Okay, pet peeve time.

Is it everywhere, or just around here, that every restaurant assumes you need a straw with every beverage? When did our entire society become eight years old? Not only every beverage ordered, but a new one with each refill.

And even if I wanted one, did something happen to render the one I got with my previous drink unusable?

How many people just regularly throw them away? It just seems like a huge waste. Is there some straw lobbying organization that effected this change in our dining habits?

Move from the US to somewhere else and avoid fast food outlets. Problem solved

Many (real) fast food places (burger places, etc.) won't serve you a straw in the drink. They'll either place a sealed one on the tray or you'll have to get your own from a dispenser. I think Bitt is talking mostly about sit-down restaurants with table service. I do still call some of the places fast food though.

Some places up here will put a straw into the glass/cup when you ask for water. Now that's just plain wrong. Have they ever tasted water through a straw? It completely alters the taste.

I've always seen straws served with any type of fountain drink, carbonated or not, so that includes ice tea. That goes for pretty much for most places I've ever been to. I've never ordered a fountain drink for myself in my life, but I've also received straws when ordering juice, which again is strange.

Thankfully I've never seen nor had one served to me when ordering beer or wine. Because frankly, that would be the last straw.

Well, there's obviously a lack of recognition of ecological problems in the US, at least as compared to (most of?) Europe, but it didn't used to be this way. It's only become an issue in the last 15-20 years. I can even understand giving straws by default to little kids, as they can have trouble manipulating a full glass, but, when I was a kid, they'd even ask if I wanted a straw, not put one in every drink I got.

In the UK at least it is nothing to do with trendy ecological issues. I think it stems more from our radically different approach to service. In the UK the default position is do the minimum needed to keep the customer happy.

Which in my (admittedly brief) experience is the exact opposite to the default position taken in the US.

So I guess they think they are providing a better service by foisting straws on you.

An interesting counter argument though is bags at checkouts. In the UK until recently they have always showered you with endless bags whether you wanted them or not. So it was always a shock in the US to have to explicitly ask for a bag (when I needed it).

Hm. I've never encountered a store in the US that doesn't automatically put stuff in bags, except for a few small, independent record stores and the like that will ask if you need a bag.

I think a big part of it is how downright nasty some people are to their wait staff. Enough of these people have demanded straws in probably the most rude way they can (acting like an 8 year old), to the point where most waiters just provide them automatically now.

Must have been specific to the handful of supermarkets I used in Seattle then.

Ugh. Tell me about it. Only a few times in my entire life have I seen a waiter so egregiously bad that he deserved to be treated like some people seem to treat every waiter.

It's like those customers think of waitstaff as subhuman. You'd think that they'd remember that those people are handling their food. Out of their sight.

Too true. Have you seen "Waiting?" It's a pretty funny gross-out humor movie. I've overheard people treating wait staff like this far too often, and it astonishes me. Usually if I have the same server, I'll leave a slightly higher percentage tip (unless they really didn't deserve it).

I don't have any theories about straws, Bitt, but I'm nearly seeing the same thing you do. However, the most recent restaurant I was at, Gordon Biersch, served me my Arnold Palmer (my new favorite drink) in a nice glass without a straw. Perhaps it's because they're so used to serving beer.

Lastly, I can't think of the last time I purchased something in ANY store where they didn't offer me a bag for my purchases. Andy, it's possible that those Seattle grocery stores are really into the green movement and are used to their customers having their own bags. It's a small trend in US grocery stores that shoppers come to the store with these inexpensive bags to take their groceries home in (all the stores in my area even sell these, frequently for a dollar each). When you get to the checkout, you just give them your bags to fill. I used to think it was a little "hippy-dippy," but I actually kind of like it. The bags themselves are easier to carry inside, then never tear like those crappy plastic bags, and they can be used for other stuff between trips to the store. Oh yeah, and that whole environment thing...

When were you there? Seattle passed a bag law in 2008. Portland is considering something similar.

Frys here in Austin asks all the time now if I want a bag. Quite a few other places around here are also asking more frequently, saving me time in not having to tell them to skip the bag. As for the reusable ones, Whole Foods currently deducts $0.10 for each one you bring back. Overall I find I prefer them too, as long as I remember to get them back in the car.

I always assumed it was some kind of health thing, people assuming the wrapped straw is cleaner than the lip of the glass. Not sure what those people think about using the silverware, though.

Last time I was there was 2004.

Finding out if the customer wants a straw or not takes time, it's more efficient/cost effective to just give everyone straws.

From the restaurants I go to that provide wrapped straws separately, it seems that way more than half use the straws. I'm usually the only one that doesn't.

To insure they get a good tip the wait staff is more than happy to give the customer anything they can, especially free stuff. They don’t want – “That A’hole didn’t give me a straw so no tip.”

Most customers are just looking for a chance to slight the tip.

But on the flip side, every minute my glass is empty their tip goes down. After all that is about all they really do for you.

I guess the other side of this argument/question is: why do so many people want straws?

I can't remember the source, but I remember reading years ago that people drink quite a lot more when using a straw. Makes sense if you're charging by the drink to give out straws.

Around here, most restaurants have free refills on anything from the fountain machine.

When I was in Orlando with some colleagues, we said to the waiter "until we tell you otherwise, as soon as you see our glasses get to this level, please bring us more beer". That guy got an excellent tip, and we complimented him to the Maître d' on the way out.

I don't really care to use a straw, but I know some people who do. One reason I'd never considered: if you have sensitive teeth, you can drink from a straw without having ice cubes come into contact with your teeth. The straw also helps the cold beverage bypass the teeth (for the most part.)

Also, some folks are worried about germs on the rim of the glass. Using a straw doesn't help you with any germs that might be inside the glass, of course, but I suppose extreme germophobes may use straws for that reason.

Perhaps another reason from the restaurant's perspective is that cleaning the glasses is a bit easier if fewer people put their lips to it. I'm thinking primarily of lipstick smudges. Haven't seen any in a long while, though.

I use the straw about 50 percent of the time when served with an open-top glass.

As for plastic shopping bags, I try to refuse as many as possible. If the item has a handle, I don't need a bag, dammit.
Also, if I'm only getting a couple items I turn down the bag, too. "Save the plastic forest!"*
I think there are recent news reports about California going state-wide with a plastic bag ban. I know some cities already have one in place.



*When I was a kid there was a movement to cut down on the usage of paper bags.

I can agree with that. If you really want to get rid of them ban them otherwise it's just another excuse for a tax.

Why are paper bags bad now anyway ?

Yeah I don't use straws either. I see some places that bring one with the first drink then see I am not using one and don't bring any more and some that bring one every time. I am sure they bring one every time because someone complained about not getting one and I doubt anyone ever complained about getting one they didn't want.

I don't think there's that much thinking going on behind the straw issue (my ex owned a restaurant).

Anything is bad if it's unnecessary. Consumption for the sake of consumption is, well, just stupid. It makes a heck of a lot more sense to use reusable bags. It would be nice to see some sort of institutionalized facility for them, rather than having to remember them every time, and needing to have enough for all of your groceries. Something like how milk bottles (and Coke bottles) used to work.

A lot of you (North American) people obviously frequent a different class of restaurant than we do here.

We're never offered a straw with the drink, and might even risk disdain from the staff were we silly enough to ask for one.

But then we don't order diet coke with the fillet mignon.

In the province of Ontario, plastic bags now cost $0.05 each, so stores normally do ask if we want them. My reply is normally the same as before the law: "no bag, please".

Cheers

Straws and yawns are related. The moment one occurs, everyone else has to have one too.

Servers know and allow for this.

Those of us who have real jobs frequently have to each lunch out.

I always assumed it was a sanitary thing- doesn't really make sense when you're sticking a fork in your mouth though . . .

I never use a straw except at fast food restaurants- and there it makes sense because I'm usually on the go (but I hardly ever eat fast food anyway). I've actually talked about this with folks at lunch and every single one of them prefers to use a straw- I'm the weird one for not wanting to use one. I never asked why though.