing. my dentist tells me to drink sugary stuff with a straw, it saves on the teeth. when you drink with a straw it's going down directly into your throat. when you drink from a glass it's hitting all the teeth and causes more cavities. i always drink from a straw these days.

AnneMarie,

Enough about straws !!!...Can't you see we're trying to get an argument started here.