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Kokua Line June Watanabe |
Wasted water led to
Zippy’s 25-cent chargeQuestion: My wife and I had breakfast at Zippy's on Nimitz Highway recently. We ordered two complete breakfasts with two coffees. When I asked for a cup of water, the counterperson informed me that I must pay 25 cents per cup. I was completely shocked. I asked to speak to the restaurant manager, who confirmed the charge. He said the decision was made at the corporate level. I did not realize that Zippy's must recoup every penny possible, but to charge a customer having breakfast for a cup of water is poor business practice. Is Zippy's in such a predicament that it has to charge their customer for a cup of water?
Answer: Although economics did enter into the equation, the decision to start charging customers for a cup of water at Zippy's fast-food operations was prompted more by the observed waste of both water and cups, according to Jeanine Mamiya-Kalahiki, spokeswoman for Zippy's Restaurants.
The new 25-cent-per-cup charge, which was instituted Nov. 17, does not affect customers dining in the local chain's "wait-help" restaurants, who continue to receive water upon request at no charge, she said.
(The Board of Water Supply has reminded restaurants and bars to serve water only upon request as part of a voluntary campaign to conserve water.)
Zippy's had been providing a cup of water to customers at the fast-food counters for free for many years, and in the beginning the amount given was "not very substantial," Mamiya-Kalahiki said.
But because of the increasing number of requests, counter employees were "forced" to pre-pour cups of water because "it would get real busy, and they did not want to place a hindrance on the service to our customers."
The visibility of the cups of water led to more requests for water, and since it was "free," the number of requests has grown substantially, Mamiya-Kalahiki said.
Zippy's recently did an analysis of the amount of water it was providing through its fast-food operations and determined it was providing about 1 million cups of water each year at no charge, she said. "Although there is a concern about the increasing cost as a business expense, we were extremely concerned about the waste of water and paper cups that resulted as part of our free-water policy," she said.
The problem was, while many people drank an entire cup of water, "a significant number" took a cup but either drank little or none of the water, Mamiya-Kalahiki said.
Asked if Zippy's considered just pouring water upon request instead of pre-pouring cups, Mamiya-Kalahiki said officials did look at that alternative but decided that "it would not alleviate the problem."
They felt "it would eventually end up where the cups of water (would) get 'pre-made' by the counter person due to the high demand," she said.
"After careful consideration," Zippy's decided charging for the water would help "minimize the substantial waste of water and paper," she said. "We sincerely hope that our customers will understand the reasons for this change in policy."
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