I'm kind of surprised most fast food places will still give you a free water cup if you ask for one

Princess Alice

They've got to know that people fill those with soda, right?

(I don't fill water cups with soda, but I know people who do.)

Tatterhood

I mean, charging for water is kind of an asshole move and they probably don't lose enough money on stolen soft drinks to care that much.

(Do "most fast food places" even have self-serve drinks? I feel like it's at best 50-50 in my experience.)

glennmagusharvey

They often give a slightly different cup style -- sometimes one that is clear and/or doesn't have a lid available and/or is smaller.

That said, the problem here isn't whether someone fills the cup with soda, but rather whether someone can dispense soda from the machine in the first place, so if anything your point is more relevant to restaurants leaving their drink dispensers directly accessible by guests.

Klinotaxis

everywhere in europe charges for water. this is why europe is bad

eriophora zia

I am fairly certain it is illegal in most places to deny someone free water.

Bee

glennmagusharvey said:

They often give a slightly different cup style -- sometimes one that is clear and/or doesn't have a lid available and/or is smaller.

This.  Shenanigans are visually apparent even if you don't see them at the fountain.

Tatterhood

eriophora zia said:

I am fairly certain it is illegal in most places to deny someone free water.

IIRC in a lot of places it's only a requirement to offer free water if you also serve alcohol.

MetaFour

Restaurants with self-serve fountain drinks already let you get unlimited refills. I suspect those restaurants get their profits from other stuff and can afford to give away soda.

Or they're ridiculously overcharging for the fountain drinks (to make up for all the free refills and such), and we're all chumps for paying full price.

Tatterhood

MetaFour said:

Restaurants with self-serve fountain drinks already let you get unlimited refills. I suspect those restaurants get their profits from other stuff and can afford to give away soda.

Or they're ridiculously overcharging for the fountain drinks (to make up for all the free refills and such), and we're all chumps for paying full price.

Yeah this is actually probably the real explanation. (I was gonna come back here to post something like this before seeing yours.) If you're already budgeting for giving people the second, third, and fourth cup of pop for free, it can't possibly make much of a difference if once in a while people get the first one free too, so long as they're paying for food.

★ ~ S U M M E R ✿ S A U S A G E ! ~ ★

Bee said:

glennmagusharvey said:

They often give a slightly different cup style -- sometimes one that is clear and/or doesn't have a lid available and/or is smaller.

This.  Shenanigans are visually apparent even if you don't see them at the fountain.

which really only matters if you care whether or not people notice said shenanigans because they aren't going to do shit either way

Calica

MetaFour said:

Restaurants with self-serve fountain drinks already let you get unlimited refills. I suspect those restaurants get their profits from other stuff and can afford to give away soda.

Or they're ridiculously overcharging for the fountain drinks (to make up for all the free refills and such), and we're all chumps for paying full price.

i've heard that the actual cost of the liquid from a drink fountain is about ten cents.  that said if the drinks were less expensive other things would probably be more expensive to compensate

glennmagusharvey

Calica said:

MetaFour said:

Restaurants with self-serve fountain drinks already let you get unlimited refills. I suspect those restaurants get their profits from other stuff and can afford to give away soda.

Or they're ridiculously overcharging for the fountain drinks (to make up for all the free refills and such), and we're all chumps for paying full price.

i've heard that the actual cost of the liquid from a drink fountain is about ten cents.  that said if the drinks were less expensive other things would probably be more expensive to compensate

Do you know if that figure includes the drink mix and/or a prorated lifetime depreciation of the machine?

That said I've heard that fast food places make a huge profit margin off of drinks.

Salix Babylonika

soda syrup is comically cheap, yes.

Tachyon

yeah the product itself is mostly water

Salix Babylonika

gin and coconut water, can I get it in America?