TOTALLY GEEKED!

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

Dear Abby: Friends Steal Free Soft Drinks

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

If Jill orders a soda, and refills are free, she isn't stealing.

Jack, on the other hand, is.

Another thing people do that they don't think about is filling a kids sippy cup. Either from their cup and they get more or they fill the sippy directly from the fountain.

Well, that is stealing to.

Southern_Belle · Nothing's Impossible

Oh well, let them. It's BS to charge $2 -$3 for a fountain drink. It costs pennies to fill the cup.

Mellow Momma · Sniff...sniff, sniff. Yay! A Bum!

Southern_Belle wrote:
Oh well, let them. It's BS to charge $2 -$3 for a fountain drink. It costs pennies to fill the cup.

Just because you don't like the prices, doesn't mean you get to steal. Yes, it costs pennies to fill the cup. But cleaning the restaurant isn't free and neither is the upkeep of the building and the electricity that runs the machine. This is my absolute least favorite argument in favor of stealing. If you don't like the price of something, buy it elsewhere or don't buy it. Stealing it isn't the alternative.

As for the OP, it's stealing, but is it worth ruining the friendship over? IMHO, chances are they are lousy people in other ways and that is the more important issue.

Southern_Belle · Nothing's Impossible

It is tacky but I've seen worse. I just drink water and save my two bucks.

Mellow Momma · Sniff...sniff, sniff. Yay! A Bum!

My other favorite excuse for stealing is "it isn't hurting anyone". Except it is. It hurts the restaurant's bottom line when people take things without paying for them. Does one cup from you once a month hurt ? No. But it's one cup from every 10 people every day that hurts in the end. So don't be part of the problem. You know why it costs $2 to fill up the cup? Because people are not paying and stealing it!!! So YOU get to pay for everyone else too.

Southern_Belle · Nothing's Impossible

Well what if everyone ordered water? Wouldn't that hurt too?

Mellow Momma · Sniff...sniff, sniff. Yay! A Bum!

Southern_Belle wrote:
It is tacky but I've seen worse. I just drink water and save my two bucks.

No. Tacky is wearing white after Labor Day. They are stealing. Taking something without paying for it is stealing.

Mellow Momma · Sniff...sniff, sniff. Yay! A Bum!

Southern_Belle wrote:
Well what if everyone ordered water? Wouldn't that hurt too?

If everyone ordered water the restaurant would charge you for it. Trust me. Maybe not on a line that said "water $2" but the price of the signature sandwich would go up in an increment sufficient to pay for the water.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

Most places now have bottled water. Unless you specify ice water they give bottled. 2 bucks a shot. Fast food places that is.

My main job was to cut waste in restaurants. It still raises my hackles when I see a stack of napkins in a bag or on the table or a pile of unused sauce packets. People don't realize how much those things can add up to.

I don't like the self serve free refills. Those costs are factored in to the costs of the business. Too much waste and it can mean cutting hours or even having to let an employee go.

ed11563 · Guru

In 1960, my sister and BIL owned a coffee house (The Fat Black Pussycat, Lansing, Michigan).

My sister told me the economics of selling soft drinks in cups:

empty cup 8 cents

CO2 to carbonate the water, about one cent.

Water, from the water line, essentially free in small quantities.

Syrup to flavor the drink, 4 cents.

Sale price: $1.50.

All those things probably cost more now.

So a $1.50 soft drink at a fast food place, costs the shop about 40 cents including the cup, and refills cost the shop about 20 cents.

A large cup at Costco sells for 50 cents, with all the free refills you want.

ed11563 · Guru

Lily, I've tried a dozen times to get my Chinese Food restaurant to STOP putting 14 Fortune Cookies and 20+ packets of soy sauce, sweet sauce and mustard sauce in the bag, and I can't get them to stop. Any ideas? I feel like I'm insulting them by asking.

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

Take them out and leave then when u pick it up.

Bonny22Pye · Guru

ed11563 wrote:
In 1960, my sister and BIL owned a coffee house (The Fat Black Pussycat, Lansing, Michigan).
My sister told me the economics of selling soft drinks in cups:
empty cup 8 cents
CO2 to carbonate the water, about one cent.
Water, from the water line, essentially free in small quantities.
Syrup to flavor the drink, 4 cents.

Sale price: $1.50.
All those things probably cost more now.
So a $1.50 soft drink at a fast food place, costs the shop about 40 cents including the cup, and refills cost the shop about 20 cents.
A large cup at Costco sells for 50 cents, with all the free refills you want.

Ok, but what about the rent of the building, the people to run the business and upkeep of the machines. It costs more than that.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

ed11563 wrote:
Lily, I've tried a dozen times to get my Chinese Food restaurant to STOP putting 14 Fortune Cookies and 20+ packets of soy sauce, sweet sauce and mustard sauce in the bag, and I can't get them to stop. Any ideas? I feel like I'm insulting them by asking.

If you have out right told them you do not want it, then let it go.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

I use to be able to tell you what it cost per ounce. With and with out ice.

The reason a drink costs so much ic because of waste and thieves.

I watched a man just yesterday morning, at McDonald's while A was getting a biscuit, the man went in with a large cup and a coffee cup. I was watching from my car, I could see the drink area perfectly, it's just inside the door.

So he fills the large cup with tea and brings it back to the car. Then he goes back in and to the counter for his free refill. Then he comes out to leave as we are leaving. He was parked right beside me. He came up after we got there.

This man not only stole the tea and coffee, he used dirty cups that there is no telling how long he has had.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

If ya'll could see some of the things I have seen you would think twice before ordering and getting sauces and other things at restaurant.

Like the tea urns. Those things come apart to be cleaned. But a lot of places don't know how to take the spout apart to clean it. The mold in there is like a thick lugie. And it will keep building up unless it is cleaned and dried properly.

The drink nozzles come apart too. And they have two to three parts them. They will mold too. All it takes is a little soap and water and drying over night.

I will never use ketchup or any other sauce from a self serve pump. Those have about seven parts to them. Plus a couple rings or gaskets. They have a couple little ball bearings in the elbow of the pump. Those are next to impossible to clean properly and there is no way to dry them and they grow mold. Thse fuzzy mold. It's gross.

The high chairs in restaurants or nasty. Of course kids are using them, dropping and spilling things. Those cloth parts are never cleaned more than a quick wipe down. The ones that the child straddles can and usually do have vomit, urine and fecal matter in them. One kid with an accident is all it takes.

Any kind of buffet should be avoided. Of course there is the dirty hands touching everything. But keeping a steady temp on any of it is really hard to do. And if you watch, they are supposed to take the old out, pan and all, to put the new in. And they are not supposed to put the old in the new. A fresh product has a hold time. Usually about 30-45 minutes. After that it is to be thrown out. Mixing old and new can cause bacteria to grow.

A big indicator as to the cleanliness of the kitchen is the bathroom. If the bathroom is clean and well maintained, the kitchen generally will be.

Mellow Momma · Sniff...sniff, sniff. Yay! A Bum!

Amen to all of that Lily. I had to get certified in food safety when I worked at Target and it was the best/worst thing I have ever done. The stuff you see when you know what to look for is horrifying.

But as for the OP, if you take something you didn't pay for, it's stealing. The OP just needs to figure out if this petty theft is so bothersome to her that she can't be friends anymore. To me, this is a crime equal to speeding. If you don't like the friend stealing the drink but then you speed home yourself, you need to get over it.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

I managed a restaurant for years. Most of my adult life has been in food service. I have been through so many courses and training sessions it'd make your head spin.

There is so much the general public doesn't know and understand about food service. Yes it is one of the simplest jobs out there. But if it isn't done right it can cause serious health issues for the public it serves.

I know what to do_sometimes · Frozen Sucks!

Mellow Momma wrote:
Southern_Belle wrote:
It is tacky but I've seen worse. I just drink water and save my two bucks.
No. Tacky is wearing white after Labor Day. They are stealing. Taking something without paying for it is stealing.

No, wearing white after Labor Day is called being a rebel and flipping the fashion police off. biggrin

Mellow Momma · Sniff...sniff, sniff. Yay! A Bum!

I know what to do_sometimes wrote:
Mellow Momma wrote:
Southern_Belle wrote:
It is tacky but I've seen worse. I just drink water and save my two bucks.
No. Tacky is wearing white after Labor Day. They are stealing. Taking something without paying for it is stealing.
No, wearing white after Labor Day is called being a rebel and flipping the fashion police off.

Lol let me guess, you dont wear heels either ?! Lol

I know what to do_sometimes · Frozen Sucks!

Mellow Momma wrote:
I know what to do_sometimes wrote:
Mellow Momma wrote:
Southern_Belle wrote:
It is tacky but I've seen worse. I just drink water and save my two bucks.
No. Tacky is wearing white after Labor Day. They are stealing. Taking something without paying for it is stealing.
No, wearing white after Labor Day is called being a rebel and flipping the fashion police off.
Lol let me guess, you dont wear heels either ?! Lol

LOL. I wear heels every day and white ones sometimes, before Memorial Day AND after Labor day.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

White after Labor Day could get you killed.

Southern_Belle · Nothing's Impossible

lilyofcourse wrote:
Most places now have bottled water. Unless you specify ice water they give bottled. 2 bucks a shot. Fast food places that is.

My main job was to cut waste in restaurants. It still raises my hackles when I see a stack of napkins in a bag or on the table or a pile of unused sauce packets. People don't realize how much those things can add up to.

I don't like the self serve free refills. Those costs are factored in to the costs of the business. Too much waste and it can mean cutting hours or even having to let an employee go.

Yeah, I wasn't talking about McDonalds.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

Well most sit down restaurants don't have self serve soda machines. So a person could not get water and then sneak and get soda.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

And no. Ordering water wouldn't hurt. Because they would factor that in. Prices would balance.

Southern_Belle · Nothing's Impossible

It's easy to sip off someone else's drink at a sit down place. I don't do that, I drink water.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

Yes. But an attentive waiter would notice.

And while nothing would be done, it is still stealing.

I know what to do_sometimes · Frozen Sucks!

lilyofcourse wrote:
Yes. But an attentive waiter would notice.

And while nothing would be done, it is still stealing.

It's akin to paying for one all you can eat buffet and sharing the food with someone else.

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

I know what to do_sometimes wrote:
lilyofcourse wrote:
Yes. But an attentive waiter would notice.

And while nothing would be done, it is still stealing.
It's akin to paying for one all you can eat buffet and sharing the food with someone else.

Oh, I know people that do that too! lol biggrin

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

There are times I will split a dinner though. When dd was younger, she couldn't eat a whole meal. And, the kids meal is nothing but fried chicken nuggets and crap. So, I would order a meal with 2 plates and split with her. Not at a buffet but a sit down type meal.

flan327 · Itty bitty's Grammy

I feel like wearing white sandals today...but it's too cold, even for me! LOL

flan

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

Huh???

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

Southern_Belle wrote:
It's easy to sip off someone else's drink at a sit down place. I don't do that, I drink water.

Yeah, I do that. I don't want an entire glass of soda. Too much sugar for me. But, I do like a couple sips of Pepsi. So, yeah, I will take a couple of sips. smile

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

I generally avoid buffets like the plague. They gross me out. Who knows how long food has been sitting? And there seem to be plenty of gross people standing over them breathing and huffing and tossing around the tongs with their grubby paws! Blecchh!!

flan327 · Itty bitty's Grammy

flan327 wrote:
I feel like wearing white sandals today...but it's too cold, even for me! LOL

flan

Comment upthread about "tacky" being equal to wearing white after Labor Day.

flan

flan327 · Itty bitty's Grammy

Lady Gaga Snerd wrote:
I generally avoid buffets like the plague. They gross me out. Who knows how long food has been sitting? And there seem to be plenty of gross people standing over them breathing and huffing and tossing around the tongs with their grubby paws! Blecchh!!

Tell us how you really feel!

evileye

After working with kids for 30+, germs (in general) don't freak me out.

flan

JPT · Senior Member

lilyofcourse wrote:
Most places now have bottled water. Unless you specify ice water they give bottled. 2 bucks a shot. Fast food places that is.

My main job was to cut waste in restaurants. It still raises my hackles when I see a stack of napkins in a bag or on the table or a pile of unused sauce packets. People don't realize how much those things can add up to.

I don't like the self serve free refills. Those costs are factored in to the costs of the business. Too much waste and it can mean cutting hours or even having to let an employee go.

Yes, these items are all built into the pricing. We have a part time employee who waits at a popular tourist restaurant here. She says that the owner (who is a real piece of work) will go through all the trash and pull out any packets of unused items (crackers, sour cream, etc) and reuse them. I no longer eat there, as the thought that the items that may be on my table came out of the trash.

Want to cut waste? Stop using prepacked stuff. That is really expensive. Put a ketchup bottle on the table. Place a half dozen crackers on the salad/soup plate. If you serve an item with sour cream, place it on the item or plate from a larger more economical container.

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

flan327 wrote:
Lady Gaga Snerd wrote:
I generally avoid buffets like the plague. They gross me out. Who knows how long food has been sitting? And there seem to be plenty of gross people standing over them breathing and huffing and tossing around the tongs with their grubby paws! Blecchh!!
Tell us how you really feel!
After working with kids for 30+, germs (in general) don't freak me out.
flan

Buffets are for morbidly obese people who want to ingest large quantities of food!!!! wink

Mellow Momma · Sniff...sniff, sniff. Yay! A Bum!

JPT wrote:
lilyofcourse wrote:
Most places now have bottled water. Unless you specify ice water they give bottled. 2 bucks a shot. Fast food places that is.

My main job was to cut waste in restaurants. It still raises my hackles when I see a stack of napkins in a bag or on the table or a pile of unused sauce packets. People don't realize how much those things can add up to.

I don't like the self serve free refills. Those costs are factored in to the costs of the business. Too much waste and it can mean cutting hours or even having to let an employee go.
Yes, these items are all built into the pricing. We have a part time employee who waits at a popular tourist restaurant here. She says that the owner (who is a real piece of work) will go through all the trash and pull out any packets of unused items (crackers, sour cream, etc) and reuse them. I no longer eat there, as the thought that the items that may be on my table came out of the trash.

Want to cut waste? Stop using prepacked stuff. That is really expensive. Put a ketchup bottle on the table. Place a half dozen crackers on the salad/soup plate. If you serve an item with sour cream, place it on the item or plate from a larger more economical container.

That is disgusting. He would be closed by the health department in a hot second if they knew that. Wow. What a cheap skate.

Call the health depth and leave an anonymous tip.

I bet he doesn't use enough of the condiments to purchase a big container, and once it's open, you have to use it within a certain number of days before you have to throw it out by law. I doubt he was able to use it all and after throwing out a lot of product, he decided to use packages. Which is fine...as long as they aren't from the trash. Blech!

Southern_Belle · Nothing's Impossible

A neighbor worked at a buffet place and she saw a customer take a piece of cake, lick the spatula, and put the spatula back on the cake plate.

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

I saw a lady come in to Ponderosa with multiple gallon size zip lock bags and fill them up with food. The waitress didn't say a word.

flan327 · Itty bitty's Grammy

Lady Gaga Snerd wrote:
flan327 wrote:
Lady Gaga Snerd wrote:
I generally avoid buffets like the plague. They gross me out. Who knows how long food has been sitting? And there seem to be plenty of gross people standing over them breathing and huffing and tossing around the tongs with their grubby paws! Blecchh!!
Tell us how you really feel!
After working with kids for 30+, germs (in general) don't freak me out.
flan
Buffets are for morbidly obese people who want to ingest large quantities of food!!!!

DAYUM!

You got me!!!

flan

flan327 · Itty bitty's Grammy

Although, when I do go to a buffet (usually Chinese), I get a to-go container.

flan

Mellow Momma · Sniff...sniff, sniff. Yay! A Bum!

Southern_Belle wrote:
A neighbor worked at a buffet place and she saw a customer take a piece of cake, lick the spatula, and put the spatula back on the cake plate.

I hope the neighbor removed the cake, plate and spatula before any one else got a slice of bacteria with their dessert.

Thats disgusting.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

Mellow Momma wrote:
JPT wrote:
lilyofcourse wrote:
Most places now have bottled water. Unless you specify ice water they give bottled. 2 bucks a shot. Fast food places that is.

My main job was to cut waste in restaurants. It still raises my hackles when I see a stack of napkins in a bag or on the table or a pile of unused sauce packets. People don't realize how much those things can add up to.

I don't like the self serve free refills. Those costs are factored in to the costs of the business. Too much waste and it can mean cutting hours or even having to let an employee go.
Yes, these items are all built into the pricing. We have a part time employee who waits at a popular tourist restaurant here. She says that the owner (who is a real piece of work) will go through all the trash and pull out any packets of unused items (crackers, sour cream, etc) and reuse them. I no longer eat there, as the thought that the items that may be on my table came out of the trash.

Want to cut waste? Stop using prepacked stuff. That is really expensive. Put a ketchup bottle on the table. Place a half dozen crackers on the salad/soup plate. If you serve an item with sour cream, place it on the item or plate from a larger more economical container.
That is disgusting. He would be closed by the health department in a hot second if they knew that. Wow. What a cheap skate.

Call the health depth and leave an anonymous tip.
I bet he doesn't use enough of the condiments to purchase a big container, and once it's open, you have to use it within a certain number of days before you have to throw it out by law. I doubt he was able to use it all and after throwing out a lot of product, he decided to use packages. Which is fine...as long as they aren't from the trash. Blech!

Yeah, the health dept would clamp down on that.

Any time a customer touches something, it has to be thrown out if they don't use it.

Once an item is opened, like bulk ketchup or crackers, it has to be used or discarded after 3 meal periods.

Putting those bottles on the table are nasty. They don't get cleaned properly. They sour and grow mold.

Sour cream has to be kept at temp. 41 or below. That is not easy to do at a warm work area. And things like that are added by the server in a sit down.

For every action there is adeed time to getting your order to you in a timely manner.

JPT · Senior Member

The restaurant inspections here are a joke, there is a facebook page for our area with Rants, Raves and Reviews, and not a week goes by without someone putting up a video of something disgusting in a local place.
I've gotten to the point of eating out less and less. There are only two casual places here that are good about keeping a clean place.

The local McDonalds has had at least 4 different videos of c0ckroaches crawling on the drink dispenser and on the front counter, while employees just look, point and laugh...

Tignanello · My dog name is, Sasha!

Lady Gaga Snerd wrote:
flan327 wrote:
Lady Gaga Snerd wrote:
I generally avoid buffets like the plague. They gross me out. Who knows how long food has been sitting? And there seem to be plenty of gross people standing over them breathing and huffing and tossing around the tongs with their grubby paws! Blecchh!!
Tell us how you really feel!
After working with kids for 30+, germs (in general) don't freak me out.
flan
Buffets are for morbidly obese people who want to ingest large quantities of food!!!!

Can we leave the fat-shaming out of it?

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

JPT wrote:
The restaurant inspections here are a joke, there is a facebook page for our area with Rants, Raves and Reviews, and not a week goes by without someone putting up a video of something disgusting in a local place.
I've gotten to the point of eating out less and less. There are only two casual places here that are good about keeping a clean place.

The local McDonalds has had at least 4 different videos of c0ckroaches crawling on the drink dispenser and on the front counter, while employees just look, point and laugh...

Bugs in fast food places are not uncommon. With all the paper products it's kind of hard to not have a sighting now and then.

Not defending it. It's gross as all get out.

If the health inspections are not what they should be, bring it up at town meetings. You can raise standards.

Lindley · Guru

The restaurant I use to work in had a salad bar and these two ladies would come in and one would order the all you can eat salad bar and the other one a baked potato. For some reason instead of putting the potato on a small dish they would put it on a dinner plate. The ladies would spilt the baked potato and both of them would go to the salad bar. They got by with that for a long time till the manager finely noticed and changed the rules that the potato can only be served on a small plate. They threw a absolute fit the next time they tried that.