# Free refills? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 26, 2009, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-refills/494376 "2009-04-26T03:03:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-refills/494376/101 "2009-04-30T00:13:03Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > 😕 > > Perhaps European homeless people are different. American homeless people tend to reek of urine and other noxious odours and are often afflicted with alcoholism and other mental or emotional illnesses that make them behave strangely and inappropriately and sometimes aggressively. Maybe because we bleeding-hearts liberals try our best to help the homeless, instead of closing down the psyactric hospitals and putting mentally ill people in need of help on the street. > [@](#): > > Yes, paying customers would be bothered. McDonald’s might be a cheap restaurant, but it’s not skid row with french fries and a soda fountain. And McD has no option of calling the police to get somebody out if he happens to drink a coffee? Seriously? If somebody bothers the rest, the manager tells them politly to go, I assume. They have a right to their house. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-refills/494376/102 "2009-04-30T00:24:54Z")
> [@constanze](#): > > Maybe because we bleeding-hearts liberals try our best to help the homeless, instead of closing down the psyactric hospitals and putting mentally ill people in need of help on the street. The question of what is the cause of homelessness in America and the appropriate responses is a different issue. You asked whether customers would be bothered by the presence of homeless people in restaurants. The answer is yes. > [@](#): > > And McD has no option of calling the police to get somebody out if he happens to drink a coffee? Seriously? If somebody bothers the rest, the manager tells them politly to go, I assume. They have a right to their house. If it’s a recurring problem, why should the police be involved if there’s a simpler solution, like eliminating free refills? I don’t understand what you’re getting at here. ---
**Author:** ![not\_alice](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_alice/32/7283_2.png) [@not\_alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_alice)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-refills/494376/103 "2009-04-30T01:31:57Z")
> [@constanze](#): > > As for homeless - there are other ways to deal with them in real restaurants. McD and similar don’t have real waiters, but then, would the customers be bothered by homeless people there? Most urban McD’s I’ve been in in the US have signs splcing a limit on how long you can stay - generally 15-20 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-refills/494376/104 "2009-04-30T01:36:27Z")
> [@constanze](#): > > Whuh? I can assure it’s not this reason at all in Europe, because we have the custom of people sitting around for hours in a restaurant. Eating out is not about how to maximize profit for the business, but to have an experience. Being rushed out as soon as you laid down your fork to make place for somebody else would be terribly rude. Yes, when I find restaurants like this in the US (and they _do_ exist), I treasure them and become a frequent customer. Food? Hell, I can make that at home, and about half the time do a better job. Ambiance, though, is something that only be obtained outside the home. ---
**Author:** ![MaceMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@MaceMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaceMan)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-refills/494376/105 "2009-04-30T05:00:42Z")
I wonder if the OP has been getting charged for refills without knowing…I always make it a point to ask “is it free?” when the server asks if I’d like a refill, and it seem that more often than not, they actually charge full price for refills at most sit-down restaurants I go to. The only place where you can always expect free refills is where the server comes by with a pitcher and pours it in your glass, or at self-service establishments. If they take your cup away and return, I find that there is usually a charge. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-refills/494376/106 "2009-04-30T17:12:11Z")
> [@constanze](#): > > Whuh? I can assure it’s not this reason at all in Europe, because we have the custom of people sitting around for hours in a restaurant. Eating out is not about how to maximize profit for the business, but to have an experience. Being rushed out as soon as you laid down your fork to make place for somebody else would be terribly rude. I suspect rather that the diners in restaurants where it is the custom to linger are paying for the privilege of doing so, in the form of higher prices. Any restaurant that wants to stay in business presumably figures the rate at which tables turn over (and the resulting customer volume) into its pricing. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-refills/494376/107 "2009-05-01T00:14:50Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > I suspect rather that the diners in restaurants where it is the custom to linger are paying for the privilege of doing so, in the form of higher prices. Any restaurant that wants to stay in business presumably figures the rate at which tables turn over (and the resulting customer volume) into its pricing. Well, yeah. But because it’s “dining” and “not stuff as much food into your face at the most competitive price possible,” like it is too often here in the States. Generally speaking, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-refills/494376/108 "2009-05-01T00:22:48Z")
> [@MaceMan](#): > > I wonder if the OP has been getting charged for refills without knowing…I always make it a point to ask “is it free?” when the server asks if I’d like a refill, and it seem that more often than not, they actually charge full price for refills at most sit-down restaurants I go to. The only place where you can always expect free refills is where the server comes by with a pitcher and pours it in your glass, or at self-service establishments. If they take your cup away and return, I find that there is usually a charge. No, the only time I’ve been surprised by multiple refills on a bill was in Toronto. But then, I don’t wander off to high-end restaurants, either. There may be the difference of where we each wander off to eat. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-refills/494376/109 "2009-05-01T01:58:58Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Atlanta is father north than where I grew up, Charlotte, where it’s just “tea”. :). I grew up in Burlington. I wouldn’t call Atlanta farther north than either Raleigh or Charlotte. Of course, you’re right about the “tea” thing. I hear that occasionally. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-refills/494376/110 "2009-05-01T05:06:36Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > I grew up in Burlington. I wouldn’t call Atlanta farther north than either Raleigh or Charlotte. Maybe not Raleigh, but I’ve lived in both Atlanta and Charlotte, and Charlotte is by far the more “southern” city in my experience. Now, once you get outside of the heart of town, all bets are off in both cities. You’re in the deep south. Raleigh I don’t know much about other than that the people I meet from there don’t have accents. ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-refills/494376/111 "2009-05-01T08:00:54Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > If it’s a recurring problem, why should the police be involved if there’s a simpler solution, like eliminating free refills? I don’t understand what you’re getting at here. Because over here, the couple of homeless people sitting around in a McD or cafeteria or similar clutching one coffe for 1 1/2 hours are usually not a problem, as long as they don’t stink or make trouble. If a customer however bothers the other (whether homeless or not) with his behaviour or similar, the manger of the establishment comes and tells them to leave, please. If they don’t listen and make a fuss, then the manager has the option of calling the police to get that person out. I don’t see how eliminating free refills keeps people out who want to stay, because here people stay for a long time without free refills. ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-refills/494376/112 "2009-05-01T08:04:25Z")
> [@not\_alice](#): > > Most urban McD’s I’ve been in in the US have signs splcing a limit on how long you can stay - generally 15-20 minutes. Wow. You have to wolf down your food that fast? I wonder why people want to eat there. In the students’ cafeterias in the University, the signs say “from 11 am to 2 pm, the Cafeteria is reserved for eating lunch only”, which means: no sitting around for half an hour chatting, or two hours with one cup of coffee while studying /doing homework with your group, but clear the table once you’re finished; however, that’s only for space reasons during the lunch time rush. When there’s enough space, students can stay for hours. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-refills/494376/113 "2009-05-01T09:28:39Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Uhghghghghgh. It makes me shudder when people pronounce the D in “ice tea”. I typically only hear it in advertising. Same with whip[ped -uhghgh] cream. Sorry, what? Are you objecting to the correct pronunciation of words in the English language, or am I misunderstanding you? I’ve _never_ heard _anyone_ refer to “Ice Tea” or “Whip Cream”. The only places in Australia I’ve ever seen offer Free Refills on drinks are McDonalds (coffee only, not soft drinks), Hungry Jack’s (Some stores only, and even then it’s soft drinks only, not coffee), Sizzler, Casino Buffets, and some other higher-quality Buffet restaurants. You’re generally looking at $2-3 for a soft drink and $3-4 for a coffee. Yes, we’re getting ripped off there. No, there isn’t anything we can do about it. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-refills/494376/114 "2009-05-01T12:32:11Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Maybe not Raleigh, but I’ve lived in both Atlanta and Charlotte, and Charlotte is by far the more “southern” city in my experience. Metro Atlanta (Roswell, Alpharetta, Kennesaw, Marietta, Dunwoody), maybe. Inside the Perimeter of Atlanta is extremely southern. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-refills/494376/115 "2009-05-01T15:14:17Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > Sorry, what? > > Are you objecting to the correct pronunciation of words in the English language, or am I misunderstanding you? > > I’ve _never_ heard _anyone_ refer to “Ice Tea” or “Whip Cream”. > > The only places in Australia . . . I know an Australian is not gonna sit here and try to tell me about the English language . . . ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-refills/494376/116 "2009-05-01T15:54:22Z")
If you want your server to know 100% for sure, then you TELL THEM by when they greet you “I would like refills automatically without being asked, please.” You don’t get that some people such as myself and even my husband has CHANGED DRINKS before or DECLINDED REFILLS as well. Think about since you got 3 refills, that’s quite a lot for most people and most people don’t go through more than that if you think about it. It depends on how big the glass is. At Outback years ago, they use to have these small glasses. Thank goodness they switched to bigger glasses. There, I would probably go through 4 refills when the glasses were smaller. I have changed from dr. pepper to coke, from diet coke to unsweetened tea. My husband once switched from a cup of coffee to a diet coke. Another time, my husband had a diet coke, a refill of diet coke, then a glass of water instead of more soft drink. YES, you WANT A MIND READER, VERY MUCH SO!! Instead of TELLING your server you want continuous refills without being asked, you decide to make it a MIND GAME! I don’t have to tell my server not to **ORDER** for me, because if they refill my glass without asking PERMISSION to, that’s ORDERING FOR ME, which is common sense you don’t order for your customers. I actually take points OFF the tip for the server ORDERING for me. It’s NOT their place to make a decision about WHAT or IF I want more to drink. \*\*As you just stated “MAYBE” is the KEY WORD HERE, NOT A \ ***100% FOR SURE WITHOUT ANY DOUBTS IN THE SERVER’S MIND! THAT IS WANTING YOUR SERVER TO READ YOUR MIND!!!** NO SERVER SHOULD EVER REFILL WITHOUT ASKING, EVER! It’s NOT THEIR DECISION, it’s the CUSTOMER’S ONLY! Also, I had an x-boyfriend 10yrs ago that told me he HATED when servers would refill his unsweetend tea without asking, because he’d have the tea sweetened perfectly, such as when you are in the MIDDLE of eating or in a conversation, then have to resweetend it again, which IS an interruption. Especially, when you are eating some messing foods such as ribs. Honestly, the server shouldn’t be refilling the same glass at all, even if it is tea, unless it’s one refill of water. They should be getting a NEW GLASS EVERY SINGLE TIME. You may ask why: 1. ICE MELTS 2. If the server takes away the customer’s glass, the customer will not have anything to drink until the glass is back. 3. New slice of lemon for the customers that want lemon. The server shouldn’t even serve tea with lemon unless they ask first even. I don’t like lemon in water or tea, so I end up just taking it off, it wastes money. If you want refills without being interrupting, GUESS WHAT: \*\*YOU HAVE A MOUTH TO ASK YOUR SERVER "CAN I PLEASE GET REFILLS AUTOMATICALLY WITHOUT BEING ASKED, I would REALLY APPRECIATE IT? The reason why: NOT EVERYONE WANTS REFILLS WITHOUT ASKING! \*\* Some people may not even get a refill. Just recently, I went to a restaurant that had a big glass, I didn’t even need a refill, not even one, which normally I usually want 2 or 3. How in the world can you say “I don’t see where anything akin to mind-reading is required?” If you want something without asking or being asked, that’s wanting the person to magically know what you want, which is wanting a MIND READER in your service. The server will not know if they are dealing with a customer such as me that takes off points for the server ordering for them, especially when at times I have had servers WASTE MY TIME getting a drink I didn’t want or they have someone like you. You don’t get EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT IN THIS WORLD, so that’s why every server isn’t going to risk wasting time and trips for possibly nothing if the customers don’t want refills or the same drink. The ones that do, are STUPID and VERY LAZY, because they want to make LESS TRIPS to come to ask you. They want to just get them and not come to ask you. Instead, they could PREVENT themselves from having to get refills. Think about it this way, what if 3 people just want their check, but the server gets refills that are unwanted, guess what? The server wasted TIME and EFFORT getting them. WHY RISK THAT? Once, at Red Lobster years ago, I remember a once a waiter me and my husband had that got a refill without asking me, which honestly, I wanted coke instead of dr. pepper like I had ordered the first time. I just was in the mood for coke. I even have in my refrigerator at home, a coke 2 liter open and a dr. pepper 2 liter, because I honestly like BOTH. Anyway, he got points taken off, because not only did he order for me, but I really didn’t want the dr. pepper, so he wasted MY TIME instead of being THOUGHTFUL to **BE CONSIDERATE ENOUGH TO ASK ME** \* by acting like he actually CARED about what **I** wanted instead of being too lazy to come to the table to ask. I honestly don’t mind be interrupted. Sure, it sucks at times, but I’d rather the server want to satisfy ME instead of waste my time by playing the mind reader game. If you don’t want to be interrupted that much either ask your server when you are greeted that you want that type of service, which if they are a good server and want a good tip, they will abide or DON’T GO OUT TO EAT! The server has to do their job, so just because YOU want refills without asking or being asked, has NOTHING to do with EVERYONE in this entire world that goes out to eat. YOU feel that way, but I don’t. I HATE when servers bring me refills without asking. It’s NOT THEIR DECISION TO DECIDE WHAT I WANT TO DRINK!! So people can’t change to water even from having a couple of cokes? So that’s not even conceivable? It may be rare, but not everyone wants refills. I think since customers are too stupid or scared to ask their server, that maybe the servers should start asking their customers would they like refills automatically without being asked or asking. I do think it should be on the CUSTOMER to tell their server that they want bunches of refills without being asked or asking. I don’t feel I should have to tell my server “Don’t order for me”, because it’s common sense NO servers have rights to decide if or what the customer wants in their service. If you want things that way, **ASK** for it when you are greeted, it’s that simple instead of playing the MIND-READER GAME as you claim not to be doing, because “MAYBE” you want a 4th refill doesn’t mean you do 100% FOR SURE, does it? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-refills/494376/117 "2009-05-01T16:14:35Z")
Uhhh … So, you still working on that? ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-refills/494376/118 "2009-05-01T16:33:18Z")
I’m having those flashbacks again… ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-refills/494376/119 "2009-05-01T16:44:12Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > snip Holy crap. That was the most poorly written, bizarre thing I’ve read on this board since someone let their cat post. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Am\_The\_Lorax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19adc/32.png) [@I\_Am\_The\_Lorax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Am_The_Lorax)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-refills/494376/120 "2009-05-01T17:14:03Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > snip Did you copy-paste that or did you do an excellent job of mocking that woman? Did she ever come back? Or get banned or something? To the OP, most places around here have free refills. I even walked into Burger King with a McDonald’s cup, filled it up, sat down and drank it to see if I could. I could. Nobody tried to stop me. I have also been one of those Denny’s customers that sits with friends for two hours drinking coffee. But I tip about 300% on those occasions, _especially_ if **she ORDERS FOR ME_and refills it WITHOUT ASKING!!!11!!1!_** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-refills/494376.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-refills/494376.md?page=7)