Much of the time, you’ll see people online complain about receiving too much ice in their drinks at establishments like coffee shops and bars. The theory is that more ice and less liquid is an easy way for companies to cut costs. After all, water is definitely cheaper than non-water liquids like soda, alcohol, and coffee.
But Missouri-based Red Lobster server @dadon7568 shared a hidden benefit to less ice in a TikTok that’s been viewed over 34,000 times.
In the clip, he uses a stainless steel scooper to scoop up a measly four cubes of ice and plop them into a cup. He then fills the cup with soda.
“How much ice I put in your drink,” the text overlay reads, “because less ice = less refills.”
He refers to this as a “pro tip” in the caption of the post.
The server elaborated in comments to viewers that he finds it “annoying” to have to constantly refill customers’ drinks in between greeting tables, taking orders, running food, and cashing out guests.
@dadon7568 Pro tip #waiterhacks #maleserver #fyp #redlobster #branson ♬ original sound – DaDon
Other servers weighed in in the comments section of his post.
“When they get to their third refill before salads are even out, absolutely me,” one viewer wrote.
“NAH FACTS especially when they 4 shirley temples deep bro,” a second agreed.
“Each refill gets less ice lol,” a third said.
But one user pointed out why more ice could actually be beneficial to a server.
“My OG would yell at us if the glass wasn’t 3/4 full of ice because ‘more refills makes the guest feel like they’re getting their moneys worth,’” they explained.
@dadon7568 seemed to like this tip. “I never thought about it like that. And it makes em feel like you was doing hella extra for them. Ima do that when it ain’t busy,” he responded.
Will refilling restaurant drinks more often increase tips?
Not refilling an empty drink can definitely impact a server’s tip. Many people online have shared that they deduct from their server’s tip when they have to go thirsty for a little bit. For example, this one Redditor shared that if their “glass is left empty for longer than 5 minutes, [they’re] deducting the tip.”
And many people do tip based on the level of service they receive; they don’t just take into account the amount of the bill alone.
So the more ice and less liquid leading to more refills and a therefore better tip (as the perception the customer is receiving lots of attention from their server) might very well check out. But that’s as long as the server makes sure to refill the drinks in a timely fashion. Otherwise, that tip can backfire.
The Daily Dot reached out to @dadon7568 via TikTok comment direct message.
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