Anyone else been refused tap water in restaurant

jenheiffer

warmhands.coldheart wrote: »

Look at bigger Picture.... We pay in £A in taxes etc to UK Government...... UK Government subsidies NI to the tune of £AxB ...... and trust me B is significantly more than 1 !!
Note the "SUBSIDISES"!!! i.e. we could NOT support ourselves to run this place.......

Whatever, but this thread is about tap water in restaurants/bars.

RikM

Don't the licencing rules (GB at least) require the supply of tap water on request...? I don't think that provision is in the NI version.
If so, tap water in licenced premises becomes obligatory for having a licence on the mainland, but not in NI.

Cough_Potato

If a restaurant refused to supply me with tap water I would leave. Galgorm wanted to charge for Blackcurrant and water I refused and said Tap Water would do - they give it free.

jouef

RikM wrote: »

Don't the licencing rules (GB at least) require the supply of tap water on request...? I don't think that provision is in the NI version.
If so, tap water in licenced premises becomes obligatory for having a licence on the mainland, but not in NI.

You seem correct. MSE agrees:
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/tap-water-rights

sniffles

In Scotland I have never been refused tap water.

jouef

Cough_Potato wrote: »

If a restaurant refused to supply me with tap water I would leave. Galgorm wanted to charge for Blackcurrant and water I refused and said Tap Water would do - they give it free.

Why do you expect them to give their stock and service away to you for nothing? Assuming 0.05 litre of blackcurrant at 5 pence and 49% overheads/rent (PAS average figures) on a notional soft drink turnover of £1, it would cost a pub 54p to serve you one blackcurrant drink. Or £140.94 for one serving each weekday for a year. For a conservative 9% margin they should be charging you about 59p.

Cough_Potato

I can buy a litre of Blackcurrant in supermarket for £1.00 they can buy it alot cheaper. At the prices Galgorm charge if they can't afford to give Blackcurrant (coloured water) for free then they shouldn't be in business.

jouef

Cough_Potato wrote: »

I can buy a litre of Blackcurrant in supermarket for £1.00 they can buy it alot cheaper. At the prices Galgorm charge if they can't afford to give Blackcurrant (coloured water) for free then they shouldn't be in business.

Own-brand squash is as low as 40p a litre, however the trade tends to use branded versions for better quality. The dominant wholesale brand is rare in supermarkets but two currently have it for £1.98 a litre.

You commented on the ingredient cost of 5p but do not appear to have addressed the service cost of 49p.

jouef

cantfind wrote: »

Just to say I am a member of a Social club under this Act. I am also a non drinker only have ever drunk tap water available from the club. I do however avail myself to the club in the annual club membership. I also buy snacks & occasionally buy drinks for others & bar staff from the bar. I buy bingo books & raffles to which the club also benefits from. My problem is that the club are not providing me free tap water anymore. From November they have only provided me with 1 pint of water per night. Now I thought under the new legislation that as they sell alcohol then they are duty bound to ensure that I am given water as requested under the mandatory conditions of their license. I feel that they are breaching the license.After complaining to the club they have taken a firm stance on this & will not provide me with any more despite dancing taking place on a Friday & Saturday. I then contacted my local authority on this issue & THEY ARE OF THE OPINION THAT THE CLUB IS PROVIDING ME WITH MY WATER ON REQUEST albeit 1 pint. THe also stated if everyone was like this then the club would be out of business & that the club provided bottled water. I fail to understand this when it is clearly stated in the licensing act. There is no quantity of water stated "only on request". stated in the act & I do not feel that I an being unreasonable here as I am a member of the club. Any help would be gratefully appreciated. Oh forgot to add another Licensing authority does not agree with my local one !!! I have checked 73a & section 182 of these acts.[/QUOTE

Reply: Now this thread's gone quiet again, may I attempt the first direct response to the post with which you revitalised it on 5/1/14?

Using ball-park guesswork for illustrative figures, say I join your club and pay membership, buy raffle tickets, join rounds, buy snacks and all the rest of it (assuming that's typical of most customers). Then I buy my beer, say £2.20 a pint. If I turn up three nights a week for two pints I pay about £680 a year. The trade cost of all that beer is about 40% - that's £275. The cost of serving it and accommodating me while I drink it is 49% - that's £336. The rest is profit or extra overheads. So £336 is what it costs the club to serve me, even if the beer came from the water mains for nothing. And that's also what it would cost the club to serve you two pints of water three nights a week for a year. I believe the law compels them to give free water but not free service. In order to provide a return for the club's efforts, how about, say, 9% giving around £366? That suggests a fair price for water = £1.20 a pint.

warehouse

You don't get it jouef. If myself, (and I presume thousands upon thousands of people exactly like myself), are refused tapwater than I, (and they), will never step foot in that restaurant ever again.

Is that a good way to run a business?