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When bottled water ran out at last Patriots game, they charged $4.50 for tap water

L

Linkura

Member
http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2...r-tap-water/Yj00PRFHePrRjzNx63qMPK/story.html

Surprised no one posted yet; lock if I missed a previous thread.

Workers at Gillette Stadium had prepared for hot September day — temperatures hit 86 degrees in Foxborough — by doubling their inventory of water bottles. However, the demand far exceeded what they were able to hold in their concession stands and was almost four times the inventory they would have had for an average game.

As different concession stands ran out of water bottles throughout the course of the day, fans asked for cups of tap water instead. Gillette concession stands don’t have the smaller complimentary water cups you may find at other restaurants, so concessionaires resorted to selling tap water in soda cups for $4.50.

“We apologize. That should not have happened. It is the first time that I have ever heard that complaint here. We are looking into the matter to ensure that it doesn’t happen again,” James said.
Click to expand...

Embarrassing.
 
A

Alex_Mexico

Member
peteykirch said:
Hell, even Disney World gives out free iced fountain/tap water.
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AFAIK Disney stopped offering cold water on fountains. When I went as a kid I was surprised that every drinking fountain had cold water but from the 00's and forward it you want ice cold water you best be prepared to spend $2.99 on a Dasani bottle or settle for warm tap water.
 
L

Linkura

Member
peteykirch said:
Technically Disney pays NOTHING for all their Coke Products, so they could hypothetically give away free soda to everyone.
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Holy shit, I didn't know that. It makes sense, but I didn't know that.

Alex_Mexico said:
AFAIK Disney stopped offering cold water on fountains. When I went as a kid I was surprised that every drinking fountain had cold water but from the 00's and forward it you want ice cold water you best be prepared to spend $2.99 on a Dasani bottle or settle for warm tap water.
Click to expand...

Have you been any time in the past several years? They offer free, unlimited cups of cold, ice water at any counter or table service location, all you need to do is ask.
 
L

LumpOfCole

Member
peteykirch said:
Technically Disney pays NOTHING for all their Coke Products, so they could hypothetically give away free soda to everyone.

The only thing Disney has to pay for would be the cups, lids, straws, etc.
Click to expand...

There’s a neat Coke store in Epcot that gives away essentially all-you-can-drink samples of certain sister products from around the world. Coke also has a giant store in Disney Springs that sells a much more elaborate sampler tray.
 
A

Alex_Mexico

Member
Linkura said:
Have you been any time in the past several years? They offer free, unlimited cups of cold, ice water at any counter or table service location, all you need to do is ask.
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It never occurred me to ask. I was specifically talking about the tap water from the drinking fountains. That used to be cold but not anymore. Thanks for the tip though. I'm never spending money on a bottle of cold water at Disney ever again.
 
L

Linkura

Member
Alex_Mexico said:
It never occurred me to ask. I was specifically talking about the tap water from the drinking fountains. That used to be cold but not anymore. Thanks for the tip though. I'm never spending money on a bottle of cold water at Disney ever again.
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Yeah, the drinking fountains are pretty shit. I did find a nice, cold fountain on my last trip (think it might have been near Splash Mountain), but most of them are warm with low pressure.

I still generally use them anyway to fill up my filtered water bottle. If I'm at a restaurant, I'll ask for some ice water to fill up though.
 
B

Baron Von Beans

Member
LumpOfCole said:
There’s a neat Coke store in Epcot that gives away essentially all-you-can-drink samples of certain sister products from around the world. Coke also has a giant store in Disney Springs that sells a much more elaborate sampler tray.
Click to expand...
My marching band went to Epcot in 2001, and that was there then too. It was an amazing discovery...walking through a hot ass park, then you find this Coke spot. Actual snow inside the place, and free worldly coke. I remember one flavored with Apple that amazing. I think it was from Mexico. I'd pay good money for something like it, but I've yet to find anything that slightly even resembles that delicious beverage.
 
R

Rockin' Ranger

Member
Visualante2 said:
If you can't take your own water in it should be free.
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The last couple stadiums I've been to you could bring in an empty water bottle and there were water fountains where you can fill them up so I'd assumed this was the norm nowadays.

I think at Target Field they were even putting out coolers of ice water with disposable cups for people who didn't bring bottles because it was an exceptionally hot day.
 
M

Mr_Antimatter

Member
I understand this actually. The cups are inventoried and the basis for how much money the stand is expected to produce.

Works the same way at the movies. It was impossible to inventory how many ounces of soda we sold, so they just counted the cups. What the cup was sold with was irrelevant.
 
S

SwiftDeath

Member
So this is an awful response to what must be awful local laws

Most municipalities/states whomever decides these things force venues to offer complimentary tap water for events [Six flags, Disney World etc. are generally forced to do this by local laws hence why they do, not out of the goodness of their hearts]

So this is a combo of a terrible lack of a local law that forces venues to offer free tap water combined with a terrible decision to charge for tap water when they run out of the bottled water
 
T

TheCochese

Banned
Syder said:
is this legal?
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120131114137_Bill-Belichick.jpg


I will make it legal.
 
S

slit

Member
Yes but the important thing to note is all the bottles were all standing during the national anthem.
 
K

KHarvey16

Member
SwiftDeath said:
So this is an awful response to what must be awful local laws

Most municipalities/states whomever decides these things force venues to offer complimentary tap water for events [Six flags, Disney World etc. are generally forced to do this by local laws hence why they do, not out of the goodness of their hearts]

So this is a combo of a terrible lack of a local law that forces venues to offer free tap water combined with a terrible decision to charge for tap water when they run out of the bottled water
Click to expand...

Why assume a lack of laws?

Aramark or whoever it is that runs their concessions will be getting a few phone calls.
 
T

tmarg

Member
I'm pretty sure here in Michigan any place that serves food is required by law to provide free tap water on request, though they aren't required to advertise the option in any way.
 
E

Earthbound64

Banned
SwiftDeath said:
So this is an awful response to what must be awful local laws

Most municipalities/states whomever decides these things force venues to offer complimentary tap water for events [Six flags, Disney World etc. are generally forced to do this by local laws hence why they do, not out of the goodness of their hearts]

So this is a combo of a terrible lack of a local law that forces venues to offer free tap water combined with a terrible decision to charge for tap water when they run out of the bottled water
Click to expand...

You haven't read the thread, have you?

--->

VendettaRed07 said:
Iirc you have to provide free water at an event if you are serving alcohol in Massachusetts

So yeah this was probably illegal
Click to expand...

Linkura said:
Yeah I'm pretty sure this is illegal in MA. Yet no mention in the article.
Click to expand...
 
L

Linkura

Member
SwiftDeath said:
So this is an awful response to what must be awful local laws

Most municipalities/states whomever decides these things force venues to offer complimentary tap water for events [Six flags, Disney World etc. are generally forced to do this by local laws hence why they do, not out of the goodness of their hearts]

So this is a combo of a terrible lack of a local law that forces venues to offer free tap water combined with a terrible decision to charge for tap water when they run out of the bottled water
Click to expand...

Nothing to do with the law. Everything to do with the venue being completely unprepared and then the concession workers not being told how to handle the situation.

They should fire the concessions company, but they probably won't.
 
M

Mevlock

Neo Member
In the Uk this would be illegal.

Anywhere selling alcohol, which I presume is the case here, has to by law provide tap water free to anyone who asks.
 
A

Alex_Mexico

Member
Baron Von Beans said:
My marching band went to Epcot in 2001, and that was there then too. It was an amazing discovery...walking through a hot ass park, then you find this Coke spot. Actual snow inside the place, and free worldly coke. I remember one flavored with Apple that amazing. I think it was from Mexico. I'd pay good money for something like it, but I've yet to find anything that slightly even resembles that delicious beverage.
Click to expand...
I often forget that for some reason Apple Coke drinks are not readily available in the US. You guys have the strangest flavors (root beer, cherry Coke, whatever Mountain Dew is) alongside more regular ones like orange flavored Fanta but no Apple?

And yes the stories are true. They taste great and are available from every mom and pop corner store to big supermarket chains in all of Mexico.
 
M

Mevlock

Neo Member
Earthbound64 said:
Funny... If you read the thread, you would find that the same is true in Massachusetts:
Click to expand...


I did. I should have clarified that it is illegal here in the Uk "too".

Of course as another poster pointed out if that's true its very odd if the article itself doesn't mention it.

Surely that makes it a much bigger deal?
 
M

Mr_Antimatter

Member
Alex_Mexico said:
I often forget that for some reason Apple Coke drinks are not readily available in the US. You guys have the strangest flavors (root beer, cherry Coke, whatever Mountain Dew is) alongside more regular ones like orange flavored Fanta but no Apple?

And yes the stories are true. They taste great and are available from every mom and pop corner store to big supermarket chains in all of Mexico.
Click to expand...

For a second, I thought you were talking about actual apple flavored coke, rather then just apple soda.

You can find that in two liter bottles, but rarely in cans. I suppose it's just not that big a seller.
 
E

Earthbound64

Banned
Mevlock said:
I did. I should have clarified that it is illegal here in the Uk "too".

Of course as another poster pointed out if that's true its very odd if the article itself doesn't mention it.

Surely that makes it a much bigger deal?
Click to expand...

Well, the Boston Globe isn't a very good paper.

But, yeah, hopefully something will actually be done. Like forcing the team to move somewhere else - like they threatened to do in order to extort money for a new stadium out of the state.
In reality, they'll just get a slap on the wrist.
 
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