# Weird restaurant policies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 22, 2012, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696 "2012-05-22T07:24:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Foxy40](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Foxy40](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foxy40)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/161 "2012-05-24T23:34:56Z")
> [@lost4life](#): > > It would be odd, but I don’t think most people tell the waitstaff what to bring back. You pay the bill, they bring the change, you leave the tip…isn’t that what most people do? > I use a credit card 99% of the time, so it doesn’t matter to me. Interesting. The people I know don’t wait for the change and then hand it back but settle up with the server so the servers don’t have to dig around for the change. Maybe because my husband has been a server for 20 years I am just used to doing what he does which I assume is most convenient for the staff. Having them bring 9.47 back and tipping them the $5 seems a big hassle for everyone. But in essence, the servers keep the change, not the restaurant like with Dougy’s mother. Or do the servers have that policy and THEY keep it. I wonder who ends up with that extra money at the end of the night? ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/162 "2012-05-25T00:19:04Z")
> [@Foxy40](#): > > It usually doesn’t work that way. I think it is more of a hassle to have the server give you back the .57 as they have to keep the change in their pocket. I’ve never seen a server do this. Usually the bill comes on a little tray, and if you pay cash they bring back the change including coinage on the tray without even asking about it. Default around where I live seems to be you get the change back unless some comment is made. I don’t eat at Denny’s, but other places all seem to have stations like [this image](http://wineandspiritsmagazine.com/pages/images/cityscene/SPQR.jpg) - you can see the waitress on the left using the touchscreen, and I assumed there was some sort of cash box or drawers attached as well. ETA: I don’t recall ever seeing a server take the money out of their pocket, but it’s not something I’d be watching for anyway, so I wouldn’t have noticed it even if it did happen. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/163 "2012-05-25T00:48:37Z")
> [@CandidGamera](#): > > Wait, Rand Rover just said it’s okay for an external party to take some of your hard-earned money without your consent? The only reason this would surprise anyone is if they don’t have a very well-developed notion of what I’m really saying on other topics they believe to be related. > [@runner pat](#): > > It’s a business doing it to increase profits so it’s OK. Same for this. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/164 "2012-05-25T01:02:55Z")
> [@lost4life](#): > > It would be odd, but I don’t think most people tell the waitstaff what to bring back. You pay the bill, they bring the change, you leave the tip…isn’t that what most people do? I once tried the ‘please give me back five dollars’ technique in a diner outside of Binghamton NY - it confused the fuck out of the waitress :rolleyes: Since then I always wait for change and then leave a tip using that change or any other bills I might have. ---
**Author:** ![Foxy40](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Foxy40](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foxy40)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/165 "2012-05-25T01:21:17Z")
> [@wevets](#): > > I’ve never seen a server do this. Usually the bill comes on a little tray, and if you pay cash they bring back the change including coinage on the tray without even asking about it. Default around where I live seems to be you get the change back unless some comment is made. > > I don’t eat at Denny’s, but other places all seem to have stations like [this image](http://wineandspiritsmagazine.com/pages/images/cityscene/SPQR.jpg) - you can see the waitress on the left using the touchscreen, and I assumed there was some sort of cash box or drawers attached as well. > ETA: I don’t recall ever seeing a server take the money out of their pocket, but it’s not something I’d be watching for anyway, so I wouldn’t have noticed it even if it did happen. Those computers are where you key in your order. Change is usually made at the bar for the first few customers if you didn’t go to work with a “bank” of your own. The servers pay the restaurant, tip out the bartenders and busboys and the rest is theirs. You don’t see it because they don’t reach into their pockets in front of the customers. You also don’t see them getting money out of a register somewhere. Now I will say again, that I only know this is the way it works for the high end restaurants that my husband has worked in. I believe before he started working in “fine dining” when he occasionally had jobs at Olive Garden or other chains, it worked the same way but I am not 100% sure and he isn’t around to ask. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/166 "2012-05-25T01:49:42Z")
> [@Lasciel](#): > > I’ll add that really good waitstaff will also respond to an order of “Coke” with the confirmation “regular Coca-Cola?” allowing the coke-ordering patron a chance to elaborate that the “coke” they wanted was actually Diet or caffeine-free or Mr Pibb or something else brown and fizzy. What I don’t get about the Coke-as-generic-soft-drink is that, when you order a “coke”, then you still have to tell them what kind of pop you want. Why not just say what you want in the first place? I guess I’d understand it, kind of, if you asked “What kind of coke do you have?”, but then it would be obvious from context what they meant. ---
**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 25, 2012, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/167 "2012-05-25T01:53:19Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > What I don’t get about the Coke-as-generic-soft-drink is that, when you order a “coke”, then you still have to tell them what kind of pop you want. Why not just say what you want in the first place? > > I guess I’d understand it, kind of, if you asked “What kind of coke do you have?”, but then it would be obvious from context what they meant. For the fifth time this thread, people in the South don’t order a Coke unless they want a Coke. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/168 "2012-05-25T02:23:31Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > Big busy restaurants not taking reservations - yes, I know you want me to chill in the bar and order $18 drinks, sorry, not gonna happen. Yes, I know you want to have massive crowds of people hanging out in front because it makes you look “happening” - but honestly, hire another hottie to manage the list, install a phone line and GET THE F\*CK OVER YOURSELF! (I’m looking at you Cheesecake.) It wouldn’t matter how many staff The Cheesecake factory hires, they make you wait anyway. They were even mentioned in a industry magazine as one of those in the forefront of deliberately making customer wait, so as to achieve a illusion of demand. :eek: In other words, they make you wait because they think it brings in more business. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/169 "2012-05-25T02:30:28Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > I used to go to buffet/all-you-can-eat restaurants with a woman I’ll call Shirley. When she filled her buffet plate, she would come to the table and take several zip-loc bags out of her purse and fill them from the plate, to my surprise. At an expensive rib place, this came to the manager’s attention and she did some glib talking to convince him she was not doing anything wrong. :rolleyes: . Yeah, that’s just plain wrong. But you know, if you ask, they often say OK, as long as you’re not getting greedy. We fairly often eat at a Disney Character breakfast, so I have asked about taking a couple of banannas. Not only did they have no problem, they bagged up a half-dozen for us. Of course that’s Disney, where “customer service” isn’t a oxymoron like at some places. Mind you, I wasn’t stuffing my pockets full of bacon either. And they cheerfully gave us a “to-go” cup. And my ex used to love Red Lobster. Once she make her love of cheese bisquits know, the waitress often bagged up a good number for us. But yes- just be nice and ask. Just don;t be too greedy. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/170 "2012-05-25T02:50:43Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > For the fifth time this thread, people in the South don’t order a Coke unless they want a Coke. Reread my post. I didn’t say _anything_ about the South. And I have heard of this in other places. So what’s your point? ETA: This site says [you’re wrong](http://www.popvssoda.com/) anyways. ---
**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 25, 2012, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/171 "2012-05-25T03:03:40Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > Reread my post. I didn’t say _anything_ about the South. And I have heard of this in other places. So what’s your point? > > ETA: This site says [you’re wrong](http://www.popvssoda.com/) anyways. No it does’t. That cite says nothing about how folks order in restaurants, or how they specify what exact drink they want. Nowhere in that cite dies it say that Southerners ask for a Coke when they want something else. ---
**Author:** ![dzeiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@dzeiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzeiger)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/172 "2012-05-25T03:19:39Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > No it does’t. That cite says nothing about how folks order in restaurants, or how they specify what exact drink they want. Nowhere in that cite dies it say that Southerners ask for a Coke when they want something else. Right. I’m not sure why people have such a hard time with the concept of context. If you’re in a “pop” area and a waitress asks you what you want to drink, do you say “I’d like a pop” and then take more time to determine the specific type? Probably not, chances are you’ll just answer with the specific brand you want. Same in the south, it’s recognized as the specific instead of the general. Now, if someone comes over to my house, I may well as him “Do you want a coke?” and that is the general form. It doesn’t mean I only am offering him coke, and “Yeah, a sprite?” is a perfectly valid reply. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/173 "2012-05-25T03:20:28Z")
I think the confusion here about ordering Cokes is the difference between restaurants and people’s homes. In a restaurant, if I want a Mountain Dew, that is what I order. Same for an orange drink (Fanta, Slice, Nehi) or a ginger ale. However, in someone’s home it is common to be asked “Do you want a coke?” and have the follow up question “what kind of coke?” to which the answer might be “do you have any Sundrop?” At McDonald’s or similar places where you fill your own cup, I just ask for a “large drink.” Then, I pick what I want from the available choices. ---
**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 25, 2012, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/174 "2012-05-25T03:34:27Z")
> [@dzeiger](#): > > Right. I’m not sure why people have such a hard time with the concept of context. If you’re in a “pop” area and a waitress asks you what you want to drink, do you say “I’d like a pop” and then take more time to determine the specific type? Probably not, chances are you’ll just answer with the specific brand you want. Same in the south, it’s recognized as the specific instead of the general. > > Now, if someone comes over to my house, I may well as him “Do you want a coke?” and that is the general form. It doesn’t mean I only am offering him coke, and “Yeah, a sprite?” is a perfectly valid reply. Yep. Around here we say “Do you want a Coke or something?” ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/175 "2012-05-25T17:23:51Z")
I grew up in Texas. When, say, dividing responsibilities for a party, it would not be uncommon for one person to be charged with “bringing the cokes.” This would not mean that they were specifically bringing Coca-Cola, but instead some array of sodas they would select according to availability, their preferences, and general preferences of the group (if known). It may or may not include Coca-Cola. The word _coke_ was generally used interchangeably with either _soft drink_ or _soda_ as a generic catch-all term. Like others have said, if you were requesting or offering a specific drink, you’d specify that. If you told a server that you wanted a coke (capitalization indeterminate since the order was spoken), then you’d get a Coca-Cola. I now live in California. Generally _soda_ is the term used in my circles. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/176 "2012-05-25T17:59:57Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > For the fifth time this thread, people in the South don’t order a Coke unless they want a Coke. As another long term southerner I am going to have to back this up as well. While I can’t say I’ve NEVER seen someone order a “coke” and expect the waitress to read their mind and bring them the drink they actually want I will say for sure its pretty darn rare. My theory is notherners have heard that some southerners refer to all drinks as a “coke” of sorts in a general sense and are therefore actually so stupid we call any drink a coke in a specific sense :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/177 "2012-05-25T18:35:02Z")
😕On the coke thing, I wonder if everyone is getting confused with what is usually standard practice that people will basically order a “brown cola” because places often only have Coke or Pepsi or RC or etc. Most servers know you just want a brown cola. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/178 "2012-05-25T19:41:08Z")
> [@grude](#): > > 😕On the coke thing, I wonder if everyone is getting confused with what is usually standard practice that people will basically order a “brown cola” because places often only have Coke or Pepsi or RC or etc. Most servers know you just want a brown cola. I say “Coke” at restaurants, and usually they ask,“Pepsi OK?” ---
**Author:** ![perfectparanoia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfectparanoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfectparanoia)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/179 "2012-05-25T19:58:39Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > Did anyone that wanted cake not get a piece? Whenever there is cake around my office, there is always a crapload leftover. You should send it to my office. Someone left a large package of dried seaweed out at 9 am and it was gone by 11 am. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/180 "2012-05-25T22:16:01Z")
> [@Agent\_Foxtrot](#): > > No, I wasn’t joking. And I remember it being Jack Nicholson…thanks! According to the comment under [this _Five Easy Pieces_ video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wtfNE4z6a8), Nicholson parodies the original scene in an outtake on the _About Schmidt_ DVD. Could that be what you remember? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696.md?page=10)