Just wondering that is requesting water at fast places of restaurants actually cost effective. I'm asking as most of the time water is free to request. Though, the quality of the water is a big question as I know most restaurants simply just use their melted ice.
Fast food outlets here are like restaurants that you can trust when it comes to clean water. Even the poor here drink bottled water, you know. Depending on the food that we order, sometimes it is not good to have soda with it especially when there is soup so we just take the free water in the glass with ice. Sometimes there are restaurants offering bottled water instead of the free water so I would ask what the difference is and the server would say no difference. It's silly, isn't it?
I do believe that you get to save up on cost of drinks when you request for "service water" in restaurants and other public dining places. There's actually this favorite Chinese restaurant of mine that I used to frequent with my family, which offers an unlimited serving of hot "service tea". My dad is the one who always requests for the tea since he doesn't really drink anything else from there except their tea. Sometimes when the weather is really cold, the rest of us would also just take advantage of the free hot tea they offer instead of ordering paid drinks.
There is no doubt that requesting water in restaurants saves on cash. Most people do so where I come from. Health concerns are always there but most good restaurants use tap water which is usually chlorinated. Some people opt for mineral water which is safe but comes at a cost. But where health is a major concern, it would make absolute sense to purchase mineral water because illness comes with a steep cost attached.
Choosing water instead of soda or something definitely saves money. Beverages only cost pennies to make, but many restaurants charge $2 or so for each beverage. That adds up quickly, especially when several people are eating together. I almost always choose water these days, unless I get something like coffee or tea that is less expensive and comes with free refills. If you're only talking about the quality of the water, keep in mind that the beverages that you are paying extra for are all being made from the same water you would be drinking if you just requested plain water. The ice is made from the same water source as well.
Well naturally it will save money over the cost of buying a beverage, however some fast food places want to sell you bottled water which is almost the size of a drink. They will just give you a small cup for water which you have to refill a few times. Subway is one I know that does that. However, a large Iced Tea at McDonalds and a few other fast food places is only a dollar, so I don't feel too bad about ordering it.
It really depends on the type of place you ask water from. I have seen some places where people fill up a jug from the tap, and other places where they leave a water filter jug out. I worked in one conference center (a bad one) and we needed jugs of water for the delegates and the boss told the assistant to use the water from the showers. I said that was wrong and vile, as shower heads aren't cleaned and I fought with them against serving it to people. Be very careful of tap water because you won't know where t comes from always.
Choosing water over another drink when you dine out is usually free. And the drinks are pretty expensive, often they are not mixed right too. I ask for water almost always. I have never run across any dirty water, it always tastes real good. It is more thirst quenching than any other drink and very satisfying for me. I really recommend choosing water.
Water is indeed free over here at restaurants and even in food courts, you can actually see some fountains there in some food courts in the malls, but not in restaurants. I think most free water are clean though, since most food establishments have to pass this "cleanliness test" to be able to operate in the 1st place.
