Yes. Soda costs McDonald’s less than half a penny per ounce and they charge upwards of $3.50 for a large cup. It’s almost all profit. The ice probably costs more than the soda.
You can buy a fountain drink and can do your own free refills at most fast food places like McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Wendy’s, etc.
Some persons will be unethical and request a free water cup, and later on fill it with soda when no one is looking. Depending on your perspective, this is immoral, but of course it doesn’t hurt the store’s profitability since not everyone does that. I personally don’t do that.
Some fast food chains are removing access to the fountain drinks to discourage that behavior and shift the blame to customers - “bad customers steal drinks, so you’ll all be punished and have to wait in line to get a refill.”
The real objective is that companies can take more profits by “having” free refills, but making it “more inconvenient” to get it. On a busy day with your family at a fast food restaurant when the lines are long, how many will take extra time to wait in line for a refill? More profits in the hands of the owners.
Yeah, you’re not really paying for the soda. You’re paying for the labor that goes into providing the service, maintaining the equipment, etc. Oh, and the paper cup which probably cost more than the liquid you put in it. The high margin on things like soda also subsidizes the cost on lower margin food items.
The true value of soda is also somewhat obfuscated by the fact that most people’s point of comparison is packaged soda. A bottle you buy at the store also didn’t necessarily cost a lot to make, but actually distributing pre-made soda to retailers is a lot more expensive than shipping syrup which can be mixed with water on-site. That added cost is built into the price of packaged soda.
When I worked fast food, the cup was about 10x more expensive than the contents of said cup. Since nobody will fill their cup 10x, the cost of the drink is negligent.
It always amazes me that in the USA you can go and get a free refill at McDonald’s. Like you can get unlimited soda just by buying a cup?
Yes. Soda costs McDonald’s less than half a penny per ounce and they charge upwards of $3.50 for a large cup. It’s almost all profit. The ice probably costs more than the soda.
You can buy a fountain drink and can do your own free refills at most fast food places like McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Wendy’s, etc.
Some persons will be unethical and request a free water cup, and later on fill it with soda when no one is looking. Depending on your perspective, this is immoral, but of course it doesn’t hurt the store’s profitability since not everyone does that. I personally don’t do that.
Some fast food chains are removing access to the fountain drinks to discourage that behavior and shift the blame to customers - “bad customers steal drinks, so you’ll all be punished and have to wait in line to get a refill.”
The real objective is that companies can take more profits by “having” free refills, but making it “more inconvenient” to get it. On a busy day with your family at a fast food restaurant when the lines are long, how many will take extra time to wait in line for a refill? More profits in the hands of the owners.
I mean it costs the company ~10¢ per cup and they charge ~$2-$3 for the cup so I’d damn well better be able to refill it for free
Yeah, you’re not really paying for the soda. You’re paying for the labor that goes into providing the service, maintaining the equipment, etc. Oh, and the paper cup which probably cost more than the liquid you put in it. The high margin on things like soda also subsidizes the cost on lower margin food items.
The true value of soda is also somewhat obfuscated by the fact that most people’s point of comparison is packaged soda. A bottle you buy at the store also didn’t necessarily cost a lot to make, but actually distributing pre-made soda to retailers is a lot more expensive than shipping syrup which can be mixed with water on-site. That added cost is built into the price of packaged soda.
When I worked fast food, the cup was about 10x more expensive than the contents of said cup. Since nobody will fill their cup 10x, the cost of the drink is negligent.