Free refills for life

[Whyme]

What is the point of giving in? The lady, nor her husband, were spending any money and therefore not "paying customers" at this visit. She was essentially stealing and had no intention of paying for the drink. So why does management cave? He lost money (i.e. the soda from the fountain) and an employee. Sure, the employee can be replaced but now he has to interview and train a new person.

I just don't get it...

[karath]

I've noticed that fast food prices have really gone up alot recently. I know gas prices have increased, but I think this type of thing causes prices to increase more than anything else.

That's for damn sure; I don't know the reason myself, but in the three years I've been working at Wendy's the #1 combo increased in price until it's now the same price the #2 was when I was hired. I've always assumed it was inflation, until geek king mentioned:

Just an aside, but another big part is that worldwide prices on feed for livestock has gone up due to some ingrediants being used for ethanol production. So there's kind of a three-way prices hit going on right now. Gas-theft-ethanol

Very good point there, your highness!

What is the point of giving in? The lady, nor her husband, were spending any money and therefore not "paying customers" at this visit. She was essentially stealing and had no intention of paying for the drink. So why does management cave? He lost money (i.e. the soda from the fountain) and an employee. Sure, the employee can be replaced but now he has to interview and train a new person.

I just don't get it...

Fast Food managers have an incredible knack for giving in to assholes and SCs. I think this may have something to do with the fact that a lot of complaints are halfway legitimate; when you're making a lot of food at inhuman speeds, mistakes will be made. Unfortunately, this means that the managers become used to automatically caving to customers who complain, even if it's completely unreasonable (like the refill whore the OP spotted).

Fortunately that's not an issue at my Wendy's, since all of our drink dispensers are behind the counter (it can be annoying but it sure cuts down on drink theft), but still, if someone came in out of the blue and tried to get me to refill their obviously ancient drink cup, they'd get an earful.

Another thing is that soda is, comparatively, pretty cheap even for fast food. The huge boxes of soda syrup aren't dirt cheap, but the amount of syrup used for just one drink is miniscule (sp?).

[AdminAssistant]

Just an aside, but another big part is that worldwide prices on feed for livestock has gone up due to some ingrediants being used for ethanol production. So there's kind of a three-way prices hit going on right now. Gas-theft-ethanol

Farmer's Kid. Ethanol production isn't the reason prices are going up, production costs are going up. But that's for Fratching.

[myswtghst]

I have to admit something - when I was maybe a sophomore in high school (around 15-16 years old) a friend and I would do stuff like that at a local movie theatre - saving a popcorn bag that you got free refills on and using it over the course of a few weeks, sometimes. I hold that it was stupidity and youth, along with minimal allowance/minimum wage job $$ funding my trips to the movies, which were already overpriced then. It was also during a time when the theatre got most of my $$$, as it was the only thing in town to do, so we sometimes saw up to 5 movies a week in the summer.

However, now, at 24, I cannot imagine pulling crap like that and moreso, being upset when getting caught. It's one thing when it's kids who need to learn a lesson in maturity. But when it's an adult who should darn well already know better? Get real and grow up, lady.

[tropicsgoddess]

Fast forward about 10 minutes, mom and I are still there talking and this lady goes off on the manager because she was charged for the drink. The manager told her she does this all the time and no one has said anything about it before but refills are free only for that initial visit. If you leave and come back you have to pay again. Well of Ms Free refill doesn't like that and wants to talk to her manager.

Basically her manager caved in and requested the manager to go in back and talk to him. Well she was so pissed she quit on the spot. She told her manager that she's tired of him being a wimp and not backing them up and that lady stole her refill and she's out of there. I saw her on my way out and applauded her for standing up for her rights. She told me her manager was a wuss and never backed them and she had a new job anyway so screw them. YAY!!!

But can you belive that lady? Thinking because she brings her cup back in she can get free refills and then when she gets called on it gets all pissy. Some people.

I applaud the woman for telling it like it is to her spineless boss. Ms.Free Refills must be one cheapskate to try and get away with having multiple free refills. Rotten apples like her always ruin everything.

[bendertiger]

Believe it?

I saw it happen on almost a regular basis at my McDs.

There was a woman who would come through the drive through in the morning and order a coffee.
Later on in the afternoon, she would come back, hand her empty cup through the drive through window, and expect a free refill.

She pulled it with me, once, and I threw the empty cup away (thinking maybe she just wanted to hand me her garbage).
She proceeded to bitch me out until I called for a manger.

Needless to say, he let her get away with it once, and she continued with it for as long as possible.

Why didn't you give her the free refill? Just make sure it's devoid of sugar and heat. What's the worst she can do, complain it tasted bad?

[Snowbird]

I think I'm kind of grossed out here. Stealing the refills is one thing, but my first thought was 'where has she been keeping that cup?'. Was it rolling around in the dirty diaper/trash strewn back seat of her car until she came back?

Even if not to keep people from helping themselves to free refills they haven't paid for, I'd think it would be a health issue too. I mean, don't most soft drink dispensers have a button behind it that the cup pushes against? I know it's not a huge spot but still! Yuck!

[powerboy]

When I get something from a fast food restaurant or a regular restaurant. I will get a refill before I go. And when I am finished with that, then oh well. I usually try to get a soda from the fountain at the gas station. Why, because it is cheaper than fast food sodas and I get more. Plus my bill is cheaper without a soda.

[marasbaras]

There used to be a great pizza chain in the Seattle area called Godfather's (there are a few left, but their pizza isn't what it used to be). At one point, they offered this giant 64 oz thing with free refills for LIFE.

Our gaming group got one and used it for a good 5-6 years on a regular basis. Then again, we ate a LOT of their pizzas.

[Lace Neil Singer]

At the pizza place I used to work at, we used to sell cans and bottles out of a cooler rather than have a drink despenser; this was firstly cuz it made more money to sell them that way, probably due to staff boiling to death in the summer and needing something icy cold, stat; and second to cut down on drink theft. A member of staff was always in the shop to keep an eye on the cooler. And yes, we did on a number of occasions stop a thief from nicking a can out of it. -.- Not always teens, either.

[Boochan]

I mean even if the refills cost the company nothing (Syrup and Soda costs are nothing), its the whole principle of the thing that has always bothered me. Anyone this cheap (and they're generally reasonably well off too, just very cheap) always gives me the shits. I'm pleased that McDonalds in this country doesn't given free refills, just Burger King. Most times I'm in a Burger King getting something to eat I see one of these people, with a ratty, dirty cup going straight over to the thing (if its freely accessible), or going STRAIGHT to the front of the counter and demanding their free refill right now. They always do it, as sadly as long as they have a cup, thats the policy.. so they have to be spineless. Still bothers me though. The other thing I notice is most of them have a deal here where if you have a Senior Citizens Card (something that the State Government organises here as a concession card), you get given a complimentary coffee per day. They make sure they get that coffee and more, and they make sure they DEMAND it. I've seen them try and break the one coffee per day limit before, and they won't let up. Honestly, paying them nothing.. and they think they're going to care about them.

Regardless, The worst instance I've seen is young children SCs been brought up this way who obviously live nearby to the local BK, they come up with their OWN cup and fill it. The time I've seen this the manager was actually at the counter, and really paid out on the kid (no parent, so obviously its easier that way), and made him pay like a dollar or something..