It makes me furious when restaurants serve small 200ml cans as proper cold drinks. Here’s why.
I don’t take ice cubes in drinks and when I am paying full price for a drink, I expect a full glass. It makes me fume when the 200ml can doesn’t even fill half the glass, but I get charged full price for it.
And the restaurants are not consistent. If I were to order an Appletiser or a Fanta at the same place, I would get a 330ml can, but if I order a Coke Light or a Tab, I get a 200ml can. And here’s the killer – I would get charged the same for both.
It’s a bit like a restaurant bringing you half a pizza and expecting you to pay full price. It’s like saying, “Oh sorry, but the vegetarian pizza only comes in half sizes. No there’s nothing we can do about it. We’ve had lots of complaints, but there it is. Of course it’s still full price. Wouldn’t you like to order two?”
South Africans don’t complain nearly enough. They just vote with their feet. Give me a small can at full price, and I won’t be back.
Why do experienced restaurateurs pretend not know the difference between a mixer for other drinks (200ml cans) and a cold drink (330ml cans)? I am beginning to suspect that the idea behind it all is to get me to pay for two. Call me cynical, but what else is in it for them?
What’s more – I am told the big cans and the small cans cost the same. So if the price is not the consideration, could pure greed on the part of the restaurants be the reason for this sad state of affairs? Or is the customer just not important?
A quick summary for those who didn’t follow:
Does this irritate you as well?
Susan Erasmus is the deputy editor of Health24.