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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think I should have been able to buy half a drink??

205 replies

Edenviolet · 28/07/2015 23:44

Went out today and for a treat went to a cafe as dd1 and dd2 wanted a drink

Dd1 chose hers and dd2 decided she would like a creamy fruit type drink. Dd2 has type 1 diabetes so we went on the website to work out the carbs in a small drink, it was quite a lot so thought I'd get her half a small drink instead but this proved to be quite a problem
The first person said no when I requested exactly half of a small drink ( they could do it as all measurements are on the jugs etc). I asked why and was told 'no we can't do custom drinks" so I asked to see the manager and was told "no we can't do half" and "I don't know what to charge for half a small drink"

I suggested that perhaps half the cost of a small drink might be a good figure but was told again "no, we can't do it"
I explained again why we needed just half and said could I not just pay for a small drink but they just measure half instead. "No"again?

By this point dd2 was getting upset so I said "ok I will have a small drink and please can I have an extra cup?" To which they replied "no, just one cup" and I had had to then virtually beg for the drink to be split equally between two cups. Ridiculous

Yet again, dd has been upset and something simple like getting a drink has been complicated by diabetes and she is getting more and more negative about things due to incidents like this

Surely I should have been able to buy half a drink? Or at the very least a small one split into two cups without having to beg?!

OP posts:
Morloth · 29/07/2015 12:33

So you say 'nevermind then kids let's go some where else' getting into a situation where you are begging for something is of course going to make it more stressful for you/DD2.

I have walked out of places because they couldn't cater to my needs. It happens. It is annoying, it isn't worth this much hassle.

OnlyLovers · 29/07/2015 12:40

If they've given you a half-drink before, then that IS confusing and inconsistent and I'd write or email them.

And there should be no issue with giving you two cups. FFS.

ChocolateWombat · 29/07/2015 12:51

I really wouldn't write or email.
Even if someone has been willing to give half a drink for half price before, as a non-standard item you are absolutely not entitled to it and need to recognise that the person who did it before was just doing you a favour.

If the only conversation had been about 2 cups and they had refused, then there could be a case for a complaint (if you can really be bothered - again,sounds like wanting to make a fight out of every little thing to me) but because the conversation about 2 cups occurred AFTER and in light on the one about wanting a half price drink, I think that any moral high ground you had is lost.

As Morloth said, why make life hard? Why go somewhere where all the drinks are very sugary to begin with,limiting your choices? Why offer your child a drink that isn't suitable for them in the sizes it is sold? If this is a regular thing,why not take your own cup/measure with you? Make life easier rather than creating situations which can be antagonistic.
And the key thing in this story is to never ask for something at a lower price than the standard one - yes, ask for 2 cups or whatever, but always expect to pay the standard price. It was the money thing which created the issue for the staff and made them respond negatively.

Costacoffeeplease · 29/07/2015 13:03

I think wombat has summed it up very well

Bunnyjo · 29/07/2015 13:11

CactusAnnie I'll try not to derail the thread, but basically what happens is:

Once the product recipe has been finalised 3 samples go away for nutritional analysis. The results will be per 100 g. An average of the 3 results is calculated and this average is what goes on the packaging. A serving size set of results are also calculated and also go on the packaging data. KJ and KCal values are always rounded to the nearest 5 or 10 (I cannot remember which) for both per 100 g and per serving.

The product will then be tested periodically (every 3 months) to ensure the labelling still conforms to European Food Law.

The reasons for variance are as varied as the results we see - seasonality, accuracy of weights of ingredients within the product and factory processing all affect nutritional data.

For example a sauce has 1.2 Kg of sugar per 100 Kg batch, the sauce batch has a 72% yield and 100g of this sauce goes into the final product before it is factory baked...
There is a tolerance on the weight of the sugar in the seasoning mix, on the % yield of sauce after cooking, on 100g deposit in product and also % yield on the final product after baking. It is not too difficult to see why discrepancies can occur, and that's just for one ingredient within the product! All will subject to tolerance limits or variances!

suchafuss · 29/07/2015 13:23

Its not the same as processed sugar Morloth, its fruit sugar and yes it does have some nutritional benefit.

CloserToFiftyThanTwenty · 29/07/2015 13:26

Massive drip feed part way through that you had previously been able to buy half a drink there...

suchafuss · 29/07/2015 13:32

It is important to differentiate betweennaturally-occurring sugarsin whole foods, such as a banana or a mango, andadded sugars(sweeteners) that are added to processed foods such as candy, soft drinks, baked goods, or concentrated into sweeteners such as high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) or agave “nectar” syrup. While these sugars are identical on a molecular level – (the fructose in HFCS is the same fructose that is in a piece of fruit), the sugar that you ingest from drinking a soft drink and the sugar that you ingest from eating a bananabehave very differently in your body.

A sweet fruit, such as a banana or an apple, contains vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, protein and fiber, as well as a mixture of fructose, glucose and sucrose. The fiber in fresh fruits slow the release of sugar into your system. The vitamins, minerals and antioxidants provide necessary nutrients.

Asweetened beverage or soft drink, on the other hand, does not contain fiber or any other nutrients, so the sugar hits your blood stream rapidly, causing a sugar spike, and subsequent crash. Fruits, and smoothies, do not do this because they have fiber and other nutrients. There is hardly any nutritional value of a cookie, a chocolate bar or a can of soda. These foods provide empty calories, in that they give you a ton of sugar and/or fat, but no nutrients that your body needs.

tiggytape · 29/07/2015 13:37

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

hospitalworry · 29/07/2015 15:56

I second carbs and cals it's a great book and portable enough to take out
I think it is available as an App.
I would say that I tried to be ' perfect as possible ' with my kids and all this - they both have a difficult relationship with food. I wish I had done things differently and the diabetes clinic appointment are awful too when they become teens and it's like they are going in to be told off rather than helping them keep things relatively okay whilst living a normal teen life.

Flossieflower01 · 29/07/2015 16:26

I also have a diabetic child so do understand that aspect but the overall blood glucose control is what matters, one drink is really not going to have much impact. i have seen many of your threads and there always seems to be a simple situation with a simple solution that you have made much more complicated than it needed to be. you really aren't helping your dd to have a normal life by making things so complicated for her and making issues out of things that don't need to be issues.

AuntyMag10 · 29/07/2015 16:33

Yabu, the only person who upset your dd was you. Why did you carry on about half the drink the first time they refused? Don't you think getting the manager and repeatedly asking upset her more rather than just buying the whole drink? And why do you think that they should customize it for you, they will need to do this for everyone then.
Would you go to a restaurant, count the carbs of a sandwich and then ask for half of it Confused. Sounds like you were just being difficult to make a point and upset your dd in the process.

TattyDevine · 29/07/2015 16:38

Haven't read the replies so apologies if this has already been suggested but...

"If I can't have half a small, can I have an extra cup to pour half into?"
"No"
"Okay, give me a small drink then"

"Thank you"

"Oops, sorry, seem to have had a little accident there!"

Fucking jobsworth dickheads.

Kayden · 29/07/2015 16:41

Tatty Not convinced about who's the "fucking dickhead" in that little scenario. Shock

TattyDevine · 29/07/2015 16:43

Its pretty clear to me. Just give her half a fucking drink already.

WayneRooneysHair · 29/07/2015 16:49

Yes the employees really are dickheads for doing their jobs aren't they?

NeedsAsockamnesty · 29/07/2015 16:58

the only person who upset your dd was you. Why did you carry on about half the drink the first time they refused? Don't you think getting the manager and repeatedly asking upset her more rather than just buying the whole drink? And why do you think that they should customize it for you, they will need to do this for everyone then.
Would you go to a restaurant, count the carbs of a sandwich and then ask for half of it confused. Sounds like you were just being difficult to make a point and upset your dd in the process

They do have to make reasonable adjustments for any disabled user.

I at least twice weekly eat out with two of my children who need reasonable adjustments food wise to be made for them and I have never had an issue having these adjustments made. How hard is it to for someone to chuck half a drink down the sink or half a sandwich in the bin?

One of my kids cannot eat several items that are almost always teamed with the only thing he is able to eat outside the house and not once ever has any establishment ever had a problem accommodating him, and yep his reasonable adjustment is chucking the stuff in the bin.

MovingOnUpMovingOnOut · 29/07/2015 17:08

And why do you think that they should customize it for you, they will need to do this for everyone then.

Only if everyone is disabled and needs a reasonable adjustment.

It's one thing to suggest ways the op could make her life easier (and yeah, asking for half a very sugary drink that many of us wouldn't even entertain our 5 year olds having really wasn't it) but it's quite another to excuse the dickishness of the staff. They didn't need to make things harder but they did.

I wonder what Costa would make of this thread? I bet they would give a reasonable explanation as to why half a drink is tricky with the till but explain that offering a second cup as a reasonable adjustment would be, well, reasonable.

fabuLou · 29/07/2015 17:14

Stupid that they didn't just give you a spare cup.

I must say my loval costa is fab and have given me milk for baby's bottle more thsn once for free. Ds doesn't want a babycinno but wants the flake so dd has one and they give him a flake too!!

CaptainHolt · 29/07/2015 17:14

They do have to make reasonable adjustments for any disabled user

The reasonable adjustment that the OP was asking for was half price for half size. If she'd ordered the drink and then asked for half to be tipped out then she probably would have got it. If she'd asked for a half sized drink and offered to pay full price in recognition that you aren't really paying for the ingredients alone then she probably would have got it. I wouldn't ask for chicken satay for my peanut allergic child but just the chicken, I'm not paying for the sauce, and only 3/4 size because she isn't a big eater. I do sometimes have to ask for certain ingredients to be missed out because of allergies but I don't start off the conversation by asking for a discount.

AuntyMag10 · 29/07/2015 17:23

The op wanted a price reduction, that was the unreasonable partConfused who is she to be making such suggestions about how much she should pay. If she had bought the whole drink and asked them to tip out half then that would be fair, not want half a drink and make her own price.

TittyBiskwits · 29/07/2015 17:25

i have seen many of your threads and there always seems to be a simple situation with a simple solution that you have made much more complicated than it needed to be. you really aren't helping your dd to have a normal life by making things so complicated for her and making issues out of things that don't need to be issues.

This ^^ in spades. I have a child who is Type 1 and while I realise that your children have other health needs, it does appear from reading your previous threads, that you go out of your way to make life difficult for yourself.

Original poster
Edenviolet · 29/07/2015 17:25

If you actually read the OP you will see that the person serving us had actually said she didn't know what to charge.... I made the suggestion of half the price based on the fact last time I'd asked for half a small drink they were happy to and charged half.......

I then offered to pay full price but said I needed an extra cup and it mixed and split equally

OP posts:
NeedsAsockamnesty · 29/07/2015 17:47

I get the impression that the issue that has bugged the op more is that when she said charge me full price but provide extra cup so I can half they still created about doing it.

Sirzy · 29/07/2015 17:51

But they did provide the extra cup! I think the half drink question was what caused any issue.