Rapid Fill Mug Program Fails (at more ways than you might think)

[ford91exploder]

It isn't common? All they would have to do is not order a drink with their meal and refill their coffee mug or sports bottle. Or ask for regular water, be handed a small empty cup, and fill it with Sprite. Or order three meals and just one beverage. Those 16 year olds behind the counter don't care. Millions of people walk into a McDonald's (or Burger King, or Whataburger, etc) every day and each one is a potential beverage thief. Many of those locations are hot as well. I've sat in the lobby of both Drury hotels on the San Antonio Riverwalk numerous times and observed a number of people walk in, grab a clear plastic cup next to the soda fountain, fill it with a beverage of their choice, and then leave. Unless someone has some hard stats I'm inclined to believe their exposure to pilferage is just as high and common as WDW resorts, if not more so.

And as stated earlier, it's one thing to restrict beverage dispensing to a particular beverage holder for the length of your stay. That would effectively address many of the situations you described. But it's another to limit the time interval between those refills during that stay. As hot as it is and as thirsty as I might be, who's to say I can't down a couple of Cokes in a 3 minute period?

I can certainly knock back a couple Ice tea's in 3 minutes on a hot day in FL.

 

[HauntedPirate]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the air blowers that have been installed above many outdoor soda locations at the resorts. They tend to keep the bees away from the soda machines quite well. They've been around for a few years, IIRC.

 

[ford91exploder]

Oh man a refillable mug debate,

haven't see one of these in a few months!BTW McDonalds just implemented their $1 beverage program. $1 for any soft drink/coffee of any size or variety.
Wall Street was not happy with them last quarter. Soda is such a high profit item the cups are more costly than the product.

Yeah but MickeyD's guests have been unhappy with them recently, It's a real quandry about who do you serve your customers who pay you money or Wall St who owns your stock. What Wall St likes is not necessarily beneficial to the guests you serve.

 

[ford91exploder]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the air blowers that have been installed above many outdoor soda locations at the resorts. They tend to keep the bees away from the soda machines quite well. They've been around for a few years, IIRC.

They work well when POWERED UP!

 

[GoofGoof]

I think there are several reasons why it would/could generate additional revenue, many of which are cited by the vendor themselves. Increased marketing flexibility, a variety of offerings, ability to create custom refill programs, etc. Preventing abuse is both a byproduct and a benefit of those capabilities. But then I wonder why you can't purchase an additional option to refill in the parks; my bet is Disney has already done the math and determined if even more guests purchased that option it wouldn't be sufficient to offset their in-park purchase of beverages not related to their resort mug.

Maybe it could lead to higher sales, but I don't think there are a whole lot of people who wouldn't have bought a refillable mug before but do now that they have the chips in the cup. I just don't see a whole lot of additional revenue outside of preventing abuse.

I do think at least some of the abusers will either buy a mug now or potentially buy multiple drinks now for their family instead of sharing one. That's where the revenue comes from. There could be some labor cost savings too as volume decreased resulting in less need to service the machines.

In park might be an undertaking since a lot of locations don't have fountains in guest access areas. You get your drink behind the counter. I think it could work and be profitable for the right price. Probably at least $10 per day would be my guess. Maybe a slight discount for a multiday mug.

 

[ford91exploder]

Maybe it could lead to higher sales, but I don't think there are a whole lot of people who wouldn't have bought a refillable mug before but do now that they have the chips in the cup. I just don't see a whole lot of additional revenue outside of preventing abuse.

I do think at least some of the abusers will either buy a mug now or potentially buy multiple drinks now for their family instead of sharing one. That's where the revenue comes from. There could be some labor cost savings too as volume decreased resulting in less need to service the machines.

In park might be an undertaking since a lot of locations don't have fountains in guest access areas. You get your drink behind the counter. I think it could work and be profitable for the right price. Probably at least $10 per day would be my guess. Maybe a slight discount for a multiday mug.

The key to wide acceptance I think would be price it under $10 bucks, I'd really like to see bottle fill stations at the parks delivering filtered refrigerated water that's another service I'd PAY for. Tie BOTH to MB or admission media instead of a standalone system

 

[njDizFan]

Huh? It's been done for year(s)... in fact it's been quietly rolled back since at a lot of locations. They did this all the way back in 2013 or later. I guess the reporters today missed that in their eagerness to cover McDonald's announcements.

This is a new initiative from McDonalds starting in April

http://fortune.com/2017/02/22/mcdonalds-cheaper-soda-coffee-prices/

I know they started doing something similar when they were pushing their new coffee products but this is a new effort to drive business.

 

[ford91exploder]

This is a new initiative from McDonalds starting in April

http://fortune.com/2017/02/22/mcdonalds-cheaper-soda-coffee-prices/

I know they started doing something similar when they were pushing their new coffee products but this is a new effort to drive business.

As long as they keep the quality up it will certainly drive business, When I'm in Silicon Valley the Starbucks prices are simply STUPID I can get a decent cup of coffee and an McMuffin for the price of the Starbucks coffee alone.

I'm not expecting a gourmet coffee drink for that price I'm expecting my morning wake up that's smooth and drinkable without adding anything, When I have half an hour to savor my coffee I'll visit starbucks and pay the premium for the premium coffees like the individually brewed cups or cold brew.

 

[csmat99]

Urban legend has it that MCD has their own special formula... I agree though, the coke is good there.

they do it's actually bunch of things they do. First off they ship the syrup in stainless steel containers to keep the taste and not bag in boxes which don't. They also cool the syrup down before it even goes into the machine. They factor the syrup ratio to factor in ice melting. And one of the big reasons why it tastes better and it's right in front of you. The famous wide mouth McD's straw. But using a wider straw it allows you to taste buds to get hit more at once.

 

[Gringrinngghost]

they do it's actually bunch of things they do. First off they ship the syrup in stainless steel containers to keep the taste and not bag in boxes which don't. They also cool the syrup down before it even goes into the machine. They factor the syrup ratio to factor in ice melting. And one of the big reasons why it tastes better and it's right in front of you. The famous wide mouth McD's straw. But using a wider straw it allows you to taste buds to get hit more at once.

 

[njDizFan]

they do it's actually bunch of things they do. First off they ship the syrup in stainless steel containers to keep the taste and not bag in boxes which don't. They also cool the syrup down before it even goes into the machine. They factor the syrup ratio to factor in ice melting. And one of the big reasons why it tastes better and it's right in front of you. The famous wide mouth McD's straw. But using a wider straw it allows you to taste buds to get hit more at once.

Yes...cooling the water before it mixes with the syrup does wonders for a carbonated beverage.

 

[ford91exploder]

they do it's actually bunch of things they do. First off they ship the syrup in stainless steel containers to keep the taste and not bag in boxes which don't. They also cool the syrup down before it even goes into the machine. They factor the syrup ratio to factor in ice melting. And one of the big reasons why it tastes better and it's right in front of you. The famous wide mouth McD's straw. But using a wider straw it allows you to taste buds to get hit more at once.

I'd say those items combined equal a 'special formula'

 

[ford91exploder]

Yes...cooling the water before it mixes with the syrup does wonders for a carbonated beverage.

It increases the amount of CO2 the water can absorb for one. Let's face it Coke is meant to be served 'Ice Cold'.

 

[GoofGoof]

The key to wide acceptance I think would be price it under $10 bucks, I'd really like to see bottle fill stations at the parks delivering filtered refrigerated water that's another service I'd PAY for. Tie BOTH to MB or admission media instead of a standalone system

What I'd like vs what's profitable for Disney are 2 different things. My $10 ballpark figure assumes the revenue from 3-4 drinks purchased at regular price. I'd say the average guest probably drinks less than that (especially if you don't have 2 counterservice meals a day) but they would have to adjust for overuse from people trying to "get their money's worth".

I love the bottle filling station idea. If they limit it to resort guests it would be a real perk for staying on property and easy to link to magic bands. The catch is they make good money selling bottled water and people may switch from soft drinks to free cold water.

 

[ford91exploder]

What I'd like vs what's profitable for Disney are 2 different things. My $10 ballpark figure assumes the revenue from 3-4 drinks purchased at regular price. I'd say the average guest probably drinks less than that (especially if you don't have 2 counterservice meals a day) but they would have to adjust for overuse from people trying to "get their money's worth".

I love the bottle filling station idea. If they limit it to resort guests it would be a real perk for staying on property and easy to link to magic bands. The catch is they make good money selling bottled water and people may switch from soft drinks to free cold water.

My thought was to have the bottle fill stations be chargeable, Cold filtered water is worth something and I'd be happy to pay for 4-6$ per day for it perhaps give resort guests a 50% discount. In my model bubblers would still be free as would the ice water at QS locations. This would not interfere I think with the bottled water sales.

 

[flynnibus]

This is a new initiative from McDonalds starting in April

http://fortune.com/2017/02/22/mcdonalds-cheaper-soda-coffee-prices/

Yeah, like I said "I guess the reporters today missed that in their eagerness to cover McDonald's announcements."

McDonalds is making hype as if its new changes.. and the media are happily following along... forgetting their very own coverage of the same thing in the past. It was McDonald's move that really pushed other gas station chains like Circle-K to offer their 99c any size offerings. McDonalds did this years ago.. and backed off it as a promo (probably about the time they killed the Dollar Menu) but many locations still offered it. Now its just back to another company wide promotion.

 

[flynnibus]

And since we have the McDonald's cross-over going on.. how about this old story. Since we were talking about theft from McDonald's soda fountains?

How about this guy who gets arrested for it.. and then faces felony charges because of escalation clauses
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/apr/24/nation/la-na-nn-felony-mcdonalds-20120424

 

[HauntedPirate]

they do it's actually bunch of things they do. First off they ship the syrup in stainless steel containers to keep the taste and not bag in boxes which don't. They also cool the syrup down before it even goes into the machine. They factor the syrup ratio to factor in ice melting. And one of the big reasons why it tastes better and it's right in front of you. The famous wide mouth McD's straw. But using a wider straw it allows you to taste buds to get hit more at once.

Most of this has been debunked in the comments of a link that someone posted earlier in this thread.

 

[ford91exploder]

And since we have the McDonald's cross-over going on.. how about this old story. Since we were talking about theft from McDonald's soda fountains?

How about this guy who gets arrested for it.. and then faces felony charges because of escalation clauses
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/apr/24/nation/la-na-nn-felony-mcdonalds-20120424

And it happened in Florida, Perhaps Disney can get tough on hot chocolate theft now...

 

[csmat99]

Most of this has been debunked in the comments of a link that someone posted earlier in this thread.

I can attest it's 100 percent true. I worked on a case involving Coke/Pepsi and fast food restaurants.