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

[harlock2977]

After the kinks are worked out, they will roll out the Quik Condiments program allowing each guest up to 4 little paper ketchup cups per day for every night you stay at a DisneyParks resort. However, mustard will count as 2 of your condiment credits.

 

[tissandtully]

They at least have those self serve machines at Restaurantosaurous, Backlot Express, Electric Umbrella, Sunshine Seasons and it's non stop refills..

Exactly, they have a free drink program in the parks already.

 

[tissandtully]

The whole rapidfill program reminds me of getting your receipt checked when you leave retail stores. Is it really worth ticking off your customers for so little? Just make it unlimited refills, jack up the room costs and we'll be good.

 

[Millionaire2K]

After the kinks are worked out, they will roll out the Quik Condiments program allowing each guest up to 4 little paper ketchup cups per day for every night you stay at a DisneyParks resort. However, mustard will count as 2 of your condiment credits.

For a low price of $1 a day and $2 for peak season.

 

[Millionaire2K]

The whole rapidfill program reminds me of getting your receipt checked when you leave retail stores. Is it really worth ticking off your customers for so little? Just make it unlimited refills, jack up the room costs and we'll be good.

Agreed. Raise all rooms $5 and no one will even notice.

 

[SirLink]

Not really. Bev cost is your profit center you play with. Food cost for quick service should run around 15 - 20% average. For a full service restaurant 35% - 40% is not unthinkable (though closer to 25% - 30% would be ideal).

Note, these percentages I'm quoting are food cost expenses, so the revenue would be food only, not total revenue for those percentages to pan out. Beverage, on the other hand, is very high margin, and that's the number you can play with because the quality of the product doesn't really change whether you do 100% markup or a 400% markup...but, if you do 100% markup on food alone, costs such as ground beef for burgers, etc...force you to the dangerous "price cap" where people will no longer purchase the item.

Even at Disney.

My point is, playing with food prices is a lot more delicate and involved than beverage prices.

No it really isn't as delicate as you think for real world restaurants it is food costs for 1 portion of food such as lets say a steak - Disney shouldn't be buying in vacuum packed individual weighed steaks each restaurant should have chefs capable of breaking down larger portions of meat themselves ... Then you multiply that 3 times to take into account food cost, general cost (labor/heat/etc) and profit. Its not that delicate.

 

[kittybubbles]

So what happens with this business model when guest staying at a resort that are on the dinning plan realize they get a drink included with each meal (on top of the mug for free refills)?

Imagine guest start to realize Rapid Fill isn't working so great, the realize they wait in line for food (multiple stations if everyone wants something different to eat), they wait in line at the cashier...they realize on day one that the line at the soda station is too long for the system is too complicated...they realize they are only getting 8 OZ's of soda, so they are going to the soda station twice for 16 OZ's.

They realize their meal includes a drink, so they leave their mugs in the room and grab a 20 OZ bottled soda with their meals that comes with their QS dining entitlement for that meal. I imagine the bottled soda cost Disney more than the syrup one....so does the money saved from preventing shrinkage offset the money lost because you made self serve too complicated?

 

[alissafalco]

I'm glad it's blowing up in their face.

 

[TubaGeek]

Raise the hotel rates $1.00/day and give the pop away.

I'm gonna guess that you're originally from the Midwest.

 

[unkadug]

I'm gonna guess that you're originally from the Midwest.

Because we all know that it's collectively called "Coke".

 

[TubaGeek]

Because we all know that it's collectively called "Coke".

NOOO!!!
I can tolerate pop or soda pop or bubbly or fizzy drink, but calling soda "coke" (unless it's Coke) is outright!

 

[ford91exploder]

It's not close to the same thing. If someone paid something excessive like $100 for the mug assuming they would recoup the cost over many years then it would be a different story. The "lifetime" mugs were sold in the 90s close to 20 years ago for a little less then you would pay today for a length of stay mug. I'm pretty sure anyone who owns one got more than fair value for their purchase.

But, to be fair I would say if anyone has proof that their mug is indeed a "lifetime" mug then they should look into a class action lawsuit. I know of at least 1 case where a local gym sold a lifetime membership with the annual fee locked in at a very low rate and that gym was later bought by Bally Total Fitness. A court ruled Bally had to honor the lifetime low membership fee. The key is having some form of documented proof that it was sold as lifetime refills. Saying CM Joe at the All Star Sports food court told me it was free refills for life isn't going to hold up in court. If they subpoena Disney's records they can probably find the exact dates Disney sold lifetime mugs.

It's printed right on the mug

 

[flynnibus]

I don't want to read 7 pages about Soda. But has it been talked about that almost everywhere you go in the country where the Soda machine is out in public and not behind the counter they expect you to get free refills. Why does Disney not expect people to think this way?

Because people shouldn't and generally don't expect 'free refills' just because the machine is there. This is the classic 'well they didn't stop me...' entitlement attitude. "there was no sign saying I COULDN'T just take the apple...'

 

[ford91exploder]

Back several years ago I was at Applebee's and I asked for some more cocktail sauce, the pod they gave me was tiny. When the check came there was a $.50 charge for the extra condiment. We questioned that and asked for the manager. You could see the waiter cringe as the manager supported the corporate directive but said he would 'wave' the charge this time.

My DH was ticked by his obnoxious patronizing tenor and told him no it was fine, we will pay the $.50 but we would not be back. And we were not. The three Applebees by us are now gone. Gee wonder why. People don't put up with this kinda crud.

Precisely

 

[ford91exploder]

After the kinks are worked out, they will roll out the Quik Condiments program allowing each guest up to 4 little paper ketchup cups per day for every night you stay at a DisneyParks resort. However, mustard will count as 2 of your condiment credits.

Yep and a salt will count for all of them

 

[ford91exploder]

NOOO!!!
I can tolerate pop or soda pop or bubbly or fizzy drink, but calling soda "coke" (unless it's Coke) is outright!

Tonic if you are from New England. On the RancidFill program you could have system dispense Beverly...

 

[fbb]

Agreed. Raise all rooms $5 and no one will even notice.

They'll raise room rates irrespective of whatever happens with the coke machines.

 

[71jason]

The situation is nothing alike except both being counter service

1) You don't tend to pass through burger king on your way to and from your bedroom every day
2) Scale
3) Existing design/layout

I've seen plenty of self-serve units in places that see far more traffic than a tucked-away quick-serve in a hotel. E.g. Turnpike rest stops, Union Station McDonalds. And those that choose to enforce don't use 5-cent stickers, they use common sense and observation.

 

[pax_65]

It's printed right on the mug

Do you have one of these? Can you post a photo? I'd love to see it. I have mugs from just about every year from '91-2000... they are resort-specific from different resorts but none of them are "lifetime" mugs.

This was the first year we didn't get the mugs. But that was more because of the price increase than the changes to how the program works. Ironic because I was complaining about the abuse for years (crazy to see people filling up pitchers with soda). But I wouldn't have a problem with just making soda "free" to all resort guests and just putting the $ in the cost of the room. But I'm sure that will never happen.

 

[englanddg]

Do you have one of these? Can you post a photo? I'd love to see it. I have mugs from just about every year from '91-2000... they are resort-specific from different resorts but none of them are "lifetime" mugs.

This was the first year we didn't get the mugs. But that was more because of the price increase than the changes to how the program works. Ironic because I was complaining about the abuse for years (crazy to see people filling up pitchers with soda). But I wouldn't have a problem with just making soda "free" to all resort guests and just putting the $ in the cost of the room. But I'm sure that will never happen.

That's part of the issue. I'm quite sure the program existed (makes too much sense), but no one can provide any photographic or other proof it ever did.

In any case...this is a stupid "solution" to the "problem"...