Rant: Paying for Ice . . . Really?

Include it in the price, already!

Maybe it’s just me, but nothing irritates me more than asking a waiter for more salad dressing or a refill and hearing, “It will be 25 cents; do you still want it?”

It’s not that I’m cheap. I like to eat out, and I do it all the time, but the add-ons of 25 or 50 cents make me think, “Wow, this place is chintzy.” I understand it’s the cost of doing business, but I say include it in the price.

Imagine my disgust recently when I took a client for drinks and ordered bourbon on the rocks—and was charged for the ROCKS! Are you kidding me? Ice is frozen water. It’s not flavored ice or even fancy-shaped—just good ole fashioned ice.

I didn’t pick my drink based on the price. I ordered my favorite bourbon; $1 either way wouldn’t have kept me from ordering the drink I wanted.

I’ve talked to enough bartenders to understand that ordering a drink “on the rocks” instead of “with a splash of _____” requires a bigger whiskey pour. So the “rocks” charge is actually for more ounces of whiskey. I get it. But to itemize rocks on the bill at $1 for every drink?

Come on. What’s next: I order a burger and pay a dollar for the bun?

Quit nickel-and-diming me.

-Gina Stephens