“Still or sparkling?” – after a fleeting embarrassed pause you say “tap water will be fine thank you.” Sound like a familiar scenario? Well it should, it takes place in restaurants all over the world every single day.
The number of customers shying away from expensive bottled waters in restaurants are growing every day. As the global recession sets in it does make sense to drink the perfectly good water out of the tap rather than splash out on what is essentially a plastic bottle.
Research from the international charity WaterAid shows that tap water is the preferred choice for 63% of people in the UK when ordering food.
Over 23.5 million people prefer to order tap water when dining out rather than bottled. Despite these stats, one in four people said they felt pressured to order bottled water when dining out.
Interestingly it also shows that women are more likely to choose tap water, whilst men are more inclined to have bottled water with their meal.
We can make a difference
It’s no secret that third world countries have been desperate for clean water for a long time now, and a rather resourceful and forward-thinking plan is being set in place to make a difference.
A restaurant-based initiative is being launched in the UK whereby customers are offered tap water with their meals and are asked to donate a couple of pence per glass to WaterAid’s efforts to bring clean accessible water to millions of children around the world.
The Tap into WaterAid scheme sounds like an excellent idea to enjoy a glass of tap water at a restaurant “shame” free.
Doesn’t it make sense to you?