Drinking Problem

Most mornings I stop at a 7-11 and get a cup of coffee on my way to work. I take my own mug — refills are cheaper than buying coffee and a cup. Plus it’s more environmentally friendly [and I don't like drinking from Styrofoam, but that's another story]. I think they started that because they were selling insulated cups [which, of course, are more expensive than Styrofoam but cheaper in the long run if you reuse them]. They give you the refill price if you bring in any cup though, even if you’re reusing one of the Styrofoam cups.

I remember when fast food restaurants started moving their soda fountains out where customers could get their own drinks. Some people complained that service was already terrible and now we had to serve ourselves? I liked it though. I could put a shot of Sprite in my Coke. I didn’t have to ask to have a drink replaced because just ten seconds before the drone at the counter filled the cup with ice I told them I wanted mine with no ice. One place tried to charge a quarter for refills even after the drinks were self-serve. Yeah, right!

Anyway, a while back I was in one of these places and there were two older couples at a nearby table. I overheard one of the men say, “Drink refills are free, right? We should have gotten just one and shared it.” These people looked well-off financially so I don’t know whether he was the cheapest bastard you’d ever want to meet or if he was just making a joke. In either case, I don’t recall anyone laughing.

A few weeks ago a fast food place near my house posted this on their doors:

I didn’t ask, but apparently people were bringing in old cups, refilling them, and then leaving. [I suppose they could have been coming in for another meal and trying to reuse an old cup for free. But would stones that big fit through the door?] Hey, I know these are tough financial times but still… screwing a burger joint out of the price of a drink seems pretty drastic to me.

And then, just a few days ago when I was leaving the 7-11 I saw a man approaching the entrance. This store is in an old neighborhood and it’s not unusual for homeless people to be around there. This guy did not look well-off. When he got to the front door I saw him reach into the trashcan, remove a cup, discard the lid and remaining contents, and take it inside. And that put the refill in a completely different light for me.