# Ice Water - $0.50 for non-paying customers **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 28, 2008, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-water-0-50-for-non-paying-customers/454582 "2008-06-28T17:58:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-water-0-50-for-non-paying-customers/454582/1 "2008-06-28T17:58:50Z")
I saw this hand-written sign taped to a Quiznos soda fountain: “Ice Water - $0.50 for non-paying customers” … but if I pay for the ice water, I’m no longer a non-paying customer. **head asplodes** Also, I wonder how much it would be if I didn’t use ice??? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-water-0-50-for-non-paying-customers/454582/2 "2008-06-28T18:40:08Z")
Real quick, next time you’re at the grocery store, take a look at this week’s Enquirer. On the bottom there’s two pictures of teenage girls with babies. One baby looks about 6 months old, the other nearly a year old. The headline? "Pregnancy Pact: “ **We Wanted To Be Like Jamie Lynn** ” Uh huh. Jamie Lynn’s baby is nine days old. So the girls pictured are what, psychic? ---
**Author:** ![Kuboydal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecb155/32.png) [@Kuboydal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kuboydal)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-water-0-50-for-non-paying-customers/454582/3 "2008-06-29T06:17:44Z")
We have a severe drought. One restaurant asks that you not use much ice at the soda fountain to help preserve the water supply. The magic soda fountain somehow creates the water the sodas are made with? ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Buttons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@Mr\_Buttons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Buttons)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-water-0-50-for-non-paying-customers/454582/4 "2008-06-29T07:26:48Z")
It’s so they don’t get the teenagers with no $$ stopping in 4 times a day to mooch free water. (Not just teenagers, but cheap-ass adults that stop in too) They’re running a business and trying to make money, they don’t need people coming in, occupying employee’s time, using their disposable cups. (which cost 2-5 cents/piece) Rather than give away a free cup w/ free water to the cheap-asses, they’re trying to turn it into 45 cents profit. ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-water-0-50-for-non-paying-customers/454582/5 "2008-06-29T10:38:39Z")
[QUOTE=Kuboydal] We have a severe drought. One restaurant asks that you not use much ice at the soda fountain to help preserve the water supply. The magic soda fountain somehow creates the water the sodas are made with? [/QUOTE] Ironically, since ice is less dense than water if you take your soda with ice you are probably using less water than if you take your soda without. HEAD ASPLODES ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-water-0-50-for-non-paying-customers/454582/6 "2008-06-29T13:02:33Z")
About the water, I totally agree with Quizno’s. I’ve worked in a cafe for some time now, with a high school just up the street. After school kids will come in for water, and they can get it, but they’re watched. Because then they sit down at tables, dump sugar packets in the water and go get a handful of lemon juice packs, to make “free” lemonade. Then they complain if they want saltine crackers and don’t get any. For the record, the crackers are free to anyone buying soup, or a meal. But not to folks who want a free snack. Actually, it’s not just kids who do this, some adults do as well, just not as many. Oh, and some folks, more adults than kids in this situation, ask for water and then try to get clear soda from the fountain. Think we can’t see the bubbles in your “water” you cheapskate? ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-water-0-50-for-non-paying-customers/454582/7 "2008-06-29T13:14:02Z")
[QUOTE=Baker] Oh, and some folks, more adults than kids in this situation, ask for water and then try to get clear soda from the fountain. Think we can’t see the bubbles in your “water” you cheapskate? [/QUOTE] [just curious] So, what do you do? Do you go out front and bust them for stealing 7-Up, kick them out? ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-water-0-50-for-non-paying-customers/454582/8 "2008-06-29T13:19:29Z")
[QUOTE=Mr Buttons] It’s so they don’t get the teenagers with no $$ stopping in 4 times a day to mooch free water. (Not just teenagers, but cheap-ass adults that stop in too) They’re running a business and trying to make money, they don’t need people coming in, occupying employee’s time, using their disposable cups. (which cost 2-5 cents/piece) Rather than give away a free cup w/ free water to the cheap-asses, they’re trying to turn it into 45 cents profit. [/QUOTE] I suspect everyone here fully understands the reasoning behind the sign. It’s the phrasing of the sign that the OP is commenting about (and I agree, it is amusing!). ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-water-0-50-for-non-paying-customers/454582/9 "2008-06-29T18:52:21Z")
[QUOTE=Duck Duck Goose] [just curious] So, what do you do? Do you go out front and bust them for stealing 7-Up, kick them out? [/QUOTE] They’re required to pay. Most do. We’ve never confronted someone and asked them to pay, and then had them profess to be penniless. Everyone who has stolen actually has the money to pay for it. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-water-0-50-for-non-paying-customers/454582/10 "2008-06-29T20:28:16Z")
[QUOTE=Baker] They’re required to pay. Most do. We’ve never confronted someone and asked them to pay, and then had them profess to be penniless. Everyone who has stolen actually has the money to pay for it. [/QUOTE] People like that should be lined up against the wall and shot as an offense to humanity. The o.p. reminds me of a sign I saw recently on an elevator panel. (It may be common for all I know; I generally avoid riding in elevators.) The sign said:If the elevator gets stuck, DO NOT BE ALARMED! Push the button marked ALARM! Er, what? Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-water-0-50-for-non-paying-customers/454582/11 "2008-06-29T20:35:37Z")
[QUOTE=Baker] They’re required to pay. Most do. [/QUOTE] So, what do you do with the ones who cheerfully sit there swilling their stolen 7-Up and refuse to pay while jingling the change in their pockets? Do you kick _them_ out? I’m fascinated. I guess I’ve led a sheltered life; in my family when I was a kid, it was unthinkable simply to get a different flavor pop from the fountain than what you told the girl you wanted. “No!” my dad would say sternly, “You told her you wanted Coke! You can’t get Orange now!” But telling the girl, “Only water, please” and then sneaking over and stealing (!) 7-Up would have been beyond the pale, the actions of a degenerate criminal mind clearly no longer interested in participating in the human race. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-water-0-50-for-non-paying-customers/454582/12 "2008-06-29T21:03:56Z")
[QUOTE=Mr Buttons] …They’re running a business and trying to make money, they don’t need people coming in, occupying employee’s time, using their disposable cups. (which cost 2-5 cents/piece)… [/QUOTE] We charge people the same price for an empty cup as a full one (e.g. an empty 12oz cup costs $1.19, a 12oz cup of coffee costs $1.19) to discourage people from doing this. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-water-0-50-for-non-paying-customers/454582/13 "2008-06-29T22:10:46Z")
[QUOTE=Duck Duck Goose] So, what do you do with the ones who cheerfully sit there swilling their stolen 7-Up and refuse to pay while jingling the change in their pockets? Do you kick _them_ out? I’m fascinated. I guess I’ve led a sheltered life; in my family when I was a kid, it was unthinkable simply to get a different flavor pop from the fountain than what you told the girl you wanted. “No!” my dad would say sternly, “You told her you wanted Coke! You can’t get Orange now!” But telling the girl, “Only water, please” and then sneaking over and stealing (!) 7-Up would have been beyond the pale, the actions of a degenerate criminal mind clearly no longer interested in participating in the human race. [/QUOTE] We’ve had to tell a couple to leave the cafe, and they’re not allowed back in. The cafe in which I work as a baker is located inside another facility, the public library. We aren’t part of the library, but lease the kitchen and equipment. So if anyone gets obstreporous, we can call on library security. That’s happened, such as when kids grab something and dart out, or someone steals the tip cup.(The two times that has happened it’s been a teen and an adult) Then we’ve had some wierdos that need to be shepherded away, but they generally are no real trouble. The library as a whole seems to attract eccentrics, and since it’s warm in winter and cool in summer we get a fair number of homeless. They tend to be quiet, and just want to sit and read the paper or magazines in a protected environment. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Buttons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@Mr\_Buttons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Buttons)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-water-0-50-for-non-paying-customers/454582/14 "2008-06-29T22:47:14Z")
[QUOTE=Canadjun] I suspect everyone here fully understands the reasoning behind the sign. It’s the phrasing of the sign that the OP is commenting about (and I agree, it is amusing!). [/QUOTE] Wow… I totally missed the irony in that sign. I’ve seen so many of them before that I guess I became desensitized. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2008, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-water-0-50-for-non-paying-customers/454582/15 "2008-06-30T17:57:48Z")
[QUOTE=Stranger On A Train] People like that should be lined up against the wall and shot as an offense to humanity. The o.p. reminds me of a sign I saw recently on an elevator panel. (It may be common for all I know; I generally avoid riding in elevators.) The sign said:If the elevator gets stuck, DO NOT BE ALARMED! Push the button marked ALARM! Er, what? Stranger [/QUOTE] They’re just instructing you to be alarming rather than alarmed.. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![maladroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@maladroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maladroit)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2008, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-water-0-50-for-non-paying-customers/454582/16 "2008-06-30T18:04:52Z")
You have a bakery in your library? Wow, that’s wonderful. Not being sarcastic, I’m jealous. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2008, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-water-0-50-for-non-paying-customers/454582/17 "2008-07-01T03:51:55Z")
[QUOTE=alphaboi867] We charge people the same price for an empty cup as a full one (e.g. an empty 12oz cup costs $1.19, a 12oz cup of coffee costs $1.19) to discourage people from doing this. [/QUOTE] Do you also prohibit people from bringing in their own cups? Coz, hay, free soda! ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2008, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-water-0-50-for-non-paying-customers/454582/18 "2008-07-01T06:48:52Z")
Oh man. I work at an Arby’s and they’ve instituted some new rules put in place to maximize profits. It used to be one of the perks of working was being able to get free soda whenever. Now we have to pay for it. Half-price and then free refills the rest of the shift but still. (But we can get a cup of water and that’s free. :dubious: ) Also, if a customer wanted a cup of water, we used to just hand them a small cup and have them go at it. Now we’re supposed to hand them a cup of water and ring it up as well. There’s only enough space to store so many cups of water in the coolers up front and 4 or 5 orders that want a cup of water will wipe it out. Because I really need one more thing to be trying to juggle when trying to run drive-through, counter, fryers, and backline because everyone else is out having a smoke. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2008, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-water-0-50-for-non-paying-customers/454582/19 "2008-07-01T14:05:22Z")
[QUOTE=Duck Duck Goose] I’m fascinated. I guess I’ve led a sheltered life; in my family when I was a kid, it was unthinkable simply to get a different flavor pop from the fountain than what you told the girl you wanted. “No!” my dad would say sternly, “You told her you wanted Coke! You can’t get Orange now!” But telling the girl, “Only water, please” and then sneaking over and stealing (!) 7-Up would have been beyond the pale, the actions of a degenerate criminal mind clearly no longer interested in participating in the human race. [/QUOTE] This chaps my ass, much out of proportion to the offense, maybe. A couple weeks ago, I was at McD’s getting a breakfast biscuit. There was a mom there with, IIRC, four kids. She ordered water for all the kids (no charge) then escorted them over to the soda fountain to select which kinds of soda they wanted. Grrrrrrr. It just wouldn’t occur to me to do that kind of thing!