To think this café owner is a CF...

[ooohthepriceofbutter]

...to charge £4 for 2 small bottles of water to take away?

Not a swanky brand, think plain Highland Spring in 500ml plastic bottles, and screw caps, not even sports caps. Water had been in the fridge, but it was to take away so he didn't even open the bottles, let alone provide use of glasses, ice, a table and chairs, loo etc. It's just an ordinary café, not a Michelin star restaurant.

When I politely and quietly declined it and asked for my money back, he loudly called me 'very rude' in front of other customers.

Five minutes down the road, I was able to buy exactly the same for 60p. This was out of the fridge too, in a little rural village shop, where perhaps you'd expect to pay a few pence more to help keep it going.

I wasn't rude, but was the café owner otherwise right in his pricing? AIBU to think this is CF-ery? Profiteering against walkers and tourists in this scorching hot weather?

NC as this is local to me.

I got the impression that the CF café owner wouldn't give anyone his farts for free, let alone his tap water.

Costs an arm and a leg to transport that expensive water to the back of beyond!

(being sarcastic!)

Marmite , there is a huge movement in London where cafes will fill up your water. The mayor is behind this. I have asked numerous times in various places, including airport cafes and never been refused.

That's nice vuve. I'm anti plastic bottles and tight which is why I try to take water with me wherever I go, to reduce the amount I buy, but it doesn't last long or stay cold in this hot weather so buy more drinks than usual.

However, I would feel really cheeky just going into a shop or cafe to ask for water without buying anything. Are they hoping people will stay for a meal?

Obviously any move to reduce the amount of plastic bottles used should be encouraged, but if 'too many' people do this cafes will either spend loads of time serving water to non paying customers, or people will buy food they don't want or can't afford sometimes, so they don't feel cheeky about the free water.

The OP could end up paying £5+ for a cafe sandwich, to get her free water

I know, about 10 miles in this case, Torn

Barbara, I know what you mean, there is a drive for open fountains where you can fill up, (not part of a cafe) and to be fair I am often in the cafe having a sandwich etc, and ask them to fill up my water. but on the whole I take water with me every day.

£2 for a chilled bottle of water in a cafe sounds about right. OP is being a CF, if you dont like the price then dont buy the product.

Oh it's you, Walking

That's the point- I didn't like it, so I didn't buy it. He was a CF surely because he objected to me not buying it.

in my local Cafe.. you get 2 bottles of chilled still water for £1.65... oh and you can keep the plastic bottle too

You're talking my language, Gemini

ok, ooohthepriceofbutter I should have RTFT, YANBU, he is an ass for objecting to you not buying it. My apologies.

Walking - that's OK, lass. I knew you'd come good in the end.

I buy water wholesale for my business, its got the sport tops and is 500ml, it costs me 18p per bottle, no vat, so yes - he was being a CF! I sell it at 60p which gets me plenty of profit

Kaz - at last my hero/oine turns up on the thread. That's my point, right there!

Kaz - I assume it might be slightly cheaper too with just a screw cap?

And I’m guessing that it costs Prezzo and the like even less but they sell it for £2.50.

What kind of business do you have, Kaz? I’d say that 60p is very cheap for a cafe.

It's hard to compare two businesses like this. Some businesses have refrigerators paid for by soft drinks firms under deals that require them to stock their products etc, others might only by small volumes, and choose soft drinks as high markup, whilst another shop makes their sandwiches high markup.
It is just so hard to compare small business markup. One guys rent might be twice that of another because it's in a popular village etc.

*buy. Damn phone

We didnt want a sandwich or a soft drink, we just wanted water!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But the water costs what the water costs, not what you feel is the correct price.

I get that he can charge what he wants. Some pps think it's justified, others don't. I get why some pps think it's justified, and some of that information has been enlightening, so thanks for that.

In the end, like it's his café, it's my money. I felt that the price was too much and decided not to pay it. Hopefully not many people would disagree that that's my perogative.

If it had ended there, then I probably would have left it there, chuntered to the DCs and not posted on here about it at all. Neither am I the negative review type. I've no intention of naming and shaming the business, especially when staff rely on it for jobs and income.

But it didn't end there. He loudly called me rude for not buying it, trying to embarrass me in front of other customers. That's what made me ask the question here. WIBU, as he claimed?

It's impossible to know whether it would have bothered me so much if I wasn't hot, thirsty, and returning from an A&E trip, with the DCs feeling similarly. We were probably in need of a bit of human kindness at that point, not to feel ripped off, but of course we were looking in the wrong place for kindness as a café is a business.

As we pulled up in front of the café, I realised that it's years since we were there. As I walked in, I was thinking how we must return for a meal and drinks with family and friends soon.

Of course now I don't intend to go back, and because of his rudeness he's done himself out of repeat business, and better business than 2 bottles of water. I'm sure that he wouldn't want 'the rude woman' back anyway, and like his prices that's his perogative too.

Yep. In the end he will live or die by his service and prices and he's lost a customer.

Sometimes it's right to lose a customer, but usually it's not.

I think YABU if you expect a cafe to provide water at supermarket prices. However, I don't think you are being unreasonable to decide it's too expensive and not to purchase anyway.

Cafes can sell water for the price they want, but they are doing themselves a disservice, especially nowadays where it's very competitive.

I can choose to not buy it if I don't like the price, so I don't buy it! If the shop owner thinks "don't like it piss off" then they have the wrong attitude and should try another job because the whole point is wanting to create customers and sell your products and have them happy without feeling ripped off! No think "well I can put a huge mark up on this and if they don't like it they can bugger off!"

I don't use my local corner shop for this reason; because their mark ups are ridiculous and they only buy it from cash n carry which I actually have a card for and know what they buy the stuff in for.

The only time I don't mind paying over the odds is when they are selling a niche product unique to them and it's really lovely. Not a plastic bottle of water they bought in for 20p but sell it for £2.00.

No wonder so many businesses are folding!

Water is a basic necessity. Especially in this weather. YANBU to think what you did. He was rude probably because you wasted his time but even then there was no need for it.
Yes cafe owners can charge what they like. They have to make a living etc etc. Albeit water in a bottle, there is no need to prepare or use equipment etc like lattes, tea, espressos etc. Govt need to put a cap on how much water can be sold for especially during summer months. The amount of people who cannot afford the prices and going without or waiting till they get home for a drink of it can end up getting ill in this heat. Yes everyone can take it from home but sometimes short trips can end up taking a lot more time than anticipated.