Now the food court at Costco is horribly unhealthy already. A slice of pizza there is 700 calories. I'm not even kidding. So I thought that if I'm going to have a 700 calorie slice of pizza, I should at least have water to drink with it.
At Costco, you can pay for the food while buying your groceries, so that's what I did. My husband wanted a Diet Coke, so we got one medium drink, and I figured I'd just ask for a cup to get water from the fountain.
Unfortunately, when I went to get my food, all they were willing to give me was an insultingly tiny cup. It was smaller than the cups that you use to rinse your mouth at the dentist. Here it is next to our medium cup.
And when I asked if I could possibly have a slightly larger cup, just for water, they told me that I could wait on line again and purchase a drink, and that's the only way I was going to get a normal-sized cup.
I've complained before about how food courts are so resistant to giving you cups of plain water, but this one just really infuriated me, because the cups were so ridiculously small. Like, why have cups at all if you're going to do that?
They think you are going to steal their soda if they give you a "soda" cup. I just pay the darn soda price so I can get the big cup or bring my own water container and just have them fill it. It's a big PITA but no one needs 46oz of soda.
ReplyDeleteThe soda costs them practically nothing though. I just can't believe that after I just handed them over $100, they can't give me a five cent cup for water.
DeleteThe problem isn't you. It's that people would figure out that they could just get a cup for water for free (or 10 cents or whatever) and then they'd fill it up with soda. And yes, they overcharge for soda, but they do that so they can sell the food at below cost.
DeleteI agree. A lot of people steal soda.
DeleteFizzy, just carry a water bottle as much as you can. If you know you can't get water anywhere nowadays why are you still expecting to find water?? Just provide your own. Problem solved.
Right now, I leave the house with diapers, wipes, jackets for everyone, a blanket, snacks, a bottle, changes of clothes for two kids, and various toys. And now I have to carry freaking bottles filled with water for everyone?? No, I refuse!
DeleteFizzy! You dropped the ball! This would have been the perfect time to get like 3 slices of pizza and 2 cokes then brag about how you still have a BMI of 18 on your blog! ;)
ReplyDeleteYou're totally right, I should have said that. And also mentioned that I'm such a rich doctor that I could afford 10 million cups.
DeleteAnd next time remember to explicitly say that you support people eating costco pizza and coke for every meal and that you think being underweight is totally awesome.
DeleteI hate pop. I haven't drank it in 5+ years, and I am all too used to this. Usually people look at me crazy when I say I never drink the stuff, it's SUCH a hassle getting water. No, I don't want lemon, sugar, all ice or some other syrupy sugary drink.
ReplyDeleteIt's really ridiculous how hard it is to just get plain tapwater. This experience was especially insulting though.
DeleteI've been told they have to sell me a big cup for inventory reasons. Who keeps track of cup inventory? The same thing happens at a restaurant. I get some weird looks when I tell the waiter I want water to drink. Then it's like pulling teeth to get a refill! But the people at the table who are drinking coke will be asked two or three times if they would like a refill (at no charge). What's up with that?
ReplyDeleteManagers keep track of cup inventory...the number of drinks sold should equal the number of cups that go out. As previously mentioned, it is also to keep people from paying 10 cents for water and getting a soda instead. There are a lot of people out there who would do this without a shred of conscience.
ReplyDeleteSo it's the managers' fault then.
DeleteI thought water was always free in the States, or that has been my impression whenever I've been (which is often, cause my father's entire family lives there). I have seen little cups for water at food courts and things. But in general I've never been looked at oddly for just getting water in a restaurant and refills always magically appear (which means I need the bathroom way more often in the US). Maybe I'm just seeing what I want to with my European-raised eyes. There are no water fountains here and getting water is like getting any other drink, you pay for a little glass bottle (200 ml) and no refills.
ReplyDeleteYeah ! When I was in Europe I told a friend who was ordering food with me to also order water and not exopect it for free. Small glass (by US standards) was 2.5 euros. We are just used to good customer care here. I also do not drink soda and also learned that it is hard to get a free cup. They give smaller and often transparent cup out of fear of stollen soda and cup costs.
ReplyDeleteSmall cup for free water. Thats pretty standard. No reason to wish shame on Costco.
ReplyDeleteThere are many places that will give you a cup without an argument.
DeleteAnd it's extra ironic at Costco because everything they sell is really gigantic, so it's especially insulting for them to produce that tiny cup.
HAHAHA...don't hate on Costco. Costco is our friend.
DeleteWhen I saw 'Shame on You...' and the photo, I thought you were on Mayor Bloomberg's team. ;)
ReplyDeleteWhat strikes me is the 24oz 'normal-sized cup' - recalling the 12oz McDonald's 'large' of yore.
It's not just Costco. Most food court places give out small cups for water because they want to SELL you some other kind of drink. And if it's a serve yourself system, they want to discourage you from drinking something other than the free water.
ReplyDeleteAs someone else mentioned, many fast food places do count cups and compare the cups dispensed to drinks sold, so they don't want to use regular drink cups for water.
I used to work in a convenience store. Yes, the soda costs nearly nothing. Like 1/4 of a penny or something.
ReplyDeleteThe cups, however, cost more. The bigger the cup, the more they cost. And those huge plastic ones? Ow.
That's why they count the cups.
Mind you, one thing I've noticed is that, 9 times out of 10, if I'm buying other things and say, "I know I need to buy a large cup to get an empty large cup", they'll just hand one over. If you just ask for a cup with no other purchase, they'll try to make you pay.
And, yes, even if you just bought something 5 minutes ago. After 15 minutes into your shift, everyone looks alike.
Thank you!
DeleteI love the dismissive comments about inventory, too. Sure, it's "just a cup," so you do that two or three times a day, and by year's end guess what, you're down a thousand cups and your new stock's not coming til next month because your inventory said you'd be fine. So silly to care about that!
Why give out cups at all then?
Delete