In waiting rooms, are refreshments supposed to be free if they aren't out of a vending machine ?

debodun

debodun

SF VIP
Location
way upstate in New York, USA
Do you you think it is a deceptive practice for car repair garages to put snack foods and non-vending drink machines, coffee makers or cans of soft drinks in their waiting rooms, then charge a customer if he/she takes any, especially if there is no notice posted whether the refreshments are free or not?
 

Sadly, I feel that even if you breathe the air in a repair shop, they want to charge for it. I use discount tire and their refrigerated bottled water is free to customers and soda is in a machine in the off-limits repair area. That, to me, is a service. Other places have to live with their need for repeat customers and act accordingly.
 
I go to Firestone for my inspections as here in Texas you can't renew your plates without it. Their customer waiting room is very nice with 2 kinds of coffee. Regular and decaf with sugar and creamers available. It is free and very fresh. There is a soda machine if you would rather have it but you pay for them. I enjoy the coffee as they are very good about replacing the large containers as needed and it tastes fresh.
 

I have NEVER seen a repair facility charge for drinks and snacks that were not in the vending machines. If a business I frequented did charge me for a cup of coffee from their pot... whether posted of not... I would NEVER return to that facility!
 
Only thing I ever noticed was free coffee. If they charge for something, I think there should be a sign though.
 
If there is no sign and they are in a public area I would assume that they are free. I can see where an employee/owner might say there is a charge if they felt a customer was taking unfair advantage of the things being offered but I would be amazed if they actually followed through.
 
I've never seen any car dealerships charging for snacks/coffee in their customer waiting room. But then, that's a dealership. I've been to a couple of repair shops that had coffee...with a sign near the pot, saying 25 cents, and a jar next to the pot for paying. A couple of months ago, I took our car to the dealer for a repair I was too unsure of to do myself. I was there for 2 hours, had a couple cups of great coffee, and ate about 4 delicious chocolate chip cookies...all free.
 
Yes, I think it is a deceptive practice to have something in their waiting room for sale without letting people know it's for sale. But, what else is new? lol. I recently took my car to a car wash. They had a vending machine and a soda machine in their waiting room. They also had a pot of coffee, milk, and sugar set up on a table without a sign letting customers know how much it was. There was no "FREE COFFEE" sign either. So, I just assumed it was for sale. I didn't ask them. I had my own coffee and wasn't in the mood for mind games. I never really am. lol.

I'm so tired of deceit. Are you?

Our old bank always had a free coffee table set up. They even had cookies. Damn good coffee too.
 
My wife shamed or at least had a hand in our Orthodontist not charging for coffee and cookies. They had a coffee service,hot water, tea bags. They also had a tray of store bought cookies,with a sign welcoming you to use. They also had a sign that donations were appreciated.

We have two daughters that were getting braces. Our out of pocket was about 4800 dollars apiece,with insurance kicking in a like amount.
This practice always had a full waiting room.

She told them that with the money they were making they should be ashamed and either offer it for free or out it away.

Soon after that a new sign said "With our Compliments"
 
debodun said:
Do you you think it is a deceptive practice for car repair garages to put snack foods and non-vending drink machines, coffee makers or cans of soft drinks in their waiting rooms, then charge a customer if he/she takes any, especially if there is no notice posted whether the refreshments are free or not?
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I don't hang around, if I have to hire out car repairs I'll leave it and pick the car up when it's done. Usually coffee that's free is...stale.

There have been occasions in the past, where I was stuck at an automotive repair place for awhile. If there appeared to be "refreshments" present, I asked if they were complimentary, or not.
 
debodun said:
Do you you think it is a deceptive practice for car repair garages to put snack foods and non-vending drink machines, coffee makers or cans of soft drinks in their waiting rooms, then charge a customer if he/she takes any, especially if there is no notice posted whether the refreshments are free or not?
Click to expand...


Maybe they were formerly free, but some customers were being greedy. In our hospital's cancer care center, they had to replace their Keurig with a commercial type, since people were stealing all the k-cups.
 

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