Whos has noticed this OTHER trend in fast food...TOO much ice?

Question

Anyone notice when you go to some fast food places (especially drive through) they over fill your drink with ice. By the time you finish your drink its still full of ice.

My wife tried to put a straw in once, but it was too full of ice. She asked them to empty it and to fill it again with 1/3 the ice.

Anyone else notice this?

If you have or haven't please also tell where you are from.

Maybe its a local thing. I'm in San Diego.

Answer 1

they give you less for your money

Answer 2

lol I'm a waitress at Steak N Shake and that's what I was trained to do .....for Iced Tea or Water but soda,no unless they ask for it

Answer 3

No, they pretty much all do it.  I guess it's to be cheaper, since ice is cheaper than soda.  It sucks, though, since unless it's 90+ degrees outside you don't really even need the ice.  The drinks are cold when they come out of the fountain!

Answer 4

well, the cups are also getting jumbo-sized, so it's probably not so different. except for the price. we fast-food-eaters also have a too-much-soda trend going.

Answer 5

That is why I like eating at Subway.  It is self-serve.

Answer 6

Texas here, and I've been telling them to go easy on the ice for at least the last 15 years.

Answer 7

yep im in ireland and they do it here too....costs less to fill with ice than the drink!

Answer 8

I worked at an Indiana Dairy Queen all through high school in the 80's.  Ice is cheaper than pop, so if a customer asked for a drink with no ice, I was required to charge them extra.  I hated that!

Answer 9

Next time ask for little or no ice. The drinks are already cold. All fast food places do it. I'm from Ky and it's been that way all of my life.

Answer 10

i know i totally hate that. once when i went to sam's club and got a drink they cought me dumping out my ice and they got so mad. it was so funny thou. lol ☺

Answer 11

Tell them light ice as a former manager of a fast food place they are saving on their food cost by saving their fountain syrup.  no it is 50$ for a 1000 cup box of syrup but this is how they make their money cups per single are .10 per each...they total cost is .25 for an entire drink(soda, lid, straw and cup) and they charge you the price of a 2 liter the more they save the more they make.

Answer 12

It's not new and some chains are worse than others.  I personally think Wendy's is the biggest offender of this.  The soda doesn't really cost them that much, in fact the biggest expense of a drink is the cup usually, but they still do it.

Answer 13

they do that because they are ripping you off on your soda's.I always tell them little ice and they fill it half full.They are thieves

Answer 14

lol..yeah!! they always "rip u off" by not filling it to the top and the ice is already taking up too much room! d**n them!,,lol

Answer 15

That's no trend, they've been doing that since at least the 70s (when I started paying attention to it). You see, a fast food soft drink has four components: The cup (lid optional, so I'll leave it off), the ice, the syrup, and the carbonated water. This practice has been done all over the country.

The cup is the most expensive part of the beverage, costing between three and ten cents apiece (depending on size and composition). Next up is the syrup, which mixes at between 1 part in 4.5 to 1 part in 5 with carbonated water. What's left to cut costs? Ice. Ice is cheap.

If the place isn't self-serve, I ask for "easy on the ice." Sometimes I'll add an excuse like, "I just went to the dentist this morning and the cold hurts like h**l." Since I don't hit drive-thru windows a lot, I use that one a fair amount.

I've lived all over the country, but am currently in Texas. I also managed pizzerias in the early 80s and still get the trade magazines through the net, just to keep up on the industry, even though I'm an analyst for the other end (food processing equipment) of it.

Answer 16

Im from Wisconsin and yes the ice thing is out of control here too.

Answer 17

Yes, I have noticed that.  I don't purchase pop (soda) anymore at the Fast Food places.  I just buy a tall glass of ice and add my Diet Pepsi after I get home. I an unable to add the full 12 oz to the cup due to all the ice.  Sometimes they give me a cup of ice for Free, but sometimes they charge 5 cents.    I eat my Double Cheeseburgers at home anyway, so why pay a premium price for a drink.

Answer 18

well as for me.. i love ice!!!

but if you don't want it ask for little or no ice.. the soda is cold already

Answer 19

Yes... that always happens to me at Wendy's and McDonald's. They probably fill the cups with ice because ice is cheaper than soda.