Free Drinking Water Spots To Be Installed In Fast Food Restaurants Nationwide

[webfact]

Free drinking spots to be installed in fast food restaurants

BANGKOK (NNT) -- The Department of Internal Trade (DIT) has said all self-service fast food restaurants nationwide will install free drinking-water dispensers for customers beginning on 28 August onwards.

DIT Director-General Watcharee Wimuktayon revealed that free drinking-water will be installed in fast food outlets such as Mcdonald's, KFC, Chester's Grill and A&W from 28 August onwards. This is to solve the problem in case they can not sell bottled water at the prices set by the Ministry of Commerce due to business reasons.

For non self-service food stores such as Pizza Hut and MK restaurants, food courts in the department stores, and general shops, the ministry will ask them call to do so as well. According to the Director, these shops have been selling bottled water at the price of 15 THB, or over, in the past 3-5 years, claiming high production cost as the reason.

The prices set By the DIT for bottled water are 7 Baht for a 500-600cc bottle, and 14 Baht for a 1,500cc one.

-- NNT 2010-08-22

[ableguy]

Believe this when I see it. more government waffle

[joboss]

Believe this when I see it. more government waffle

It is a good idea. Please make it your mission to go to these fast food resturants to check.

[CPT]

Why only fast food restaurants? While I believe it should be up to the business whether they offer that service or not, if you are going to require it, why not require it at every food service facility? What about at my local Thai owned restaurant where I don't have the choice of just buying a drink at 7?

A sit down restaurant is a bit different as you don't have a choice but for fast food? Also doesn't make much sense when it applies only to the relatively more expensive restaurants. Maybe if you can't afford to buy a drink with your Big Mac or don't like the price you should take your money and buy 4 meals for the same price just a short walk away.

Is this free water available only to customers or anybody who walks in?

[chrisinbangkok]

i would have thought it would be extremely high rents/ key money etc they would pay in these expensive shopping areas that would determine the slightly higher prices.

sounds like a good thing for the consumer, but nightmare for industry.

very grey area for the different outlets to conform or not.

nightmare to police.

be interesting to see how it turns out or not.

[wyynduff]

Why only fast food restaurants? While I believe it should be up to the business whether they offer that service or not, if you are going to require it, why not require it at every food service facility? What about at my local Thai owned restaurant where I don't have the choice of just buying a drink at 7?

A sit down restaurant is a bit different as you don't have a choice but for fast food? Also doesn't make much sense when it applies only to the relatively more expensive restaurants. Maybe if you can't afford to buy a drink with your Big Mac or don't like the price you should take your money and buy 4 meals for the same price just a short walk away.

Is this free water available only to customers or anybody who walks in?

Maybe you can walk to the fast food restaurant after you have eaten in your "local Thai owned restaurant" and get a glass there, I am sure they would not mind. After all they are there for the public good, right?

Thailand is famous for their free offers.

[koto]

i would have thought it would be extremely high rents/ key money etc they would pay in these expensive shopping areas that would determine the slightly higher prices.

sounds like a good thing for the consumer, but nightmare for industry.

very grey area for the different outlets to conform or not.

nightmare to police.

be interesting to see how it turns out or not.

one would wonder what kind of filtration one would use and how often it would be cleaned, like these free standing units, I have never seen them cleaned, just the coins removed, there should be some kind of required inspections done on these filters, if not properly taken care of, can do more harm then tap water.

[TheBarbarian]

Hypocrisy all over. Go to Bangkok International Airport and see what the countries front men are charging there for a bottle of water. (5 times the price of the mentioned companies?). It would be a good start when Suvanabhumi kicked off the installation of the dispensers.

[victor15]

Believe this when I see it. more government waffle

It is a good idea. Please make it your mission to go to these fast food resturants to check.

Many “Mum & Pop” restaurants / café’s, Big C, Carrefour & more already offer free drinking water in their restaurants / food halls, with the option to buy bottled water so this is not really something new.

[TAWP]

Indeed, if you are not afraid of local tap-water and ice in tin-mugs, then it is already free in many road-side 'restaurants'.

[sprq]

Historical note: anybody who has been here at least 25 years well remembers that water was always provided free of charge by the glass in every restaurant everywhere.

There's something for you newbies to think about.

Around 20 years ago, some places stopped the automatic glass of water and would only sell you water by the bottle, except when recalcitrants like me indignantly insisted on the free water as per since the year dot, and nearly always got it. But eventually, ss just about everywhere brought in the profiteering bottled water, by about 10 years ago, the struggle became too much for me and I just ordered the stuff, or said no drink, thanks. Interestingly, when you do the latter, sometimes the old free glass of H2O turns up. e.g. at S&P.

Now, in my experience, it's only low-end places like noodle shops that bring you free water as a matter of course, or have it on the table, but I just don't trust their offerings.

[tracer5050]

I think thats great, But if I dont know about the water , I but a bottle that i think is safe and clean.

[thaimelody]

My local KFC has always had free drinking water and the nice staff bring it round too.

[wlcart]

Read the post clearly, these food chains are offering free water so they can price their bottle water higher.

This is a pure business move. Plenty of people will buy bottle water even with free water offered. Bottled water is trendy, well marketed, and, especially in Bangkok, consumers drink it up.

Since government requires bottle water at 7 baht or face fines, and Micky D's knows they can sell it at 20 baht, even if 30% of their customers forgo the bottled water for the free crud out of the tap, they still make more money. Why charge 7 when you can charge 20?

High priced bottled water is perfect for the upward moving consumer, and in a place where status means so much, let the poor people who don't spend a lot of money drink cheap free stuff, and separate the haves from have nots by selling the well to do overprice h2o.

I was at a hotel restaurant that charged 150 baht for a small bottle of water, and people sucked them down with out thinking twice. Believe me, give away free water and plenty of people will still buy it in a bottle.

[selftaopath]

Hypocrisy all over. Go to Bangkok International Airport and see what the countries front men are charging there for a bottle of water. (5 times the price of the mentioned companies?). It would be a good start when Suvanabhumi kicked off the installation of the dispensers.

Oh how true. I walked the entire area of Thai Immigration in BKK and could not find one drop FREE drinking water. Will some drinking water be installed in ALL Thai govt. buildings?

[chmiroau]

i would have thought it would be extremely high rents/ key money etc they would pay in these expensive shopping areas that would determine the slightly higher prices.

sounds like a good thing for the consumer, but nightmare for industry.

very grey area for the different outlets to conform or not.

nightmare to police.

be interesting to see how it turns out or not.

one would wonder what kind of filtration one would use and how often it would be cleaned, like these free standing units, I have never seen them cleaned, just the coins removed, there should be some kind of required inspections done on these filters, if not properly taken care of, can do more harm then tap water.

Here here. My feeling is that this will become yet another opportunity for the bribe culture to increase its profits. Checking the maintenance is going to be the hard part of this. There should be some kind of inspection plan, but this costs money, and in business anything that puts up their running costs is always reflected in price rises in other areas of the business, have the people here not heard that there is no such thing as a free lunch.

[Thai at Heart]

Typical nonsense legislation.

"Water cannot be sold for more than 7 Baht"

"We cannot do that" say the restaurants

"You have to", say the government

"We will put in a filter, that you will never check and no one will use, and continue to sell water in bottles", say the restaurants.

"Ok" say the government

When governments get involved in legislating for this type of nonsense, it never works. The scope is too big, the outlets too numerous.

How about legislating the price of an iced coffee? How about legislating the price of a Chinese bun? Their attempts at controlling the sugar market have proven completely ineffective and serve only to hurt the lowest on the chain.

I am all for governments trying to sort things out, but this type of micro-management is IMPOSSIBLE to enforce. It doesn't go without notice that there are few massive players in the water market in Thailand, all rather well connected here and there.

How about allowing a bit more competition into this type of thing? Maybe the odd wholly owned foreign company to add a bit more competition into the market?

Will anyone really insist on tap water in the lobby of a 5 star hotel, and as far as I know, by law there have to be two bottles for free in every room in the country anyway, which is actually a nice touch.

[kuffki]

Hypocrisy all over. Go to Bangkok International Airport and see what the countries front men are charging there for a bottle of water. (5 times the price of the mentioned companies?). It would be a good start when Suvanabhumi kicked off the installation of the dispensers.

There are free water dispensers all over the airport.Perhaps you should visit it sometime

[DocHolliday]

IIRC on my last visit to Thailand I was charged the stiff price of 80 or 100 Baht for a bottle of drinking water.

That happened in a well known hotel. Govt efforts to stop such overcharging is more than appreciated

[wandrinstar]

You can bet someones brother makes the water dispensers,same as all the Laws here,family benefit from it somewhere along the line:angry:

[Piengrudee]

Free food too. Please.

[thaimelody]

Didnt i read somewhere that a country/city had banned bottled water?

[Piengrudee]

Didnt i read somewhere that a country/city had banned bottled water?

My guess is Singapore.

[Buchholz]

BANGKOK (NNT) -- The Department of Internal Trade (DIT) has said all self-service fast food restaurants nationwide will install free drinking-water dispensers for customers beginning on 28 August onwards.

Self-service?

As often Thais struggle to properly prepare even simple Western food, I've asked more than once to go behind the counter and cook my own burger at McDonalds, or fry my own chicken at KFC, or prepare my own curly fries at A & W.

Every time I've been refused entry to the food area in order to "serve" my "self."

They may be fast food, but they are not self-service.

(I'm just being facetious and pedantic, I very rarely eat at those places as its mostly distasteful slop).

[Ponbkk]

After having within the last few years been made to pay MORE than 100 baht for a pint of water at a fast food restaurant in the lower level Empire State Building, NYC because the restaurant REFUSED to serve me fresh water from the tap I can say with all assurances that it is not only Thailand that needs these 'right to water' rules enforced but shockingly in other countries as well.

[moskito]

Finally, thats a very good idea, specially for the german and frensh community, they can now sit all day and drink FREE

High production costs? Has it occured to anybody that these RESTAURANTS have to pay for Staff, Energy, Refridgerators and RENT? its rediculous how some farangs behave here. I never had a Thai guest in our restaurant complaining about 10 Baht for a cool water....ONLY Farang do, specially Switzerland, Germans and Frensh :jap:

[Piengrudee]

Drinking water comes from the tap. All restaurant should serve free.

[moskito]

Drinking water comes from the tap. All restaurant should serve free.

Thats right, you are invited to drink as much water from the tab in my Restaurant too. Btw, without any guarantee for health problems hereafter, TiT not Germany or England.

[Piengrudee]

Govt Says Tap Water Is Now Safe To Drink. If you don't believe Mark Govt, who can you believe? Thaksin?

[asiawatcher]

Free food too. Please.

You would seriously eat that rubbish? As a friend once put, fast food are weapons of mass destruction - I concur! The only good thing for it will be the free water!