Rip off cost of water - La Tasca

spursliz

Am I alone in finding that I have been ripped off at La Tasca over a bottle of water? A friend and I met for a lovely lunch today, and asked for a jug of water. This has never been a problem before but the waiter refused to bring us a jug or even a glass but said we had to buy a bottle. He brought us a 750ml bottle, which gave us 2 glasses each, and we were stunned to find that the cost of this on the bill was a staggering £3.95. In Asda, a 1 litre bottle is 98p. Of course, make a profit, but this is profiteering and sheer ripping off the public. Anyone been charged more? Can anything be done about the price of non-alcoholic drinks?

real1314

spursliz wrote: »

Am I alone in finding that I have been ripped off at La Tasca over a bottle of water? A friend and I met for a lovely lunch today, and asked for a jug of water. This has never been a problem before but the waiter refused to bring us a jug or even a glass but said we had to buy a bottle. He brought us a 750ml bottle, which gave us 2 glasses each, and we were stunned to find that the cost of this on the bill was a staggering £3.95. In Asda, a 1 litre bottle is 98p. Of course, make a profit, but this is profiteering and sheer ripping off the public. Anyone been charged more? Can anything be done about the price of non-alcoholic drinks?

A £2.97 mark-up - that's nothing - I bought a bottle of wine in la Tasca and it was a staggering £12.95, but I could have bought the same bottle for £3.95 from Asda. that's a £9 mark up!!!! Can anything be done about the price of alcoholic drinks?

Or, to put it another way, they still had the buy the bottle, store the bottle and serve the bottle. They still had the same decor, fixtures and fittings costs, they had the same cost of glasses, tables, chairs. All those costs are identical for the 2 products.
The only difference is the stock investment of £1 versus £4, which could be treated as a cost of capital issue - at 15% interest with a turnover period of 2 months that's 2.5p on the water vs 10p on the wine.
If anything you got off lightly - it should have afforded the chain the same mark up for the same quality of value added to the purchased product. :cool:

gardner1

spursliz wrote: »

Am I alone in finding that I have been ripped off at La Tasca over a bottle of water? A friend and I met for a lovely lunch today, and asked for a jug of water. This has never been a problem before but the waiter refused to bring us a jug or even a glass but said we had to buy a bottle. He brought us a 750ml bottle, which gave us 2 glasses each, and we were stunned to find that the cost of this on the bill was a staggering £3.95. In Asda, a 1 litre bottle is 98p. Of course, make a profit, but this is profiteering and sheer ripping off the public. Anyone been charged more? Can anything be done about the price of non-alcoholic drinks?

take vat away and its about £3.15
the cola you buy in fast food takeaways and pubs costs about 10p or less but people pay £1 plus for a small glass

pogofish

You might want to check with the local council concerned - Some make the supply of free water a requirement on either planning or licensing conditions. Others don't of course.

WickedWolfie

If you are in England and Wales pogofish is wrong as it is NOT up to Councils and you were ripped off full stop!

The Home Office publication “SELLING ALCOHOL RESPONSIBLY: The New Mandatory Licensing Conditions, The Mandatory Code for Alcohol Retailers England and Wales” dated April 2010 states:

"The Licensing Act 2003 (Mandatory Licensing Conditions) Order 20101 sets out the five new conditions that will apply to all licensed premises and those with a club premises certificate.

From 6th April 2010, these conditions will:
• Ban irresponsible promotions;
• Ban the dispensing of alcohol directly into the mouth; and
• Ensure that customers have access to free tap water so that they can space out their drinks and not get too intoxicated too quickly.

From 1st October 2010, these conditions will also:
• Require an age verification policy to be in place to prevent underage sales; and
• Ensure that customers have the opportunity to choose small measures of beers, ciders, spirits and wine."

The same document states that “Schedule 4 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009 amends the Licensing Act 2003 to give the Secretary of State the power to impose up to nine mandatory licensing conditions in relation to the supply of alcohol under licence.

These new mandatory licensing conditions apply to all existing and future premises licences which authorise the supply of alcohol, and will come into force from 6th April 2010 (with two further conditions coming into force on 1st October 2010).

These conditions override any conditions already included in a premises licence or club premises certificate, so far as they are identical to the existing conditions or inconsistent with, and more onerous than, the existing conditions. The new conditions will apply to every licence and certificate authorising the sale and supply of alcohol from the point they come into force.

As the new conditions are mandatory licensing conditions, any breaches will be treated in the same way as breaches of existing conditions. Failure to comply with any conditions attached to a licence or certificate is a criminal offence, which on conviction would be punishable by a fine of up to £20,000 or up to six months imprisonment or both. In most cases, we would expect there to be a review of those premises. As these new conditions are mandatory and apply across England and Wales, we would expect Licensing Authorities to take any breach seriously.”

The document further goes on to clarify that “If you run or are responsible for an on-trade premises, such as a pub, hotel or bar, or if you run a members club then all five conditions apply to you.”

http://www.alcoholconcern.org.uk/assets/files/New mandatory licensing conditions - Home Office April 2010.pdf

I would therefore suggest a rapid complaint to La Tasca head office and if no satisfactory response is received to the local authority which licenses this restaurant.

TimBear

pogofish wrote: »

You might want to check with the local council concerned - Some make the supply of free water a requirement on either planning or licensing conditions. Others don't of course.

That would only apply for tap water, not bottled water.

I've worked in restaurants and know that the drinks is where the money is made. One bar my friend worked in bought their 'top end' champagne for £7.00 a bottle and sold it on at closer to £100.

Like another poster has said though, included in that is the cost of the service; the waiting staff, the washing of the glasses, the electricity for the fridge to cool your drink etc. etc.

McKneff

I live in North Yorkshire and only ever drink tap water.
Ive never been refused it or charged for it. 99% of the time I am
asked if I would like ice and lemon too.

greenface

TimBear wrote: »

That would only apply for tap water, not bottled water.

I've worked in restaurants and know that the drinks is where the money is made. One bar my friend worked in bought their 'top end' champagne for £7.00 a bottle and sold it on at closer to £100.

Like another poster has said though, included in that is the cost of the service; the waiting staff, the washing of the glasses, the electricity for the fridge to cool your drink etc. etc.

The OP asked for a jug of water and la tasca refused . If they wanted botled water im sure they would expect to pay . They wanted a jug they probably wanted tap . Thanks to wicked wolfie i have emailed this to myself for the future .