I am a server at IHOP and as a server I encounter many different types of people. I have worked at this restaurant for approximately 5 months. So I am pretty familiar with my job, and I have spent a lot of time observing different types of customers. From the very first minutes a customer walks in, I am able to tell if they are the kind of people who want breakfast food, if they seem like they will tip me, or if they are going to be more low maintenance customers (people who do not want to be bothered). One prevalent observation I have made is that of drink choices. In the picture above there are two mugs of hot water, a container of hot tea, and water with very little ice. These are three common request that I get when serving international students or non-native residents. I think that a person's drink choices, along with the temperature they prefer the drink has a lot to say about the culture and how they were socialized. People from the United States always want a cold drink, customers always ask for a lot of ice, or even just a cup of ice to have on hand. International students and non-native residents ask me for no ice, or just hot water to drink. These stark differences allows me to see that while we might believe that everyone enjoys drinks at an ice cold temperature, that may not be the case. My Austrian professor mentioned to me that it is Americans that love cold drinks, everyone else, not so much. As a server, I've been able to see how her statement is relatively true. (obviously, people enjoy different drinks at different temperatures) It is amazing to find out that there are little things, such as the temperature that you want your drink, can reveal your culture, and how your palate has been socialized.
