£1 for a pint of tapwater?

[El Salsero Gringo]

Just wondering how the votes stack up on this issue. Ashtons is a case in point, but the question could apply anywhere.

[David Bailey]

Originally Posted by El Salsero Gringo

Ashtons is a case in point

Mainly because the Ashtons Management are the most an*l about this issue of any venue I've ever seen.

Many (most?) venues I've been to say that you're not supposed to bring your own drinks, but they're pretty relaxed about bottles of water. Hipsters, Hammersmith, Casbah, etc.

Ashtons is the only place I know where this is policed, and where your drink can be confiscated and you can be banned for daring to sneak in a bottle of water.

It may be because Ashtons is a "proper club", the others are "just halls". But they're far and away the worst in this respect.

[Tiggerbabe]

Maybe it's because the only way they get to keep the venue is if the bar makes some money.
Would it be better if they only sold bottled water? Must admit I'm not partial to drinking warm water *yeuch*

[ducasi]

Originally Posted by Tiggerbabe

Would it be better if they only sold bottled water? Must admit I'm not partial to drinking warm water *yeuch*

With Jumpin' Jak's in Glasgow giving you the choice of tepid water by the half-pint or bottled water for £2 per 500ml, I've realised that most people bring their own.

Who could blame them? I've joined them.

(Can't help wondering why the company that owns Jumpin' Jak's is in financial difficulties... )

[LMC]

Originally Posted by Tiggerbabe

Would it be better if they only sold bottled water? Must admit I'm not partial to drinking warm water *yeuch*

I started on bottled water on Friday for that reason - but after 4 x 330 ml bottles at £1.20 each in the first couple of hours ........
(and I would probably have drunk double that if we hadn't been based miles away from the bar!)

As ESG said on the other thread it *would* cost Ashtons less to keep the bar closed and allow people to BYO - they wouldn't be paying bar staff for a start.

[Tiggerbabe]

Originally Posted by ducasi

tepid water by the half-pint or bottled water for £2 per 500ml, I've realised that most people bring their own.

I'm intrigued as to how they manage to keep their own bottle of water colder than the free water offered..........(other than freezing it before you go dancing).

[ducasi]

Originally Posted by Tiggerbabe

I'm intrigued as to how they manage to keep their own bottle of water colder than the free water offered..........(other than freezing it before you go dancing).

You got it in one!

Last week I stuck my water in the freezer for an hour or two before coming out.

So your bottled water starts out very cold, and even if it warms up by the end of the night, it's still better than bothering with a bar man who appears to hold you in utter contempt.

[JoC]

Originally Posted by Tiggerbabe

Would it be better if they only sold bottled water?

I have to drag environment in here...add up all the bottles from one venue in one night (where bottles is the only choice), then multiply by 'x' number of venues for 'x' number of nights over a year. That's a horrendous volume of plastic waste per year and I have my doubts as to whether many venues bother recycling. In terms of sustainability I have to support tap water remaining an option where possible.

However if bottles are the only option... How about selling 2 litre bottles of water? And personally i'm not fussed about mineral water brand names (especially knowing where some brands of mineral water come from) so it could be Tesco value table water for all I care. If the venue had a cheap source of bottled water, they could still have their mark-up for profit and yet keep the prices nice and cheap for the punters, for what is essentially, an essential.

[Lynn]

I like to bring my own water everywhere. In hot weather I would freeze it/chill it to keep it cool - you can also get little bottle 'chill bags' that zip round a small bottle.

But I don't bring a big 2 litre bottle, just a small one. If dancing I would always be drinking more than that. If no free water I would buy a soft drink. If there is free water I would probably still buy a soft drink but would also refill my bottle - but that's because when you look at a table with six identical glasses of water, how do you remember which is yours? Having your own bottle is much easier to identify, or even keep in your shoe bag so that no-one accidentally thinks its theirs.

[Tiggerbabe]

Originally Posted by JoC

I have to support tap water remaining an option where possible.

Thanks Jo, it really was a question as to whether people would prefer only bottled water to be available, than have to pay for tap water.

[JoC]

Originally Posted by Tiggerbabe

Thanks Jo, it really was a question as to whether people would prefer only bottled water to be available, than have to pay for tap water.

Yes sorry Sheena I'm just having a flush of environmental principles. Regardless of whether you have to pay for tap water or not, I'd still make the same argument for not having a 'bottled only' option where you have the facilities to make it a choice. Every little helps.

I've just been collecting plastic bottles for recycling from home this afternoon and I'm really really fed up with myself for using as many as I do . Can you tell I've got a thing about plastic bottles?

(Oh no, I've revealed my kryptonite, woops!)

*trails off with birch twigs in hand...again*

[Gadget]

I tend to keep a bottle of water in the car for the journey home, but at the venues I really should drink more.
I have also been known to go to the toilet purley to blot my face and scoof some water from my hands out of the sink taps - probably from some infested tank on the roof, but at that point in the vening I can rarely be bothered queing at the bar or hunting out my wallet to but some drink.

Oh, I've also seen some places charging £3.00 for a can of coke. That I find hard to justify.

[MartinHarper]

Originally Posted by JoC

Yes sorry Sheena I'm just having a flush of environmental principles.

Nod.
It's not just the plastic waste that bottled water creates. There's also the environmental impact of transporting all these truckfulls of bottled water around the place, burning up petrol as they do it. If I care the slightest amount about the environment, there's no way I should be choosing bottled water over tap water, at least in the UK.

[Lucy Locket]

i use the same plastic bottle over & over again, why don't you lot take the empty one home & refill it for next time or keep one in your car & keep another in the fridge & use one to water your plants. we have recyling box collection & spare ones go there.

[Scarlet O Hara]

I think tap water should be free, but i am happy to pay a small charge for the use of a glass. Tuesday at Peterculter charges 20p half pint and 40p a pint i think this is fair, they do have to collect the glasses and wash them after use.

Another point if people hold back drinking because of the cost we could have ill dancers especially in this hot weather, i passed out myself at a hot workshop when i hadn't drunk enough.

[Tessalicious]

Originally Posted by NewKid

As ESG said on the other thread it *would* cost Ashtons less to keep the bar closed and allow people to BYO - they wouldn't be paying bar staff for a start.

...which in my opinion would improve the atmosphere of Ashtons considerably, since the bar staff there are so consistently rude (like they're doing you a favour, and putting themselves at considerable inconvenience, by charging you £1 for a warm glass of tap water)!

But, for the benefit of those dancers who like the presence of the bar at such venues due to the better choice of drinks, this and the quality of the venue have to be paid for somehow and a small cover charge for water is the most obvious solution, even though I agree that £1 every time is excessive. I have noticed though, they don't seem to object to how much ice you use, even though that's more expensive for them to provide (one of these days I'm going to just ask for an empty glass which they can't possibly charge me for and then let them watch as I fill it up with ice from the counter... free cold tap water! ).

[bobgadjet]

I pointed out to the staff at one venue that wanted £2.40 a litre (which is not too bad) that I had just filled my car with petrol, at only 83p per litre, and you cant run a car on water, to which she replied..... Have you ever tried drinking petrol ?

Anyway, back to the thread.......
There ARE other venues where "outside" drinks are policed, and there are other reasons than "just being a club"

Having used many halls in the past where few of the "dancers" of ANY dance form, drink enough for the venue to warrant running a bar, it then becomes a part of the renters contract that NO outside drinks are allowed to be brought in. If they catch continued violation of their "contract", they stand to lose the use of the hall.

This is particularly relevant where the hall is a licenced club, or indeed just a licenced premises.

So think again when you sneak your drink in..... it may well be the end of your dancing at that venue.

Whilst I fully understand the reasons behind charging ANYTHING for "TAP" water, I by no means think it is fair to charge for tap water.

In a venue I used to use they decided NOT to sell or supply tap water at all, stating their reason that they could not guarantee the quality. I found this a fair argument also, and as they only charged a basic price for the cheap brand bottled water (as suggested previously) they had no problems, after a few weeks of notifying everybody their reasons, and people gladly paid for the bottled water.

The most I have personally been charged for water was.... are you ready for this........... £18 for 2 PINTS of bottled water, in a Mayfair restaurant.

My own personal reflection on this whole WATER subject is, that at ANY venue we seem to be at the mercy of those who want to make a huge mark up on a drink we all have taken for granted for so many years.

We have all recently been made very aware that there are in fact MILLIONS of people in certain situiations that may well be prepared (if they could only afford it) to pay anything for a bottle of uncontaminated water.

BUT

I think it would be a positive thing if there were a limit to the price of a bottle of plain bottled, so called spring, water.

I would like to see a law stating that the MAXIMUM that could be charged per litre of ordinary bottled water in a supermarket as one price, in a pub a smaybe 10% or 15% higher, and in a club, maybe a 10% higher price again, but certainly NO MORE for water than one would expect to pay for petrol.

If you have a thing about paying any price for water of any description I suggest you find a brew the venue has that they earn only a small profit on, and only buy that. Over all their income at the bar may go up, or stay the same, but their overall profit would fall, and they might just see the light.

Wishful thinking I know, but its just a suggestion.

[bobgadjet]

Originally Posted by Tessalicious

.one of these days I'm going to just ask for an empty glass which they can't possibly charge me for

Oh yes they can
If you use THEIR glass, they have the right to charge a nominal charge for handling it, ie: handing you the glass, collecting it at the end of the evening, loading the glass washer, emptying the glasswasher, reloading the glass to the shelf, etc, and ALSO paying the staff to do all that.

And what if you broke the glass ? Would you be prepared to pay for it's replacement ?

Thanks for the dance by the way

[MartinHarper]

Originally Posted by Lucy Locket

i use the same plastic bottle over & over again...

I do this, but there's a limit to how much I can do this. I might easily drink a couple of pints of water over an evening's dancing - perhaps five bottles worth. Dancing twice a week, for one year, that'd be five hundred plastic water bottles. Ok, one in the car, one in the fridge, one as a watering can.... what do I do with the other 497? Recycling is great, but not creating the waste (and the petrol pollution) in the first place is much better.

Fortunately, none of my local venues are irresponsible enough to refuse to serve tap water, whether paid or free.

Originally Posted by Tessalicious

...those dancers who like the presence of the bar at such venues due to the better choice of drinks...

Bringing my own drink provides me a better choice of drink than any bar.