Served Full Fat Coke! - rant warning. [Archive]

Stuboy

03-29-2008, 06:08 PM

Tonight Laura and I went to a resturant. I ordered a diet coke and made a bit of a fuss that it should definatly be diet. The first drink was diet...

But sinse we had to wait for a HOUR for our food, we inevitably ran out of drink! So i ordered a re-fill, again emphasising diet coke please.

The girl who brought the new drink to the table wasn't our waitress apparently, i didn't see her i was too busy tucking into the food that eventually arrived.

Anyway, i must have drunk about 3/4 of a pint of the second drink before Laura took a sip and said "this isn't diet!" I took another small sip, it tasted like diet to me...

I thought maybe it was a weak mixure, so i did the finger dip test... didn't feel too sticky, but laura disagreed...

Then i remembered that some meters can read the sugar in drinks... i had tried this with my ultrasmart before which didnt' work, but hadn't yet tried it with my new compact plus meter. so i did... and to my horror it read "HI"
I tested my blood.... 18.7mmol/L !! I hadn't had enough of the food yet for it to affect that much that quickly either...

We complained and the manager came over (about 10 minutes later) and patronizingly said.... "do you need me to call anyone for you?" i was so tempted to say "well and ambulance would be a good start!" but i didn't... instead i just started rambling on about when someone asks for a diet coke they should get a diet coke... blah blah blah.

Anyway... i got him to wipe the bill clear so we ended up having a free meal! Im never sure what to really say in these situations! It's always hind-sight that i think of things i "should" have said... grrr

But here is a good tip... the Accu-Chek Compact Plus does read sugar in drinks!! We tested it again when we got home with diet lemonade, diet coke and full fat 7up. the diet drinks read ERR and the 7up read 17.8mmol/L, the full fat coke read "HI". So if you have this meter, and you're in doubt of your drink being diet... you can use your meter to find out.

I wish now i'd have told him i'll press charges if i end up in DKA later that night... but i didn't. I did tell him he needs to have a staff meeting to warn them all about situations like this, and he said he would definatly do that (but i dont know if i should beleive him)

silly people!

notme

03-29-2008, 06:43 PM

Stuboy, I have had this happen and it is definitely maddening. Luckily (in this case) you are type one and can bolus to cover the stupid sugar. For a type 2 this is a much bigger issue.

When I went to a fast food restuarant once, I poured my own fountain drink. California is notorious for do it yourself soda fountains. I absolutely poured myself a diet coke. I tried the coke and it tasted funny to me. My son was with me and he can tell the difference between sugary cokes and diet and he confirmed that I was drinking a sugary coke. I also complained. The owner of the restaurant went to see why I got a coke with sugar and it turned out they had the tubing connected wrong. Diet cokes were regular and regular cokes were diet. They were crossed somehow.

Order water.....it is safer. GRRRRR is right.

Sorry this happened to you Stuboy.

gettingby

03-29-2008, 08:59 PM

This thread got me to thinking back to when I was first diagnosed. I was 14 at the time and my brother was 8. It used to be so much fun for him to test my drink for me. It made him feel he was participating in helping me care for my diabetes. 23 years later and he still sometimes does it for me.:)

parrotletzoo

03-29-2008, 09:10 PM

Seriously, its a coke. If you know you are given regular coke. don't eat some other form of carbohydrate in your meal (you know, kind of like, not eating a potato or bread so you can have cake later), let the waitress know what happened and ask for diet. Its an easy mistake to make. It happens and really, its not like a food allergy that can immediately endanger your health/life. You know what you need to do to bring your bloodsugar back into target range. its not an emergency.

People make mistakes. Next time you choose to eat something you shouldn't and your blood sugar is elevated I hope you scold yourself as well as you scolded the restaurant employees. And don't complain about pricing at restaurants either, because the rest of us are paying for your meal now.

I'm sure I just pissed off a number of people, so rant over.
go ahead and go off on me for my opinion. I realize it's going to happen....

patricia52

03-29-2008, 09:19 PM

I am super sensitive to Nutra Sweet. I ordered a coke. The waitress to brought me diet coke. (This was before I was diagnoised with D). I told her it was diet, but she insisted it was a regular coke. In the end I order a glass of water. She refusd to take the coke off the bill. I never went back to that restaurant. Connecting the drinks wrong could easily had landed someone in the hospital.

ant hill

03-29-2008, 09:26 PM

Has anyone has had the mistake of cokes in a Mc Donald's?
I did and now I watch the order now. :( I also avoid drive in's now because if they make the mistake there then you are stuck with that order and you may not even know that it is D coke.
On the subject of soda pop, I went looking for Mountain Dew and it's only in strait dew. :( I will have a look at safeway next time as I may have better luck there. :T

Funnygrl

03-29-2008, 09:52 PM

You can't get DKA from eating too much sugar. Only not enough insulin to meet cellular glucose needs can cause DKA. So dietary non-compliance can't cause it, skipping insulin can.

I don't think coke has fat in it either.

w5wjp

03-29-2008, 10:02 PM

Had that happen once and waitress said "So what.."
I about strangled her with the tubing from the pump.

Funnygrl

03-29-2008, 10:07 PM

I drank a full 48 ounce regular coke once by accident. I went to HI on my meter. I was upset. I bolused and felt better in 2 hours though.

notme

03-30-2008, 12:21 AM

I agree, for a type one it can be maddening, but not the end of the planet. People with type two diabetes will suffer the effects for a longer time and have a tougher time getting back on track.

I don't disagree with what you said parrotzoo, only disagree with the way you chose to say it.

matingara

03-30-2008, 01:31 AM

how annoying!

i am ultra safe. i order soda water only! i quite like coke zero - but will not drink it unless i personally open the can/bottle.

but out at dinner i would probably order scotch and soda or red wine! (again playing it safe.... :D )

-- Joel.

Gary_W

03-30-2008, 02:53 AM

Whilst I can tell the difference between regular and diet from a can, I really struggle with telling them apart in the 'fountain style' cokes in restaurants and pubs; they all taste pretty similar to me. I'm sure it has happened to me and I've just wondered 'what caused that spike?' and whacked in a bit more of the old jungle juice to cater. It is a bit of a bummer.

For this reason, if I do order these in pubs and restaurants I always test regularly as I realise that (with the best will in the world) mistakes will happen. The bar sorting out the drinks might be doing 200 cokes an hour and the chances of it being staffed by someone that

(a) realises the potential problem (even if you explain it to the waitress) and
(b) cares

is pretty slim.

Beer or (if on the wagon) mineral water is a much safer bet if I don't have a sniffer dog with me :) Were I T2 and unable to get the mistake sorted with insulin, I think I'd avoid it altogether unless I actually saw the bottle / can.

Gary

Stuboy

03-30-2008, 05:43 AM

No-one else pays for the bill except the resturant... the manager offered to wipe the bill, i just accepted the offer...

Where it may not be life and death issue for a type one... the mistake needs to be noted and staff informed of the danger, as highlighted earlier... a type 2 would have a much tougher time with it.

It still annoys me... i try hard to keep good control and it gets messed up by a mistake that shouldn't happen... ticket says diet... gimme diet! it's not hard... i've worked on a bar (for the same resturant actually...) and i know exactly how their system works and its not an easy mistake to make at all if you can read. People do make mistakes... but when it's a mistake that can harm someone it's a mistake not to be made.

Jill-O

03-30-2008, 06:15 AM

DarthDiabetes

03-30-2008, 07:19 AM

Good for you! A restaurant is a service establishment and it is good to see that some managers realize when wrong is done they should fix it. Mistakes happen of course, but educating should be done, and mistakes that can effect ones health should always be double checked and dealt with. I think the notion that 'it won't kill you instantly' is erroneous and giving a pass so that people don't have to actually pay attention in their work. Paying for your dinner, making it right, is only appropriate especially if they want repeat business.

Jan B

03-30-2008, 07:21 AM

I'm not sure this is even an option for people not in the US as it may not be popular enough to be on menus, but I always order unsweetened ice tea, and then taste it before putting artificial sweetener in it.

I always order tea for that reason. A lady I know who works concessions, told me when she runs out of diet, and the line is long, she just uses regular. She's been doing this for many years at shows and sporting events, and told me she never thought about diabetics. She thought people were too obsessed with their weight.

Jill-O

03-30-2008, 08:02 AM

I think that's the case with a lot of people in food services. I don't think it's crossed their minds "what if the person is diabetic?"

Every once in awhile, I will have a sip of "regular" coke or pepsi. It tastes so sweet but is like the nectar of the Gods to me http://www.getsmile.com/emoticons/smileys-91853/c0/haha.gif

princesslinda

03-30-2008, 12:49 PM

Hubby and I were recently at a fast-food restaurant that has self-serve fountain drinks...I got myself a Diet Mtn Dew...and felt it tasted "different." I took it to the lady behind the counter, who assured me it was diet. She said several had questioned it and they had checked it out and it was indeed diet, but that it apparently had less "carbonation" in it so it tasted stronger.

I went ahead and had it with my meal....about 45 minutes later, I began to feel ill....my heart was racing and I felt quite sweaty and nervous. I didn't check my blood sugar at the time, as I was with the in-laws and didn't want to make a big deal out of it.

On our way home a couple hours later, I STILL felt "bad" and checked my blood....approx. 4 hrs after drinking the supposed "diet" Mtn. Dew, I was over 200! Imagine what level I was when I felt so bad.

The worst thing was there really wasn't much I could do about it....I did drink lots of water, but as for something to really bring my levels normal quickly...I was out of luck.

Now for the most part, i'll have either water or unsweet tea...its the safest bet for me.

lilituc

03-30-2008, 01:07 PM

I have a hard time telling if something's diet or not when it comes from the fountain (because the mix is different usually) so I carry Diastix to test them with.

In the past, I've gotten regular (waiter screwed up and was pretty obviously lying about it), regular (fountain was hooked up wrong, waiter didn't believe me until I showed him the strip, was quite rude about it), regular (fountain ran out of diet), and half regular (fountain ran out of diet halfway through pouring). I never got anything free (or asked for it), though. I just wanted them to *know* and to know why it was important, and I was always polite about it. Unfortunately, it seems hard to find people who know the meaning of service these days.

barbarac

03-30-2008, 01:34 PM

It's just a coke!? Skip part of your meal?! If you sit down to eat a nice meal--which we don't always get to do, you do not want a coke instead of part of your dinner!! Your answer was even irritating. A fat coke, sugary coke would not substitute for part of your dinner. How depressing was that answer.

Gembo

03-30-2008, 02:26 PM

Next time you choose to eat something you shouldn't and your blood sugar is elevated I hope you scold yourself as well as you scolded the restaurant employees.

Not sure what that's supposed to mean. Judging from other posts I think most people here beat themselves up quite severely when they do let things slip like that.

Anyway if you pay money for a meal you really don't want to spend the whole time fighting a high blood sugar. If it was me it would probably ruin the experience.

MollyM15

04-02-2008, 09:59 AM

I have had that happen to me lots of times luckily I can't stand sweet stuff so I always know when it's not diet...

JediSkipdogg

04-02-2008, 10:04 AM

The hardest part is it's the same color. I personally see no fault in restaurants when this happens. They are busy, people are working 10 tables at a time, and can get orders mixed up. Then if they get drinks for two tables at once (faster service that way then making an individual trip each time) they might get the drinks mixed up by accident.

Maybe someone should target Coke and Pepsi and tell them to change the color of their diet drinks. Wait, we tried that once with Clear Diet (or whatever it was called) and nobody bought it.

fgummett

04-02-2008, 10:23 AM

Maybe like the different coloured collars on caffeinated and decaf coffee jugs they should use a different colour glass for the diet? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to come up with a simple idea like that.

To dismiss this as just a mistake is wrong on several levels:

As a paying guest you are entitled (even contracted) to get what you asked and paid for... this is what service establishments do for a living! From the brief straw poll in this thread, it is clearly something that happens too often to be acceptable. In my job, if we make a mistake we develop procedures to stop it happening again.

As diabetics we need to control what we put in our mouths and we are an ever-increasing part of the population; so either the food industry gets wise or they will lose paying customers.

As a health concern I have to wonder what other shortcuts and mistakes are being made in orders which affect not just diabetics but many other disorders.

jerryn

04-02-2008, 10:38 AM

Glucoweb

04-02-2008, 10:47 AM

Interesting story. I am very curious now which meters can read sugar effectively in sodas. I think I just might be turning my kitchen into a lab when I get and test with my meter on different diet and regular sodas.

notme

04-02-2008, 10:48 AM

I don't know if this belongs on this thread, but this was sort of interesting.

My (furture) grandson was having his 12th Birthday party at a place called Incredible John's. This is sort of a Chucky Cheese kind of place geared toward older children. There are video games, all you can eat buffet, and party rooms for the kids Birthday's. It really is a pretty expensive place for a party. The charges were $13.00 per child for the room, party and some tokens for games. My son's fiance paid for about 10 kids and 4 adults. I showed up later to the party. When I went in the front door for the parties, I was met by a lady that said I had to pay $11.20 to get in. I told her I didn't want to eat, I was only there to help with the party. I had to pay. Many of the parents just dropped off their kids and let them go in the party room and didn't go in because they didn't want to pay $11.20 for a buffet they didn't want. So poor Lisa had all of these kids and no help. Once the room time was up the kids just scattered out into the video game section and she had a hard time keeping track of the kids. I raised holy...... well I was unhappy with the owners and wrote one heck of a letter to them.

Long story short, I told them they should have wristbands for "parent supervisors" and they were in line for a lawsuit if a child ended up missing because one parent couldn't keep track of all the kids.

Many of the parents spent approximately $25.00 on a gift for Noah, spent $4.00 a gallon on gas to get to the party and then were charged to supervise their child in a pizza place.

Needless to say, I doubt there will be a party there again anytime soon.

davef

04-02-2008, 10:52 AM

My brother had a pub in Florida, he sold it moved to TN where he has a new pub. He always believes that the customer comes first, if he or his staff don't live up to that then he will do his utmost to correct the problem and ensure it does not happen again.

Things do go wrong, people make mistakes, the important thing is how the mistakes are handled and what is done to ensure they don't happen again.

I also believe that as customers (and as Stu did) we have a responibility to make it clear that our needs are, if the server does not seem to understand or listen, then we need to stress that there are medical reasons for our requests. I generally say, "I know you guys are busy but it's really important that I get a diet drink as I have a medical condition and the wrong drink could make very ill." and I find most people respond very positively and some go out of their way to make sure everything is right.

I think it was good of the restaurant to take responsibility and to offer to tear up the bill. In return, maybe Stu will see his way to eating in the restaurant again.

fgummett

04-02-2008, 11:04 AM

As above, I think you have every right to expect to get what you paid for and every right to complain if the service is not good enough. I write software for a living and if my code did not meet the client's specifications I would very quickly hear about and would be expected to rectify the matter ASAP... why do we have different expectations of the service industry? As another example, I fly quite often and it never ceases to amaze me how disorganised the airlines seem to get when there is bad weather. Yes there is much about the situation that is outside their control but beyond that I have to wonder why they behave as if it is a total surprise... it's not exactly the first time it has happened to them... it's what they do every day for Pete's sake! I'm actually a pretty quiet and unassuming guy but when I pay for something I think it only fair that the other side keep up their end of the bargain.

betty6333

04-02-2008, 11:05 AM

we have had that happen at resturants.... you tell them it is for medcial reasons and you can't have that much sugar and they think you are kidding or something.... VERY frustrating... i loved one lady," you don't look like you have diabetes" i was mad..... anyway lucky you caught it when you did..... we have gotten home before we realized what had happened....

morrisma

04-02-2008, 11:09 AM

Stuboy,
I have had this happen a couple of times in chinese or thai food places where communication is difficult at best. Never thought to use the meter to check. Great idea. Unsweetened tea or water with lemon for me now. Too annoying dealing with the spikes and frustration.
Good thread.
Mike

Eddy

04-02-2008, 11:20 AM

I drank a full 48 ounce regular coke once by accident. I went to HI on my meter. I was upset. I bolused and felt better in 2 hours though.

:eek:

(That would raise 185-pound me by 400 to 500 mg/dL.)

I now _really_ wonder about my pre-DX downing of Mountain Dew 2-liters... no basal, no bolus...

Eddy

04-02-2008, 11:26 AM

The converse (ordering regular, bolusing, finding diet) is an equally-scary thought.

Neither hyperosmolarity nor a wicked hypo appeals to me..

movieman111540

04-02-2008, 12:04 PM

I was in the restaurant business for over 30 years. Most (not all) servers are young and think the reason most people order diet drinks is because of weight. It is management/owner who should train their employees about health problems and as to why customers order certain items. Mistakes are made but most of the time it is because the employee is in a "hurry".
The drink syrup at one time came in a metal tank and the hose connection for diet and regular drinks could not be interchanged they simply did not fit. Most syrup comes in a box today and I am not sure how the connections work. (Been retired for a few years)
My point is it is usually management's fault for improper training not the server.
Complain to the manager not the employee if you want action.
Another problem I have is caffeine. I have a heart problem and must watch the caffeine and I can not tell by taste.

Stuboy

04-03-2008, 06:08 AM

That's what really bugs me about this sort of thing... im not ordering Diet because im watching my weight. Many people have commented along the lines of "diet?" (im slim) in confusion, i just answer back "im diabetic"

People dont think about it... but if you mention diabetes you can almost hear their brain click!

It was the manager we complained to, i didn't moan to the waitress she was actually pretty good. we could see they were all in a hurry because we were sat next to the open kitchen and could see the rows of orders. So yes, i think you are right, it was part servers in a hurry part manager.

Glucoweb

04-03-2008, 06:09 AM

But here is a good tip... the Accu-Chek Compact Plus does read sugar in drinks!! We tested it again when we got home with diet lemonade, diet coke and full fat 7up. the diet drinks read ERR and the 7up read 17.8mmol/L, the full fat coke read "HI". So if you have this meter, and you're in doubt of your drink being diet... you can use your meter to find out.

I tried this with my Flash last night, but it did not seem to work... bummer. Anyway, I tried looking up more information about the Compact meter having this capability, but was unable to find any. I downloaded the user manual and could not find it in there either. Where did you hear about this at? I want to see if there are other meters out there with this ability. Thanks.

Stuboy

04-03-2008, 06:13 AM

I heard about some meter being able to read sugars in drinks on this forum actually.

I tried it with my life scan meters but didnt' work, and it occured to me in the resturant that i hadn't tried with my compact plus... so i tried it and it read "HI".

I've tried it a few times sinse that night and i've had a reading of 2.3 from Robinsons no added sugar Orange & Pineapple cordil. we also had 17.9 from 7up. and any diet or zero sugar drinks i've tested have errored.

Scrabblechick

04-03-2008, 11:35 AM

I don't think I've ever not been able to tell the difference in the taste between diet and regular. Diet always has "that taste" to me. Having said that, servers should always try to make sure orders are correct. If the Diet Coke line is out, the thing to do is to come back to the table and say, "Sir, I'm sorry, but we're out of Diet Coke. Can I get you something else?"

I normally order water anyway, but do get Diet Coke occasionally. I always take a sip first, to check.

The meter idea is a good one.

Tashia

04-05-2008, 11:43 AM

I probably would have been a bit frustrated myself. Some may think it's not a big deal but to me it would have been. You were probably starving to begin with and usually restaurants put out rolls for you to snack on.... well most of us skip those. Your waiting an hour for food, drinking what you think is diet coke only to find that BG is sky high... I would have been livid. What are you to do now.. just eat your protein? I would much rather eat my carbs and sugar than drink them... especially if I'm going out for a dinner. And I agree also that it's very hard to distinguish regular and diet fountain drinks from one another.

I've had something similar to this happen to me in a restaurant, but it was completely my fault. I noticed that on the menu they served diet cherry coke. So I opted for it, well little did I know that they made there own version... and that they added cherry syrup to the diet coke. I drank about half and thought it was a tad sweet so I had my husband try it, he agreed that it was very sweet. So I asked the waitress if it were diet and she informed me that it was diet with cherry syrup in it. Yikes... I told her I'd just have plain diet coke. Like I said... if I'm going to have carbs and sugar I'd take much more enjoyment out of eating them. :D

UpNorth

04-05-2008, 12:16 PM

It sure is annoying to get regular coke when ordering diet. I usually drink coke zero if drinking soda. It has happened a couple of times that i've been served regular cola, but i usually notice after a couple of sips because i find regular cola being sickening sweet :s: I quit drinking regular cola even before i was diagnosed with diabetes...

RobiJo

04-05-2008, 01:35 PM

My hubby and I go out to eat a lot. I always order diet coke/pepsi. ALWAYS. All of my family and friends know what to order me if I'm not there yet. Very rarely I'll not get what I ordered, but only about 1-2% of the time. And even then the glasses were just switched with someone else at our table. They figure it out right away too and we just switch.

I can pretty easily tell the difference between regular/diet especially in colas. I despise Coca-Cola and Pepsi. The taste makes me cringe. However, if I'm not sure I have had no problems asking (and getting) the server to bring me a fresh glass. I just make sure I ask nicely.

cheryl

04-05-2008, 05:17 PM

I guess I am a big odd ball diabetic, I was drinking regular soda from the 2002-2007 seriously....I drank it while prego's with Jacob, a1c in the low 6's high 5's no lows...actually a foutain drink from a resteraunt is so watered down that when I started to count carbs....It was totally hard to figure the carbs in soda at resteraunts...I usually went with 40 carbs....so I guess for me if I really did end up drinking a regular coke it is in and out very fast....actually I dunno....

But I am sure it would be so annoying and all that if you already bolused correctly but I guess popping another 3 units or so wouldn't hurt....coke if you understood it is quite easy to figure out....mostly if I ever got a regular coke instead of diet, I so would...make sure my meal then was high fat LOL...it's slow that bad boy down....

oh how i miss coke especially a vanilla coke from sonic yummy...used to bolus 6 units for that and a wrap....and was on target or got low....not massive but it depended...oh boy...lol

But resteraunts should be careful it does suck and we should rant about it.....i am glad I have sensitivty to aspertame, cause I ask for a glass of ice bring a can of diet coke with splenda with me....and there....LOL

Cheryl

jacobsam622

04-12-2008, 09:53 PM

I worked as waiter while in college and part time for five years after I became a programmer. There is an easy way to avoid the fuss, coke and diet coke do not look anything a like. If you put coke and diet coke next to each other you will be able to tell the difference. When you wait on a table of 12 people and one or two order diet and the rest order regular you learn to tell the difference.

Diet coke is a deep black.
coke is black with a slightly brown tint.
Get a regular coke and a diet coke and set them side by side, the darker one is the D-coke;)

Tattoo azz

04-30-2008, 06:41 PM

I just try and avoid all cokes cos the taste is so foul! If i do go out to a restaurant thesedays i just have water its easier to bolus for :D

Alice

05-01-2008, 09:27 AM

That's interesting about the color! I do agree, Cheryl, that the soda drinks are watered down...I have a friend who used to play golf and would treat his "lows" with a coke on ice from the golf club dispenser...he always had trouble raising his glucose with those cokes. I recommended he skip the ice and drink the fountain drink "straight up"...

When I use Cokes to treat lows at home...I never put on ice...why bother. I also have trained myself to drink a "warm" coke which is normally horrible...but when you are low and working in an office...reaching into your desk drawer for that emergency can is a blessing! I trained myself to think "it's purely medicinal...not for taste...", and so on.

Tattoo azz

05-01-2008, 01:46 PM

I think it quite wierd that some of us choose a drink thats fizzy at a time when the priority is to get it down your neck asap, i myself normally keep 2-3 bottles of orange or lemon lucozade which is fizzy, when normal oj is just as good and is not gassy. Funny eh? :D

Janlaton

05-01-2008, 02:23 PM

Of course unsweeted tea is on the menu in the US. In fact some parts of the country only have unsweetened no sweet tea.

Yes, Diet Dew is available. It is my favorite if I am going for caffeine which is rare but most chain grocery stores as well as larger convenience stores in VA carry it.

I have also been given regular drinks. I tend to go off on someone. How far up the ladder depends on how good an appology I get how quick. For that "so what" waitress I would not have left a tip.

Alice

05-02-2008, 11:20 AM

Hi Tattoo! The fizzies don't bother me..I quite like them! But to each their own, right? OJ seems very syrupy to me...but I like to use it when I'm trying to get my fiber and Vitamin C taken care of for the day...but sometimes in an office environment or out shopping...Coke is just the easiest and most available source...next to the glucose tabs in my purse. Good thing about the US....it's hard to get far from a Coke machine. They have saved me many times in the last 43 years!

Eddy

05-02-2008, 04:16 PM

I think it quite wierd that some of us choose a drink thats fizzy at a time when the priority is to get it down your neck asap

That's another nice thing about soda: When partaking from a bottle, one can make it go flat. :)

Speaking of soda... I wonder what would happen if one tried to get a prescription for the stuff? :D

Tinki

05-04-2008, 02:58 AM

Oh man, my husband would have gone full blown ballistic if this would have happend to me. Here's a trick I do when I go out. I always say "Diet coke please. And I'm diabetic so it has to be diet please." I always say it with a smile and very sweetly. It's my way of giving the wait staff a heads up and I always hope it makes them a little more carefull. Now if I'm at a restaurant and communication is a problem I stick with water or non sweet tea. It makes things easier that way.

Psycho Penguin

09-28-2008, 05:14 AM

Sorry for bumping an old topic but I came here to make a similar topic. Tonight I was served a coke after specifically asking for diet coke THREE times and even after my stepdad told him I was a diabetic. Fortunately I can taste the difference, but that waiter almost got a RKO.

mageerobin

10-07-2008, 01:47 PM

bump away psycho penguin, sometimes it's good to feel a little anger about not getting what you ordered. Here in the Southern US there is a burger chain called Hardee's. I got regular coke inthe drive through about 3 times and never went back.

Psycho Penguin

10-18-2008, 08:40 AM

The best part is when the waiter treats you like an ******* for daring to want DIET soda as requested..

Neuromancer

10-19-2008, 12:45 AM

cyberus

10-19-2008, 01:06 AM

Latest studies in the US are beginning to show that diet sodas contribute to obesity and from everything else I've read it seems that using artificial sweetners just increase your cravings for sweet tasting foods...water or unsweetened tea seems to be the smart way to go, at least to me, and green tea and black teas have the added benefit of being high in anti-oxidants...

The "makes you hungry" concept IMHO is a YMMV item, it seems to make some people hungry and not others. And also IMHO it *seems* to affect people eating high carb more than low carb. I've noticed since I went low carb diet soda doesn't even give my hunger circuit s tingle.

Neuromancer

10-19-2008, 01:09 AM

The "makes you hungry" concept IMHO is a YMMV item, it seems to make some people hungry and not others. And also IMHO it *seems* to affect people eating high carb more than low carb. I've noticed since I went low carb diet soda doesn't even give my hunger circuit s tingle.
Ummm...YMMV? Lost me on that one and I know when you tell me what it is I'm gonna feel dumb...

Psycho Penguin

10-19-2008, 05:53 AM

Your Mileage May Vary

Also, I am underweight and have been drinking diet soda all my life, so yeah ok. Seems like another way for people to dodge personal responsibility.

"THE DIET SODA MAKES ME FAT!!"

cyberus

10-19-2008, 10:25 AM

Ummm...YMMV? Lost me on that one and I know when you tell me what it is I'm gonna feel dumb...

YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary ... what they say about the claimed mpg of vehicles.

In other words what it does for you may be different than someone else.

EeyoreButterfly

10-19-2008, 12:28 PM

I've waited tables at three different restaurants, and I agree that this is a serious issue. I see several replies that state that if this happens they "go off" on the person. Please, tell them, but be polite.

I now one time I had the opposite happen. I was waiting a table and when I refilled the drinks I gave them diet instead of regular. Only time I have ever had a soda mix up. At the restaurant, we have pitchers ready to go for refills, and we have a way of marking the pitchers to delineate between diet, regular, and cherry. The regular is left alone, diet gets a lemon wedge on the rim, and cherry gets a straw tied around the handle. I grabbed the pitcher that did not have a straw or lemon wedge and it turned out to be diet. Whoever had filled the pitcher had filled it with the wrong thing. I apologized and immediately got them all new drinks. Unfortunately, there wasn't a way for me to avoid the mistake because I was relying on our restaurant's marking system which had never failed me before.

The table was very polite about it and I apprecaited that. Mistakes happen. Should they happen? No, but nobody is perfect. If you want people to be more likely to pay attention in the future, talk to them politely instead of screaming at them. I agree that most people servers don't think about people with diabetes when they hear somebody order diet, they think it is somebody who is watching their weight.

On a side note, it's mind boggling to me that so many people can't tell the difference when they taste it. I've tried switching to diet several times but it has such a nasty after taste that I just can't do it. I can tell immediately. Anymore, I drink unsweeted tea and just have soda as a special treat.

EeyoreButterfly

10-19-2008, 12:34 PM

As for diet sodas causing obesity, what people need to realize is that the studies were correlational studies. In other words, did the amount of diet soda consumed have a linear relationship with the number of pounds a person weighed? In the studeis, this was a definite yes. The more diet soda the person consumed the more they weighed (on average.)

What people don't realize is that correlation does not equal causation. You can only determine causation in a labratory experiment that keeps all variables the same except the one being tested. There are several hypotheses for the correlation between diet soda and weight. Mind you, at this time these are only hypotheses and have not been proven one way or the other:

-your brain processes the artificial sweetener differently causing you to store more fat and also crave real sugar.
-on average, people who drink diet sodas are drinking them because they are trying to lose weight, and are therefore more likely to weigh more.
-people eat more calories than they otherwise would have because they think they are saving calories by having diet soda, but they overdo it causing wieght gain.

So as you can see, even though there is a positive correlation, there are a multitude of factors that could be responsible.