Some little things at the MK

[Wildflower]

Was the OP making a purchase at the same time? Maybe that is the issue, that you wanted 1 water with your 1 drink, whereas just walking in and asking for nothing but tap water was a different thing?[/QUOTE]
Yeah OP said he bought latte / waiting 20mins... a cup of water in addition should not have been an issue at that point you'd think

 

[Brad Bishop]

They do this at Disneyland and IT ANNOYS THE CARP OUT OF ME. Stop reminding a once in a while visitor from out of state that passholders get all these benefits. Passholders should know to ask. Hearing it EVERY TIME you pay for something gets really old.

I could see that point of view.

My main gripe with WDW is how, and they really have gotten better with this, APs aren't a universal discount. If my AP gets me 10% off then it really ought to get me 10% off everywhere:
- street vendors
- dining
- gift shops

Of course, they play the game with dining so you really can't do this (you have to pay extra for a Tables in Wonderland card). I'm just saying that Dollywood handles this far better. Still, it's better at WDW than it was 2 or so years ago where your AP got you all sorts of discounts... but they were always somewhere else (I finally gave up asking).

 

[PhotoDave219]

It's WATER people.

If you are trying to split a hair on this one? I'm not even going to dignify you with a response.

It's water. It's essential in an environment that averages 11,000,000,000° in the middle of the summer.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I'm disappointed that you are missing the big picture here… It's a cup of water. It's not costing anybody anything. The mere principle of the matter is the issue.

Unfortunately Dave, I am disappointed the so many people are unwilling to realize the this is an expense to the store. Cup's are not free, Freezing water is not free and the time that an employee is having to take care of that freebee adds up especially when you figure how many people are there that could possibly all of a sudden get thirsty.

The water is fairly cheap the rest adds up quickly, but, for a place like Starbucks it takes help away from helping a paying customer to give money away to a non-customer. Let's say that you are on the job taking pictures of something to sell to a magazine, newspaper... whatever! During that time large groups of people keep coming up to you and asking if you will use their camera to take their picture. You say OK, it doesn't cost you anything to take a picture. Then someone else sees you do that for them and comes up and asks you if you would take their picture. The first thing you know you have done nothing but take free pictures and didn't have time to earn your own livelihood. Now add to that the concept that someone wants you to take their picture with your camera. What do you say to them? I think you would say that you are a professional photographer and you make your living selling other people pictures, not giving them away. Well, you already have the camera, what's the big deal, it will only take a second and it won't cost you anything, except of course the film in the camera and the chemicals to develop them.

In a different but the same sense, if you own a store and you make your living selling beverages, why would it be expected that you not only give away your resources but also miss out on the chance of selling that person a drink instead of giving them one. Disney has something to gain by doing that, Starbucks would not. Those loyal to Starbucks will remain so, those that wanted the free stuff were no loss to Starbucks.

 

[DisneyGentleman]

Unfortunately Dave, I am disappointed the so many people are unwilling to realize the this is an expense to the store. Cup's are not free, Freezing water is not free and the time that an employee is having to take care of that freebee adds up especially when you figure how many people are there that could possibly all of a sudden get thirsty.

Of course we typically don't pay $100 to get into the store...

 

[PhotoDave219]

Unfortunately Dave, I am disappointed the so many people are unwilling to realize the this is an expense to the store. Cup's are not free, Freezing water is not free and the time that an employee is having to take care of that freebee adds up especially when you figure how many people are there that could possibly all of a sudden get thirsty.

The water is fairly cheap the rest adds up quickly, but, for a place like Starbucks it takes help away from helping a paying customer to give money away to a non-customer. Let's say that you are on the job taking pictures of something to sell to a magazine, newspaper... whatever! During that time large groups of people keep coming up to you and asking if you will use their camera to take their picture. You say OK, it doesn't cost you anything to take a picture. Then someone else sees you do that for them and comes up and asks you if you would take their picture. The first thing you know you have done nothing but take free pictures and didn't have time to earn your own livelihood. Now add to that the concept that someone wants you to take their picture with your camera. What do you say to them? I think you would say that you are a professional photographer and you make your living selling other people pictures, not giving them away. Well, you already have the camera, what's the big deal, it will only take a second and it won't cost you anything, except of course the film in the camera and the chemicals to develop them.

In a different but the same sense, if you own a store and you make your living selling beverages, why would it be expected that you not only give away your resources but also miss out on the chance of selling that person a drink instead of giving them one. Disney has something to gain by doing that, Starbucks would not. Those loyal to Starbucks will remain so, those that wanted the free stuff were no loss to Starbucks.

Apples and oranges.....

If a Guest Service Manager argues about water, then all is lost. Its the same water people can get out of a water fountain (albeit better tasting). A paper cup is a paper cup. I view it as a cost of doing business.

Disney wouldnt have done this crapola 10 years ago.

 

[tissandtully]

Apples and oranges.....

If a Guest Service Manager argues about water, then all is lost. Its the same water people can get out of a water fountain (albeit better tasting). A paper cup is a paper cup. I view it as a cost of doing business.

Disney wouldnt have done this crapola 10 years ago.

I worked at Universal when IOA opened and our policy was to give out as much water as was needed.... FWIW if anyone is keeping track, Brazilians love free water.

 

[Incomudro]

It's also a matter of time.
People mobbing Starbucks for free water takes time away from paying customers who want their coffee an want to get out.
By the way, I personally have never dreamed of asking for water anywhere but at a sit down restaurant where a waiter was pouring.

 

[tissandtully]

By the way, I personally have never dreamed of asking for water anywhere but at a sit down restaurant where a waiter was pouring.

Then frankly, you're getting ripped off.

Also, at a place like WDW, every customer counts, it would be like asking a CM for directions would be uncalled for as it takes up time, you paid $100 to get in, you don't have to worry about their time.

 

[PhotoDave219]

It's also a matter of time.
People mobbing Starbucks for free water takes time away from paying customers who want their coffee an want to get out.
By the way, I personally have never dreamed of asking for water anywhere but at a sit down restaurant where a waiter was pouring.

People mob starbucks in general.

Someone looking for a cup of water is not going to stand in those 20 minute long lines - they manipulate the machine that keeps track of a guest's wait to make those lines appear shorter. But no one in their right mind is going to stand in that line for water only.

I can't believe some of you people are defending a company for being stingy about water.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Apples and oranges.....

If a Guest Service Manager argues about water, then all is lost. Its the same water people can get out of a water fountain (albeit better tasting). A paper cup is a paper cup. I view it as a cost of doing business.

Disney wouldnt have done this crapola 10 years ago.

Disney didn't do it this time from what I can tell. And I'm sorry that you don't see the connection, but to me it is exactly the same thing that I connected to what you do for a living. Just different materials. If it was just about the water, I would completely agree with you. But it is about the water, the cup, the ice and the service required to give that to someone that doesn't think that they should be required to pay for their own free standing refreshments. It's easy to be judgmental if they are not taking up your time and materials when you are trying to make a living and run a business.

 

[tissandtully]

Disney didn't do it this time from what I can tell. And I'm sorry that you don't see the connection, but to me it is exactly the same thing that I connected to what you do for a living. Just different materials. If it was just about the water, I would completely agree with you. But it is about the water, the cup, the ice and the service required to give that to someone that doesn't think that they should be required to pay for their own free standing refreshments. It's easy to be judgmental if they are not taking up your time and materials when you are trying to make a living and run a business.

I can't believe we're thinking that free water is somehow going to hurt WDW's bottom line, and FWIW that Starbucks is owned and managed by Disney. It's the same way at Universal.

 

[Figment2005]

I worked at Universal when IOA opened and our policy was to give out as much water as was needed.... FWIW if anyone is keeping track, Brazilians love free water.

It isn't a matter of the manager not giving the water, its a matter of the manager wanting to give the water in the water cup instead of a larger soda cup. The water cups are not tracked, but the soda cups are. If a vendor gives out a soda cup with water then it will throw off the count at the end of the day. This could lead to management wondering if free sodas were given out. That is the reason, the only reason, why they would argue that point. If you want an ice water, fine, have an ice water, but don't complain when it isn't in the cup you want.

 

[tissandtully]

It isn't a matter of the manager not giving the water, its a matter of the manager wanting to give the water in the water cup instead of a larger soda cup. The water cups are not tracked, but the soda cups are. If a vendor gives out a soda cup with water then it will throw off the count at the end of the day. This could lead to management wondering if free sodas were given out. That is the reason, the only reason, why they would argue that point. If you want an ice water, fine, have an ice water, but don't complain when it isn't in the cup you want.

Not sure if you've been through CM or TM training, but it's encouraged to be empowered to give free sodas / water, I never had cups counted, so not sure where you're getting that from.

 

[NearTheEars]

I've just gotten into the habit of asking for two cups every time. If they are the big cups, fantastic.

 

[PhotoDave219]

I worked at Universal when IOA opened and our policy was to give out as much water as was needed.... FWIW if anyone is keeping track, Brazilians love free water.

Brazillians love free everything.

Disney didn't do it this time from what I can tell. And I'm sorry that you don't see the connection, but to me it is exactly the same thing that I connected to what you do for a living. Just different materials. If it was just about the water, I would completely agree with you. But it is about the water, the cup, the ice and the service required to give that to someone that doesn't think that they should be required to pay for their own free standing refreshments. It's easy to be judgmental if they are not taking up your time and materials when you are trying to make a living and run a business.

Its my understanding that Disney operates, runs, manages, sets policies for, finances, budgets and provides labor for the in-park Starbucks locations.

That being said,.for a company that earns record profits, record stock price, etc., they can afford the guest service.

I am highly critical about these locations inability to properly serve or manage a line. Why on earth is the Epcot location closing half the store at 530 when its 48 degrees out and the entire park is running there to buy a hot beverage? Do labor managers not look at a weather forecast?

 

[mgf]

When I waited tables, we were told that a cup of water cost the restaurant 13 cents from start to finish. Items included in this calculation included the water, ice, straw, lemon wedge, and the cost of washing it. Disney skips the lemon and the washing but adds in the disposable cup and lid --- which when bought in the quantities Disney buys have to come out to fractions of pennies.

In the US, free water is expected. It IS the cost of doing business if you care about customer service. Dave is right. If Disney is clutching pearls about tap water, they have completely lost their service brand.

 

[BoarderPhreak]

The way I see it is this. You pay $100 to get into the joint. If you want a cup of water, you should get one. Doesn't mean an establishment has to advertise it, but it also shouldn't fight it. If they don't like it, let them make a policy that they only sell water (or whatever).

 

[Jon81uk]

The way I see it is this. You pay $100 to get into the joint. If you want a cup of water, you should get one. Doesn't mean an establishment has to advertise it, but it also shouldn't fight it. If they don't like it, let them make a policy that they only sell water (or whatever).

But they also provide many water fountains around the parks. I would only ask for tap water in a restaurant (table or counter service) if I was ordering other food and drink at the same time.

 

[Hakunamatata]

Hot or cold, rain or shine, box or just a cup, there is a cost associated with providing a service. Nothing is free.