I've always heard that it was illegal for places to charge for a cup of water, that they could only charge for bottled water. Is this true in California? I was out the other night and asked for a cup of water and was told it was 25 cents. Normally I wouldn't care about such a small amount, but I was already irritated with the poor service in general in the place.

Hello j:

It's not illegal for them to charge you for water.

excon

There was a time when glasses of water were put on the table when patrons sat down to dine. Now that practice is discouraged as it essentially wastes water. By legally charging 25 cents it is a way for the restaurant to not waste water especially since this is California. The glass must be washed after you use it and that wastes water - so charging you 25 cents sounds about right.

Most stores in manhattan will charge you for water.

While many places will provide a glass of water with a meal and other drinks , some do not. You did not mention the level of eating place you were at, but a real glass has to be clean, there is a percentage that after so many usages it gets broken and has to be replaced. The cost ( ever how small) of the ice and water, the cost of the waiter to bring it, refill it and of course cleaning the glass.

At the McDonalds level, you have the cost of the paper cup, the cost of the number of people who cheat them by filling it with soda, and so on.

Hello again, j:

All of the above is true. There IS a cost attached to "free" water. It's just like the cost attached to advertising. It's money one invests into ones image. Clearly, the NEGATIVE image for NOT providing a free glass of water, well outweighs the few pennies a lousy glass of water and a smile costs. J's post is evidence of that.

MOST business's DON'T realize that. That's why they go OUT of business and I don't.

excon

Hello again, j:

All of the above is true. There IS a cost attached to "free" water. It's just like the cost attached to advertising. It's money one invests into ones image. Clearly, the NEGATIVE image for NOT providing a free glass of water, well outweighs the few pennies a lousy glass of water and a smile costs. J's post is evidence of that.

MOST business's DON'T realize that. That's why they go OUT of business and I don't.

excon


yes, it was more the attitude that came with the charging (and every other aspect of the evening) that made me upset. But good service can't be enforced :( at least now I know just not to take my business there in the future and find someplace that values customer service.

Yes, it's legal. When my two kids were small, I would order one meal and split it between them, or give them food off their dad's and my plates. The restaurants nearly always charged us a quarter (or more) for a clean, empty plate for each kid, and this was back in the '70s.

When I used to own a restaurant, at first, I didn't charge for water. However, as the months passed by, more and more people would just simply come in, ask for some water, and leave.

Granted, the cost of a cup (roughly $0.03) is minuscule, if 100 people came in weekly to ask for a cup of water and leave, it would cost me at least $3 a week.

Not only that, they would ask for a water, then go to the soda fountain while no one was looking and grab some soda. I even had a few customers who would get water, grab some lemons from the beverage area, grab some sweeteners from the tables, and make themselves a lemonade right in front of me.


Since then, I started charging for water.