[Food] So far this year we have served more free tap waters than any other drink…..

[The Fits]

Just to be clear, again, the place in question has 2 or 3 local craft draft beers at a reasonable price on tap, and from memory a few decent soft drinks , mineral water etc. I’ll try and find an example drinks menu. There’s no excuse for these tight arse customers.

People expect things for free. Fast food free refills, Wetherspoon coffee refills. They don’t understand that small independents literally cannot afford to do that.

 

[Littlemo]

I hear what you’re saying, and agree. But, I know the restaurant I referred to, their soft drinks list is more than acceptable.

If it’s a restaurant then presumably they are eating there? If you are ordering the requisite three courses or whatever they do, what does it matter what they drink? We have to get away from the idea that not drinking is somehow not contributing.

 

[newhaven seagull 85]

How can anyone say that the mark up is complete rip off in a sit down restaurant, which has a limited number of covers per night, the profit they make has to pay Rent, rates, heating costs, employee wages, laundry costs etc.
Yes, paying £3 for a soft drink out of a pump at a fast food restaurant (McD's, Burger King, KFC, etc) is rip off, as they will get 100's if not 1000's of orders through per day, when the cost is probably 50p max
What amazes me is that people will not visit restaurants at say £25 a head, low end, but happily pay over the odds for a deliveroo/uber/just eat.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

S

People expect things for free. Fast food free refills, Wetherspoon coffee refills. They don’t understand that small independents literally cannot afford to do that.

Exactly. After the announcement, their social media is now awash with messages from customers bemoaning their closure. If you supported them, instead of using the venue as a charity shelter for the evening, they might have survived.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Just to be clear, again, the place in question has 2 or 3 local craft draft beers at a reasonable price on tap, and from memory a few decent soft drinks , mineral water etc. I’ll try and find an example drinks menu. There’s no excuse for these tight arse customers.

As both parties know full well that these people are taking the piss, has to be down to management to call them out shirley? Maybe via some minimum spend house rule or something? Quite an uncomfortable thing to do, but maybe the only thing they'll understand

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

If it’s a restaurant then presumably they are eating there? If you are ordering the requisite three courses or whatever they do, what does it matter what they drink? We have to get away from the idea that not drinking is somehow not contributing.

Cafes and restaurant margins are thin. Drinks are a significant factor when it comes to the bottom line. Not buying drinks is definitely not contributing.

 

[darkwolf666]

My challenge would be that soft drinks in restaurants are a complete rip off - the mark up is crazy. Whilst I'm lucky enough to be in a position not to worry too much, when I'm buying a diet coke in a restaurant at £3 for a tiny 250ml bottle and comparing that to my 2L bottle for less than £2 at home, I definitely feel a bit of a gut punch. Crafting good food is a skill that I am willing to pay for, so have no qualms about supporting good restaurants at a premium price for good food, but taking the top off a barely chilled bottle at 10+ times the price of the ingredient is not reasonable.

It's part of a general feeling that companies try so so hard to rip us off that I get why people are pushing back and voting with their feet. If I can't buy a ticket without a booking fee or a flight without a surcharge for seat allocation then I stop believing the headline price and start to boycott the brand.

My ex M-I-L ordered £5000 worth of carpets, around 20 years ago, and was then told delivery would be £xx - she said if you charge me delivery I will be taking my business elsewhere

Companies try to take the piss and it becomes normalised - fight back*


* not by spending the night playing cards over a bottle of water though!!!

 

[Bold Seagull]

Just to be clear, again, the place in question has 2 or 3 local craft draft beers at a reasonable price on tap, and from memory a few decent soft drinks , mineral water etc. I’ll try and find an example drinks menu. There’s no excuse for these tight arse customers.

In my example above to be fair I wouldn’t ever be ordering a soft drink for myself!!

Went in the William the Forth the other lunchtime, £7.25 a pint. Whetherspoons on the other corner to North St. Punk IPA £3.98, Ruddles Best £1.98!!! Felt like the walk between the two I’d been in a Time Machine and gone back to 1996 prices!!!

Pubbl app has changed my drinking though, genius from the North Laine brewery. Great range of beers, collect rewards on your app, great feeling value.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

How can anyone say that the mark up is complete rip off in a sit down restaurant, which has a limited number of covers per night, the profit they make has to pay Rent, rates, heating costs, employee wages, laundry costs etc.
Yes, paying £3 for a soft drink out of a pump at a fast food restaurant (McD's, Burger King, KFC, etc) is rip off, as they will get 100's if not 1000's of orders through per day, when the cost is probably 50p max
What amazes me is that people will not visit restaurants at say £25 a head, low end, but happily pay over the odds for a deliveroo/uber/just eat.

This.

 

[Cordwainer]

As someone who works in the industry it’s a very tricky balance. We’re all aware of the change in trends, even I have long periods of sobriety (including now), and I’m all for people drinking softs, but the public need to realise that eating at a restaurant or sitting in a pub for 2 hours plus isn’t helping anyone. In the pubs case we might as well not open- wages have had some of the highest rises in any industry (which I’m all for and have always been a decent payer), we all know about rates etc. Pubs can’t survive is your looking at less than a tenner a head per hour. That’s the reality. I don’t actually know what the answer is. There’s a serious elephant in the room in that I need people who drink and drink fast and heavily. That’s the model this business is built on and we can talk about pivoting and the like but I’m afraid it doesn’t really help that inconvenient truth. It sounds draconian but I’d be up for some kind of sitting fee, much like board game cafes- they upsell drinks and food but they also know they’re guaranteed some base income. It’s all really tricky and the craft beer bubble (inevitably) bursting hasn’t helped.

Legally do pubs/cafes/restaurants etc have to provide ‘free’ tap water?

 

[The Fits]

As both parties know full well that these people are taking the piss, has to be down to management to call them out shirley? Maybe via some minimum spend house rule or something?

I’ve talked to people directly about this (politely, and sometimes not). People don’t get it. They see restaurants and pubs as basically free spaces to sit. That was fine 30 years ago when things were cheaper and one group of lads would drink enough to pay for the whole night. It isn’t now. People just don’t get it unless they’ve worked in the industry.

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

I was in a craft beer bar last night, and the table of 3 sat next to us had a bottle of sparkling water shared between the 3, plus one other drink, and played cards. This was over the course of at least 2 and three quarter hours.

I woke this morning, and read a social media post from a restaurant I like, which is now closing. They said average daily income had dropped but the thing which caught my eye was “So far this year we have served more free tap waters than any other drink”

No wonder restaurants are struggling if this is happening. I have nothing against people who don’t want to drink alcohol, but give your head a wobble and buy a soft drink or two at least.

Buy more drinks!

Wouldn’t happen in Spoons

 

[The Fits]

Legally do pubs/cafes/restaurants etc have to provide ‘free’ tap water?

Absolutely and I’m a total advocate for that. But sitting in a pub and only drinking water is taking the piss.

 

[portlock seagull]

As both parties know full well that these people are taking the piss, has to be down to management to call them out shirley? Maybe via some minimum spend house rule or something?

That sounds “Hospitable!”

Other contributing factors include supply saturation - the noighties especially saw a surge in food and drink venues. Many are now closing.

The cost of living crisis has been the killer however.

 

[portlock seagull]

Absolutely and I’m a total advocate for that. But sitting in a pub and only drinking water is taking the piss.

But people don’t do this.

 

[The Fits]

But people don’t do this.

They absolutely do.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Absolutely and I’m a total advocate for that. But sitting in a pub and only drinking water is taking the piss.

Same as the wallahs that buy a coffee and proceed to use a coffee shop and its free wifi as their personal office space for hours on end

 

[Cordwainer]

Absolutely and I’m a total advocate for that. But sitting in a pub and only drinking water is taking the piss.

Completely agree. Used to live near the Palmeira and on euro football nights the place was rammed with English language students drinking ‘free’ water and clogging up the bar so us beer drinkers couldn’t get anywhere near it!

 

[Littlemo]

Cafes and restaurant margins are thin. Drinks are a significant factor when it comes to the bottom line. Not buying drinks is definitely not contributing.

Then it’s an issue with management of those places. If you are going to a restaurant and eating a full 3 course meal (or the cafe equivalent of a main meal) then sorry but you doing what’s required and putting your money in.

Nobody should have to buy drinks they don’t want to accompany those things when they’ll be spending a lot of money on the food. People should still be free choose what they want to buy.

Pubs are different though, that’s where my soft drink rant comes in. Nobody should be sitting round any drinks for hours. Pubs are for drinking in which is different to restaurants and cafes.

 

[The Fits]

Completely agree. Used to live near the Palmeira and on euro football nights the place was rammed with English language students drinking ‘free’ water and clogging up the bar so us beer drinkers couldn’t get anywhere near it!

Showing sport is a funny one. I never do it for a number of reasons but the biggest is the shift in sport watching drinkers. Used to be money for all ripe and obviously things like the Euros and World Cup are guaranteed paydays, but things like the Champions League are a total waste of time.