COMMUNITY : FORUMS : FOOD


Too Short for an Instructable- free water

A friend showed me this trick at Safeway. If you are thirsty, but either 1) Don't have money on you or 2) Don't want to buy a whole bottle just for a few sips, most food stores are required to give free water to anyone who asks. There will be no signs advertising this fact. Simply walk up to the counter (we did this at a small Starbucks stand by the bakery) and politely ask for a drink of water. My friend received a clear plastic cup filled with water and ice, no charge. Then I walked up and bought a Dr. Pepper, not free of charge.

sort by: active | newest | oldest
Doctor What says: Jun 16, 2008. 5:32 PM
Yeah, but water doesn't taste good. Maybe if they did that with tea.
Spl1nt3rC3ll (author) in reply to Doctor WhatJun 16, 2008. 5:43 PM
Yeah, but water doesn't taste good.

So I'm not the only one to think that! It has a bad aftertaste. Hot water smells terrible.
Weissensteinburg in reply to Spl1nt3rC3llJul 29, 2008. 12:21 PM
Warm water is the worst.
Keith-Kid in reply to WeissensteinburgJul 29, 2008. 12:35 PM
Coca-cola thats been in the car, for 3 hours in day. It burned my throat!!!
Weissensteinburg in reply to Keith-KidJul 29, 2008. 12:36 PM
Ugh..that sounds horrible. I'm not a big fan of soda in the first place...but hot soda? Blech!
Keith-Kid in reply to WeissensteinburgJul 29, 2008. 12:38 PM
Worst part is, that burning sensation stays for hours, and you cant taste anything!!!
tomonto in reply to Keith-KidJul 29, 2008. 12:40 PM
Ive felt that before only.... it kinda felt good......
Weissensteinburg in reply to tomontoJul 29, 2008. 12:42 PM
I bet you'd like vodka.
Keith-Kid in reply to tomontoJul 29, 2008. 12:42 PM
Then its settled. You're stupid.
tomonto in reply to Keith-KidJul 29, 2008. 12:44 PM
me or weiss?
Weissensteinburg in reply to tomontoJul 29, 2008. 12:46 PM
You...his comment was a reply to you liking the feeling.
tomonto in reply to WeissensteinburgJul 29, 2008. 12:47 PM
oh then

*sob* *sob* *sob* *sob*
Weissensteinburg in reply to Keith-KidJul 29, 2008. 12:39 PM
Hours? Really?
Keith-Kid in reply to WeissensteinburgJul 29, 2008. 12:40 PM
You really ARE trying to fill the forum!!!
Weissensteinburg in reply to Keith-KidJul 29, 2008. 12:40 PM
How'd you guess?
Sunbanks in reply to Spl1nt3rC3llJul 28, 2008. 9:31 PM
I hate the water we have, I'm drinking it right now and it tastes absolutely terrible.
killerjackalope in reply to Spl1nt3rC3llJul 23, 2008. 3:57 AM
Interesting fact... When i was camping up at the reservoir I just got all the fresh water out of it, clean rivers and lakes up that way, gave it a quick filter since the land around is peat, it smelled normal when boiling it, not al stinky like tap water, it also tasted good, like LIDL's Saskie Quelle water...
Doctor What in reply to Spl1nt3rC3llJun 16, 2008. 5:47 PM
I don't sniff hot water often, but it does smell pretty rank.
xACIDITYx says: Jul 22, 2008. 2:55 PM
Aren't they legally obligated to do this? I always wondered...
Weissensteinburg in reply to xACIDITYxJul 28, 2008. 8:53 PM
I don't think there's any reason for them not to, it's practically free for them, and refusing you could cause the lost of a customer.
DJ Radio says: Jul 22, 2008. 10:27 PM
meh
Spl1nt3rC3ll (author) in reply to DJ RadioJul 23, 2008. 12:47 AM
?
Spl1nt3rC3ll (author) in reply to Spl1nt3rC3llJul 25, 2008. 11:34 PM
Do you find something wrong with this?
tomonto in reply to Spl1nt3rC3llJul 28, 2008. 9:18 PM
the coolz from within him is arising once again....
Kiteman says: Jun 11, 2008. 3:54 PM
Anywhere that sells food to be eaten right away (cafes, take-aways, restaurants) is supposed to supply tap-water for free. If they charge "for the cup", take your own cup (use a battered tin cup, so it rattles when you use it, and is obviously not one of the venue's own), or ask firmly to speak to "the manager, not a supervisor, the manager that decided to charge for something that is free".
nerdnurture in reply to KitemanJun 22, 2008. 7:32 PM
YES! Water should be free! That's my own personal soap box, right there, that is. Check it out! :-)
Big Bwana in reply to nerdnurtureJun 30, 2008. 11:10 PM
It is free, even the water in the coke product desani, it's totally free, you just pay for processing, filtering and the bottle to a total of $1.29 to $2.49 for 591 mL of water depending on were you get it ..... And we though gas was expensive....
Weissensteinburg in reply to Big BwanaJul 28, 2008. 8:55 PM
You also pay for the delivery...if you wanted to go down to the river, you could drink to your heart's content.
ledzep567 says: Jun 14, 2008. 7:23 PM
at some(most unless lots of people do this) you can bring your own container and ask how much it would be to fill it up with slushie(only slushy because sodas are corporate products) and they will normally charge you like a buck to fill it up.
killerjackalope in reply to ledzep567Jul 23, 2008. 3:59 AM
Yeah we did that after having the same idea of bringing our big jugs to the bar with us... (look at avatar for the rest of the explanation...) On another note they charged us £4.00 for 4 Pints...
TheDeadChemist says: Jul 22, 2008. 9:32 PM
I am not sure.....
Spl1nt3rC3ll (author) in reply to TheDeadChemistJul 23, 2008. 12:47 AM
About what?
woofboy111 says: Jul 12, 2008. 12:58 PM
A local Subway store actually refused to give me a cup of water a while back. I bought a footlong sandwich, and I asked for a cup of water to go with it. I was told that they are no longer allowed to give water cups out, and I would need to buy a bottled water. My response was that I would go get the bottle of water that was in my car and drink that, and I was then told that I couldn't bring in outside food or drinks. I haven't been back to that subway since...
AnarchistAsian says: Jul 6, 2008. 3:09 AM
hmmm... i thought it was called a drinking fountain
Big Bwana in reply to AnarchistAsianJul 7, 2008. 9:05 PM
Yep and don't tell the dog but it's really a toilet....lol
KentsOkay says: Jun 30, 2008. 10:51 PM
Muahhaa.... This gives me a ruddy brilliant video idea...
poiu12340 says: Jun 27, 2008. 6:59 AM
:-)(-: Great idea I'm going to try it. :-| |-: :-( )-:
Brennn10 says: Jun 11, 2008. 3:29 PM
This trick didn't work at an AMC Movie Theater. My friend went up to the counter, not wanting a soda. So he asked for a cup of water, and they ended up charging him for it. The lady at the counter said that they charge for the cup; not for the water. I wasn't really surprised because this was the same theater which has mice running around the seats, and major food and sanitary violations.
dsman195276 in reply to Brennn10Jun 14, 2008. 5:27 PM
how are they not shut down?
Brennn10 in reply to dsman195276Jun 14, 2008. 6:13 PM
I guess they were threatened to be shut down if they didn't shape up.
dsman195276 in reply to Brennn10Jun 14, 2008. 6:46 PM
well, thats good news. i would not want to go to a movie theater like that anyway. the one by me has outrageous prices though. it's 4.00$ for a half empty thing of candy.
Spl1nt3rC3ll (author) in reply to dsman195276Jun 16, 2008. 5:51 PM
Reminds me of my old movie theater. Outrageous prices for burnt popcorn and watery drinks. Half the time something didn't work (audio, screen blackouts, air conditioning, etc). It got replaced by a much better one. Everyone is so happy. :)
GorillazMiko says: Jun 14, 2008. 10:29 PM
This always works. Ask for a cup of water, get soda, wrap it in a napkin. Or get water. Whatever. :P
guyfrom7up says: Jun 14, 2008. 6:32 PM
ask for tap water
Pro

Get More Out of Instructables

Already have an Account?

close

PDF Downloads
As a Pro member, you will gain access to download any Instructable in the PDF format. You also have the ability to customize your PDF download.

Upgrade to Pro today!