I recently went to a fast food restaurant to have lunch. To try and stay a bit healthy, I had grilled chicken with a cup of water instead of soda. A small soda comes in a cup the size to satisfy a small elephant. Water however, comes in a tiny cup barely large enough to take a healthy sip before you are out. I call this the cup of punishment.
So you don't want to pay us $2.50 for a drink? We'll show you! Take this tiny cup of punishment and begone to your table Mr. Cheapskate.
I looked at the barely-old-enough-to-be-working cashier, and in my best Oliver Twist voice, said...."please sir, can I have some more?" Obviously too young to catch my reference, I tried another route and simply asked for a second water cup. Here begins the stare down. He looks at me as if to say..."your tiny cup is sufficient." I ruin the staring contest and tell him I am thirsty. Just because I order water doesn't mean I'm not thirsty. I didn't ask for gluten free anything. I didn't ask for lactose free, soy, no msg, no shellfish touching my stuff, peanut-free anything! I asked for a cup of water.
So today we can tolerate so many requests like gluten free pizza crust as if that's normal, but we can't order a cup of water without being humiliated with the cup of punishment.
Ordering water at a sit-down restaurant is normal. The water is given in a full size glass. There is no cup of punishment, but maybe because the server doesn't want to make 100 trips to your table just to fill your water cup.
So how did this tradition become "normal" for fast food restaurants? I'm not aware of any secret code (if I was then I guess it wouldn't be secret) or set of instructions that tell employees if someone asks for water you must serve it in tiny clear cups, but there obviously must be one. Everyone does it.
Is it because they want to save on the price of the cup? Free drink = cheap cup? Are we really saving much money by ordering and keeping inventory of another size of cup instead of just using the ones we already have? How much savings comes from the cup?
Is it because they don't want you ordering water and taking soda? Is this a big problem? If they give me the cup for soda when I order a water will I change my mind and fill it with soda to get a free drink? I wouldn't, but I guess that must be the big soft drink scam they are trying to avoid.
Well, for me, I just find it annoying. Give me a clear cup so you can see that I filled it with water if that is the issue but can I get at least a 12 ounce cup to fill? Shouldn't be too much to ask!
So you don't want to pay us $2.50 for a drink? We'll show you! Take this tiny cup of punishment and begone to your table Mr. Cheapskate.
So today we can tolerate so many requests like gluten free pizza crust as if that's normal, but we can't order a cup of water without being humiliated with the cup of punishment.
Ordering water at a sit-down restaurant is normal. The water is given in a full size glass. There is no cup of punishment, but maybe because the server doesn't want to make 100 trips to your table just to fill your water cup.
So how did this tradition become "normal" for fast food restaurants? I'm not aware of any secret code (if I was then I guess it wouldn't be secret) or set of instructions that tell employees if someone asks for water you must serve it in tiny clear cups, but there obviously must be one. Everyone does it.
Is it because they want to save on the price of the cup? Free drink = cheap cup? Are we really saving much money by ordering and keeping inventory of another size of cup instead of just using the ones we already have? How much savings comes from the cup?
Is it because they don't want you ordering water and taking soda? Is this a big problem? If they give me the cup for soda when I order a water will I change my mind and fill it with soda to get a free drink? I wouldn't, but I guess that must be the big soft drink scam they are trying to avoid.
Well, for me, I just find it annoying. Give me a clear cup so you can see that I filled it with water if that is the issue but can I get at least a 12 ounce cup to fill? Shouldn't be too much to ask!
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