Originally posted by: gsethi
I own a couple of restaurants in California. Yes, we can charge for the water cup (it is up to the restaurant owner/management to decide). We provide free water (and free water cups) to our customers though (yes, those small transparent 9oz water cups cost us ~11cents + cost of ice + cost of filtered water) but I see it as providing little extra service to our customers (as compared to other restaurants that charge for water cups - i dont blame them though b/c of the cost + higher costs of doing business in CA).
At one point, i was thinking of either discontinuing water cups (or charging for them) at one of the restaurants b/c apparently some people (kids, teens and middle aged people also) will fill them up with soda but decided against it. Now, i am planning on putting up a sign that says that drinking soda from a water cup will be considered as stealing and will be dealt accordingly without any exception.
I did catch a few people filling in Sprite in water cups and then claiming that it was water (pls dont do this and think that the manager/owner cannot find the difference - carbonated soda will have bubblesand we got cameras
That's why I axed what OP considered a restaurant. One with waiters and drinking glasses is diff'rent than one with self-serve and plastic cups. It's more understandable for the latter to charge for a cup, especially sans a meal. As for signage in your establishment, I advise a positive spin -for instance: "We happily provide complimentary cups of water for customers. Please don't use them for your own beverages." Also, if soda was priced reasonably then customers are more likely to buy it than bring their own! Overcharging creates bad will. I had breakfast in a place recently and a small glass of crappy from-concentrate juice was $4 which is enough for a gallon of real juice. Fail!
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