Pop Drinkers

[creek14]

I waited tables for a number of years and you weren't getting anything but schtick if you asked for "pop."

If you had *schticked* me, this is the tip you would have found on the table.

[RollyInRaleigh]

If you had *schticked* me, this is the tip you would have found on the table.

Same here!

[GAC]

Pop? Soda? I've also heard it referred to as soda pop.

[RollyInRaleigh]

"A Coke" is pretty much what you hear in the Charlotte area.

[Johnny Footstool]

That map is really interesting Cylclone.

I'm interested in the rare "Other" counties. It looks like Phoenix, some parts of North Carolina, and a strange enclave in northern Minnesota use different terms than the rest of the country.

[westofyou]

I'm interested in the rare "Other" counties. It looks like Phoenix, some parts of North Carolina, and a strange enclave in northern Minnesota use different terms than the rest of the country.

All places that experience the influx of Corporate Gypsies, ones who say soda, pop, or coke.

[GAC]

Saying "coke" in Florida, especially around Jacksonville, could get you 10-15 though.

[paintmered]

Like chili, I need to stay awake and stuff. I drink lots of diet pepsi and diet sunkist (not a lot of caffeine but still good) as a result. I also drink a lot of Starbucks (frapuccinos, espresso). I have a caffeine addiction.

http://www.waterjoe.com/

[M2]

If you had *schticked* me, this is the tip you would have found on the table.

You'd be amazed by what restaurant patrons will tolerate. You can schtick 'em. You can reorder their seating for better feng shui. You can butter their bread and feed it to them. As long as you get them their food quickly, keep their beverages filled and their table clean, then you're pretty much getting the tip you were getting from them in the first place.

The table waiting industry profiles people. A table that orders cocktails, people with thick New York City accents, truckers, yuppie couples out without the kids -- you can get 20-25 percent from them. Europeans, old couples that ask where the bread is when the water gets delivered, people who order "pop" - they can be social, gracious and polite, but they tend not to tip well. As a Capitalist, you learn that you just turn over some tables as fast as you can while you dote on others. I learned from waitresses who had decades of experience in these matters. They had their own language and customer profiles down to a science. When you were in the back and heard "I just got a family of six that ordered pop" it meant that it was going to be a to be a lot of work for a small tip.

Just like there's little you can do to get a good tip from some tables, there's also little you can do to lose a tip. Maybe somebody will round down to the nearest dollar instead of round up, but most people just want their food. As long as you give it to them they aren't going to care if you ovaled your lips and popped your hand against them when they asked for "pop."

I waited tables, on and off, for five years. I never got stiffed. I never got a complaint to the manager. And, believe me, the "pop" schtick was minor compared to some of the stuff I pulled (e.g. dirty jokes, in-date advice).

[BRM]

So, if my wife and I order adult beverages when we first sit down, we are likely to get better service from our waiter/waitress? Interesting.

[M2]

So, if my wife and I order adult beverages when we first sit down, we are likely to get better service from our waiter/waitress? Interesting.

It's possible. Going straight to the wine menu is even better. You immediately identify yourself as someone who's out for the full meal experience. You've got a limited amount of time when you're waiting tables. What you learn is that there's some people who are going to tip extra for more personalized service while others will be appreciative, but aren't going to spend anything more than they would have if you had whisked them through the meal. Waitrons work for tips. You're looking to average 18-20 percent for the shift.

Dress up a bit. Order some drinks. Order some of the more exotic stuff on the menu. Stuff like that can get you extra attention. It lets the server know that here's someone who should be worth the extra effort.

[Rojo]

I think there's an anti-ginger-ale conspiracy. Its seriously hard to find. Machines, restaurants, even a lot of bodegas just don't have it. And its delicious, easily the best soda.

Is it because the industry leaders are pushing their crappy lemon-lime sodas?

[SunDeck]

You may have me there. When I was in college I played basketball and we had a nutritionist who came and spoke to us and he was strongly against carbonated beverages especially for athletes. I don't remember his whole argument but I'm pretty sure I remember him saying about it "eating the air in your lungs". I'm not really sure what the purpose of it was, we'd already had a rule that we weren't allowed to drink carbonation during the season anyway. So it wasn't like he was telling us anything life changing, and I didn't bother doing any research on it, I'm blindly accepting the fact that water is better than soda. And he may have been full of crap, for all I know he may not even have had a degree. I feel I breathe easier without it, but that could be all psychological.

Was the nutritionist's name Izzy Mandelbaum, by chance?

[SunDeck]

Pop? Soda? I've also heard it referred to as soda pop.

No- this is soda pop

[creek14]

people who order "pop" - they can be social, gracious and polite, but they tend not to tip well.

I always order pop for my son (water for me). If the server comes and asks if jr needs refills (and my water), he/she will get a good 25%, if not more. If they think I'm a small tipper and blow me off, they won't.