Refill
Man at McDonalds: Can I get a large Coke?
McDonalds Cashier Girl: Sure. That'll be (price).
Man at McDonalds: [digs in pocket for change. pays cashier.]
McDonalds Cashier Girl: [pours drink. hands drink to man.] Here you go!
Man at McDonalds: [pulls another empty large McDonald's cup from his bag, and pours the contents of the new drink into the old cup.] I've finished it already. May I have a refill?
McDonalds Cashier Girl: . . .
Man at McDonalds: I've finished my first drink. You have free refills right? I'd like a free refill.
McDonalds Cashier Girl: I, uh, don't think I can do that.
Man at McDonalds: My cup is empty. I'd like you to fill it up.
McDonalds Cashier Girl: But you only poured it into that other cup. You haven't drunk it.
Man at McDonalds: Well, what would have stopped me from taking it over there and dumping the drink into my bag or the trash or something, and then coming back for a refill? It's the same thing, isn't it? I didn't think there was a rule about that.
McDonalds Cashier Girl: I'm not sure if there is, but there is a rule about bring in outside food and drink and a policy against getting a refill on a shared drink, and if I let you fill up both cups, I would be effectively letting you get a refill on both a drink you bought here and on one you brought from outside. I'm sorry sir. It's against our policy. When you finish drinking the first one, no matter which cup it's in, I'll let you have another.
* * *
When I worked for my parents' cafe I was frequently perplexed at how infuriatingly creative people could be.
Other strategies (some of these may be familiar to anyone who's ever worked in food service):
Instead of buying a lemonade, asking for a free water, and a bowl of "free" iced tea lemon wedges, and making homemade lemonade with the lemons and sugar packets at their table. Making a meal out of cracker, butter, and jelly sandwiches. Same goes for eating a bowl of ketchup or salad dressing with a spoon. Insisting that an all-you-can-eat special should apply to a woman's carry-out orders as well, and demanding 18 extra pieces of chicken with her meal. All for herself of course. (I'm not sure whether it made it better or worse that a couple of years later my parents reported a lunch guest having finished off 28 pieces of fried chicken all by himself. His excuse: Atkins Diet. Trying to lose weight. Protein, you know.)
Because the word "free" gives a person an inalienable human right to be as gluttonous as possible. . . .
(Incidentally, for a whole list of sometimes very humorous restaurant stories, this is a great site.)
McDonalds Cashier Girl: Sure. That'll be (price).
Man at McDonalds: [digs in pocket for change. pays cashier.]
McDonalds Cashier Girl: [pours drink. hands drink to man.] Here you go!
Man at McDonalds: [pulls another empty large McDonald's cup from his bag, and pours the contents of the new drink into the old cup.] I've finished it already. May I have a refill?
McDonalds Cashier Girl: . . .
Man at McDonalds: I've finished my first drink. You have free refills right? I'd like a free refill.
McDonalds Cashier Girl: I, uh, don't think I can do that.
Man at McDonalds: My cup is empty. I'd like you to fill it up.
McDonalds Cashier Girl: But you only poured it into that other cup. You haven't drunk it.
Man at McDonalds: Well, what would have stopped me from taking it over there and dumping the drink into my bag or the trash or something, and then coming back for a refill? It's the same thing, isn't it? I didn't think there was a rule about that.
McDonalds Cashier Girl: I'm not sure if there is, but there is a rule about bring in outside food and drink and a policy against getting a refill on a shared drink, and if I let you fill up both cups, I would be effectively letting you get a refill on both a drink you bought here and on one you brought from outside. I'm sorry sir. It's against our policy. When you finish drinking the first one, no matter which cup it's in, I'll let you have another.
* * *
When I worked for my parents' cafe I was frequently perplexed at how infuriatingly creative people could be.
Other strategies (some of these may be familiar to anyone who's ever worked in food service):
Because the word "free" gives a person an inalienable human right to be as gluttonous as possible. . . .
(Incidentally, for a whole list of sometimes very humorous restaurant stories, this is a great site.)