# Local burger place claims they serve Coca-Cola but they don't, do I have a legal case against them? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 31, 2025, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-burger-place-claims-they-serve-coca-cola-but-they-dont-do-i-have-a-legal-case-against-them/1016386 "2025-03-31T05:23:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-burger-place-claims-they-serve-coca-cola-but-they-dont-do-i-have-a-legal-case-against-them/1016386/101 "2025-03-31T19:42:47Z")
And a vast majority of people posting agreed with you, some of them giving easily taken alternatives. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-burger-place-claims-they-serve-coca-cola-but-they-dont-do-i-have-a-legal-case-against-them/1016386/102 "2025-03-31T19:46:12Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Also I should again say I don’t intend on doing anything about it That’s the most reasonable approach I’ve seen posted. I see inconsistencies in advertising all the time and have never been inclined to do anything about it other than to deprive a business of my patronage. Do the trademark vigilantes in this thread routinely report every petty infraction they come across? I wish I had that kind of free time. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-burger-place-claims-they-serve-coca-cola-but-they-dont-do-i-have-a-legal-case-against-them/1016386/103 "2025-03-31T19:48:58Z")
How can responding to your specific claim of theft be a strawman? If you didn’t want to discuss that why did you bring it up instead of discussing legal matters that actually apply here? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-burger-place-claims-they-serve-coca-cola-but-they-dont-do-i-have-a-legal-case-against-them/1016386/104 "2025-03-31T19:51:59Z")
Did I use the word “theft”? I do believe fraud is a possibility, and it is easy enough to check out. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-burger-place-claims-they-serve-coca-cola-but-they-dont-do-i-have-a-legal-case-against-them/1016386/105 "2025-03-31T19:56:38Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > the trademark vigilantes in this thread routinely report every petty infraction they come across? I wish I had that kind of free time. No, of course not; only in situations where the mismatch bothered someone. Like the OP. Hope that clears up any confusion! ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-burger-place-claims-they-serve-coca-cola-but-they-dont-do-i-have-a-legal-case-against-them/1016386/106 "2025-03-31T19:57:36Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Cambridge gives a more complete definition: > > > [@](#): > > > > to [secretly](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/secret) [tell](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/tell) someone in [authority](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/authority), [especially](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/especially) a [teacher](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/teacher), that someone [else](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/else) has done something [bad](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/bad), often in [order](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/order) to [cause](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/cause) [trouble](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/trouble): I’d say the key thing (to me) is that it’s something largely inconsequential: “Jim took two cookies” versus “Jim brought his dad’s gun to school”. In this instance, I can’t imagine having the time, energy or enthusiasm to play Junior Coca-Cola Narc. If I’m that worried about civic involvement, I can surely find a better way to apply myself. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-burger-place-claims-they-serve-coca-cola-but-they-dont-do-i-have-a-legal-case-against-them/1016386/107 "2025-03-31T20:00:52Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Hope that clears up any confusion! One more clarification would be helpful. Would you not take your complaint to the business owner before contacting Coke? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-burger-place-claims-they-serve-coca-cola-but-they-dont-do-i-have-a-legal-case-against-them/1016386/108 "2025-03-31T20:02:50Z")
Nope. S/He knows what’s being done. It comes down to I don’t want to pay brand name prices for non brand name products. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-burger-place-claims-they-serve-coca-cola-but-they-dont-do-i-have-a-legal-case-against-them/1016386/109 "2025-03-31T20:04:15Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Would you not take your complaint to the business owner before contacting Coke? And say _what_? “I don’t appreciate how you’re selling generic cola under the Coke brand, I was misled”? No shit Sherlock, misleading is exactly why someone would do something like that. If it was a franchise\*, I might call the parent company; but if Jim’s Burger Shack is lying about their products, my assumption is that Jim is well aware. \*This happened to me the other day with a Wingstop. I ordered a delivery, and they sent the completely incorrect order. I called the restaurant and complained; they told me to come down to their location to get a new one. I told them the whole reason I ordered delivery is that I didn’t feel like coming down to their store, but they were insistent that there’s nothing they can do; and then when I went down to their location, they refused to refund my delivery fee. But Wingstop is a franchise, so I complained to Corporate and they gave me a gift card to cover the whole order and the next (which I placed at _a different_ Wingstop location, thank you very much.) ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-burger-place-claims-they-serve-coca-cola-but-they-dont-do-i-have-a-legal-case-against-them/1016386/110 "2025-03-31T20:25:05Z")
This is where all the “Karens” come from. The counter clerk has no dog in the fight. But they always attack that person. Boss/owner don’t care to hear complaints from a screaming “Karen” on a Tuesday. You’ll get no where doing that. But maybe you’ll be famous on YouTube/Tiktok. Call Coca-Cola if you have a serious complaint. And you do if you’re paying a premium price for a generic cola. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-burger-place-claims-they-serve-coca-cola-but-they-dont-do-i-have-a-legal-case-against-them/1016386/111 "2025-03-31T20:37:56Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > > > Yeah. Mention it to the owner or just don’t go there. Why is the first inclination to become the cola police? > > Better the cola police than the birch beer brigade or the sarsaparilla squad. Man, so close. Missed it by _that_ much! How about … > Better the cola ~~police~~ cops than the birch beer brigade or the sarsaparilla squad. And just forget about the Fresca Feds! Those dude be bad mofos. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-burger-place-claims-they-serve-coca-cola-but-they-dont-do-i-have-a-legal-case-against-them/1016386/112 "2025-03-31T20:49:54Z")
This might not be the best time to mention that I know of an old diner in Seattle that still has signage for Nesbitt’s Orange on their marquee even though they only have Fanta. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-burger-place-claims-they-serve-coca-cola-but-they-dont-do-i-have-a-legal-case-against-them/1016386/113 "2025-03-31T20:58:20Z")
With apologies to _Dr Strangelove_ (the movie, not the poster): > You’ll have to answer to the Nehi Corporation, there Colonel “Bat” Guano, If that is your real name. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-burger-place-claims-they-serve-coca-cola-but-they-dont-do-i-have-a-legal-case-against-them/1016386/114 "2025-03-31T21:15:18Z")
Not really, unless they are advertising that they sell Nesbitt’s when they really don’t. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-burger-place-claims-they-serve-coca-cola-but-they-dont-do-i-have-a-legal-case-against-them/1016386/115 "2025-03-31T21:22:00Z")
[I haven’t read the thread] If I wanted to take this one on in such a way as to be not excessively confrontational, not entirely presumptuous, but maybe hoping to right a potential wrong, I might send an anonymous note to the restaurant. In it, I wouldn’t be accusatory. I might phrase things with a lot of wiggle room, sort of asking if they’ve changed their offerings without changing their marketing. I might frame this as a ‘totally understandable oversight’ on their part. I might then say, if so, it seems like something that they may want to think about changing to avoid any possible confusion in the minds of customers. And that’s the very most I would do. If nothing changed as a result of that letter, then either an assumption was wrong or you’ve figured out who you’re dealing with. Whether or not you ever learn – definitively – which of those two things is true is a totally open question. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-burger-place-claims-they-serve-coca-cola-but-they-dont-do-i-have-a-legal-case-against-them/1016386/116 "2025-03-31T21:35:17Z")
@DavidNRockies , there are times that I wish this board had a like button, and if it did, I would have clicked it for your response. It seems to me that if some action by anybody is necessary (and I am not convinced that any action is necessary at all), then a diplomatic approach is much better than a confrontational one. The benefit of the doubt, and all that: “Hey, can I ask what cola you serve? That sign says Coke, and that one just says Cola, and I know you had RC once. I’m curious; what cola are you serving nowadays?” I will add that I am a little puzzled as to why one would choose a burger joint based on what cola it serves. If you like the burgers and the fries and whatever other food they have, then what cola—Coke, Pepsi, RC, or Wal-Mart house brand—is served, should not matter. It wouldn’t to me, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-burger-place-claims-they-serve-coca-cola-but-they-dont-do-i-have-a-legal-case-against-them/1016386/117 "2025-03-31T21:39:11Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > what cola—Coke, Pepsi, RC, or Wal-Mart house brand—is served, should not matter. It wouldn’t to me, anyway. Heretic!!! Burn him! I keed, I keed; I’m like you and indifferent to brands of soda. But many people, or Americans at least, are remarkably loyal (read “picky”) about their soda. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-burger-place-claims-they-serve-coca-cola-but-they-dont-do-i-have-a-legal-case-against-them/1016386/118 "2025-03-31T21:44:19Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Is this such an affront to justice that it’s reasonable to risk putting a small burger joint out of business? Most big corporations started out by being unethical small corporations. It’s best to nip this kind of thing in the bud. People have a right to know what they’re eating or drinking. That’s a pretty fundamental consumer right. What if someone knows, via experience, that they have bad reactions to RC Cola but not Coca-Cola? Even if it’s just a really unpleasant taste? Don’t they have a right to know what they’re putting in their body? I don’t believe that a small business owner’s right to mislabel their product outweighs the consumer’s right to know what they’re eating or drinking, and I don’t believe anyone would spend a second disputing that except that some relish the idea of the “little guy” sticking it to a big corporation. Small business owners can be some of the worst people around. If they’re cutting corners on obvious theft, what else are they cutting corners on? Did they “mislabel” their latest health inspection? “Oops, how did that 33% turn into 88%, must have been a smudge, sorry!” Don’t call the cops. Call Coca-Cola. Most likely the restaurant will get a letter telling them to knock it off or else, with no further consequences if they comply. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-burger-place-claims-they-serve-coca-cola-but-they-dont-do-i-have-a-legal-case-against-them/1016386/119 "2025-03-31T21:50:47Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Anecdote: There is a burger place in Visalia, CA called Doc’s that decorated the exterior with Bugs Bunny (what’s up, doc - get it?). It was reported to Warner Bros. Discovery and they were ordered to remove the BB images, or so I’m told. They are still in business today and doing well as far as I know… sans the famous rabbit iconography. And a famous case of a daycare in Florida that was using unauthorized Disney characters. Big evil Disney made them take it down because they hate babies. What was lost in the news reports is Disney had to under existing law or risk losing the trademarks on all of the characters. > [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Don’t call the cops. Call Coca-Cola. And Coca-Cola will actually work to enforce it unlike most police departments. But in all fairness I’d rather have cops chasing rapists and muderers than testing soda to see if it is Coke or RC. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-burger-place-claims-they-serve-coca-cola-but-they-dont-do-i-have-a-legal-case-against-them/1016386/120 "2025-03-31T21:53:12Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > If I wanted to take this one on in such a way as to be not excessively confrontational, not entirely presumptuous, but maybe hoping to right a potential wrong, I might send an anonymous note to the restaurant. > > In it, I wouldn’t be accusatory. I might phrase things with a lot of wiggle room, sort of asking if they’ve changed their offerings without changing their marketing. > > I might frame this as a ‘totally understandable oversight’ on their part. > > I might then say, if so, it seems like something that they may want to think about changing to avoid any possible confusion in the minds of customers. > [@Spoons](#): > > It seems to me that if some action by anybody is necessary (and I am not convinced that any action is necessary at all), then a diplomatic approach is much better than a confrontational one. The benefit of the doubt, and all that: “Hey, can I ask what cola you serve? That sign says Coke, and that one just says Cola, and I know you had RC once. I’m curious; what cola are you serving nowadays?” I agree with both of these approaches. The OP’s post includes assumption that because the sign on the fountain now says simply “Cola,” that it’s not a name brand anymore. But, the bigger issue is that Coke is still listed on the drive-through menu board. There seem to be three likely possibilities, on the part of the restaurant’s owner: - Hasn’t gotten around to changing the drive-through sign (though according to the OP, it’s been a decade since the place actually served Coke products) - Hasn’t bothered with changing the sign, since they figure few people, if anyone, really cares - Is actively trying to hoodwink people into thinking they are getting Coke products – though, unless the signage _inside_ the restaurant also still says “Coke,” this seems unlikely to me. If the OP actually cared to take action to remediate this (which it does not sound like they do), a conversation (or even an anonymous note) with the owner/manager would seem like a reasonable first step. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-burger-place-claims-they-serve-coca-cola-but-they-dont-do-i-have-a-legal-case-against-them/1016386.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-burger-place-claims-they-serve-coca-cola-but-they-dont-do-i-have-a-legal-case-against-them/1016386.md?page=7)