I thought it was illegal to deny someone water at a restaurant?

[MAME]

Situation:
California. Customer pays for a meal at a restaurant. Requests (free/tap) water and told that it's 50 cents. I thought there was a law that requires a restaurant to provide free (tap) water, especially to a paying customer.

Is there a way I can easily search for this in the law books?

 

[BigJ]

They way I heard they get around this is they charge you for the cup (in this case it would be a cleaning surcharge maybe?).

I'll Google around and see what I can't find.

 

[Sukhoi]

In the cafeteria at work (in CA) we get charged $0.10 for a cup if we get tap water. I now bring my own bottle.

 

[FleshLight]

I think the only thing they have to provide by law is a restroom.

 

[Auric]

I've never heard of that outside of a concession stand. What do you mean by restaurant?

I understand the latest trend, originating in California, is actually offering filtered water (restaurant installed filter) rather than or as an alternative to wasteful bottled water. I posit it should still be included with a meal however.

 

[imported_Imp]

Originally posted by: BigJ
They way I heard they get around this is they charge you for the cup (in this case it would be a cleaning surcharge maybe?).

I'll Google around and see what I can't find.

I was at a Harveys when someone came in asking for water. This was exactly what the cashier said that they charged for the cup (25 cents there though). It sounded mean, but it is a place of business and you can't just get free stuff... even water.

 

[KK]

If I went to any place that did that, they would not get my patronage again.

 

[Lithium381]

If i'm there for a meal, i would expect water for free, but if you're just going into a starbucks and getting water for free and leaving, forget you!

 

[MmmSkyscraper]

Originally posted by: Lithium381
If i'm there for a meal, i would expect water for free, but if you're just going into a starbucks and getting water for free and leaving, forget you!

Goddamn water thieves! :|

/me shakes fist

 

[FoBoT]

i don't see a problem
if you don't like it, stop eating there

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Is the water from your tap free?

lol they can charge you for *anything* they want to, that you accept

 

[MAME]

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
Is the water from your tap free?

lol they can charge you for *anything* they want to, that you accept

The water from my tap is free.

I'm not asking if it's free for them to serve, I'm asking if it's legal to deny someone water at a restaurant. The water costs them less than 1 cent anyway.

 

[JujuFish]

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
Is the water from your tap free?

Yes.

 

[S Freud]

Originally posted by: MAME

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
Is the water from your tap free?

lol they can charge you for *anything* they want to, that you accept

The water from my tap is free.

I'm not asking if it's free for them to serve, I'm asking if it's legal to deny someone water at a restaurant. The water costs them less than 1 cent anyway.

The water from your tap is not free. Even if your not the one paying for it.

 

[MAME]

Originally posted by: S Freud

Originally posted by: MAME

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
Is the water from your tap free?

lol they can charge you for *anything* they want to, that you accept

The water from my tap is free.

I'm not asking if it's free for them to serve, I'm asking if it's legal to deny someone water at a restaurant. The water costs them less than 1 cent anyway.

The water from your tap is not free. Even if your not the one paying for it.

You can say that about everything in the universe genius. The water from my tap costs me $0. From my perspective, it is free. A cup of water from anyone's tap is less than a cent.

It doesn't matter how much it costs. I'm just asking if there's a law about serving water. That's all.

 

[theprodigalrebel]

Here, you can walk into any restaurant/cafe and ask for a glass of water - free. Out here, it's considered extremely rude (almost inhuman) to deny someone a drink of water - at your place of business or not.

 

[FoBoT]

where do you live that you don't pay a water bill?

 

[theprodigalrebel]

I live in India. We do have water bills but it's an incredibly insignificant amount. People would look at you strange if a water bill was anywhere on your list of worries.

 

[Siddhartha]

I have never heard of there being a law concerning charging for water. It could be a regional regulation. As someone pointed out, nothing is free. But I would not go back to a restaurant that charged for water and I will make a point of checking the menu to see if there is a price for water.

 

[FoBoT]

Originally posted by: theprodigalrebel
I live in India. We do have water bills but it's an incredibly insignificant amount. People would look at you strange if a water bill was anywhere on your list of worries.

yeah, even my parents when they had a well had a water bill, they had to pay an annual fee to the Indian reservation, it was minimal, like $40 a year or something

but even with a well, you have to pay for the electricity for the pump. unless you have a manual pump hand well, but then you still have to pay for the pump

so unless you have a hand dug well that you dug out without a shovel, or with a free shovel, i think you had to pay for the water

maybe if you live near a lake or stream and get water directly from it without any electricity, then you might have "free" water

 

[zach0624]

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
Is the water from your tap free?

lol they can charge you for *anything* they want to, that you accept

Yeah they have the right to as far as I know, it may not help them to keep customers but it is their right to charge you for a service and their right to gouge.
A great example is... wait I have no examples it just totally crappy.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: MAME
You can say that about everything in the universe genius. The water from my tap costs me $0. From my perspective, it is free. A cup of water from anyone's tap is less than a cent.

It doesn't matter how much it costs. I'm just asking if there's a law about serving water. That's all.

In one way or another, you end up paying the cost of water, even if it's economics because remember, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Resources are being consumed one way or another.

And no, there is no law about it, and there shouldn't be one. A business should be allowed to charge for it if they feel that is the right choice, whether or not their practice will be accepted is another question.

So no, there is no law about it.

Edit: If you went to a place that charged for it, it might not be a bad idea to let the GM know about it. Tell them that you understand their policies and are not there to fight it, but you want to let them know that charging for water is just something you're not used to, and don't accept, so as a customer, you won't come there anymore. I don't agree with charging for water either, but the costs can be seen on their end - employee's time to bring it over and not make profit on that item, cleaning that cup/glass if it's reusable, otherwise cost of the cup, etc. It's just something that has to be factored into the cost of doing business for a restaurant.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: FleshLight
I think the only thing they have to provide by law is a restroom.

I don't know if that's required for customers - some pizza places I've been to only have an employee restroom in the back.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: Imp

Originally posted by: BigJ
They way I heard they get around this is they charge you for the cup (in this case it would be a cleaning surcharge maybe?).

I'll Google around and see what I can't find.

I was at a Harveys when someone came in asking for water. This was exactly what the cashier said that they charged for the cup (25 cents there though). It sounded mean, but it is a place of business and you can't just get free stuff... even water.

Sometimes people say that it's because it's required for inventory. It's just common courtesy to offer water for free I think.

 

[MAME]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
where do you live that you don't pay a water bill?

Never rented I see