No Water from Freestyle Machines

[s8film40]

Are their QS places in Universal that have soda fountains available to guests? I don't know any off the top of my head, but I only ever go into a handful of them as most of them are burgers and I am just not into burgers and fries at every theme park meal. Or crappy Pizza.

I think most of them have Freestyle machines.

 

[s8film40]

But fast food is a different thing. 99% of the people going to that freestyle machine have already waited in line and got a cup that is for water or have paid for a soda. This is not the case with Universal machines.

That's definitely not the case with the Burger King I used as an example.

It's also worth noting that 100% of the people who have access to the freestyle machine are paying guests of the resort. I think it's pretty low to be that stingy with people who are already spending hundreds of dollars. Honestly it would make much more sense for the Burger King I mentioned to do this as it's being taken advantage of by homeless people coming in who have no intention of or ability of becoming a paying customer.

 

[graspthesun]

Almost every fast food establishment that has a Freestyle machine also has a fountain behind the counter as well. If they wanted to be really cheap they could turn off the water functionality on the machine just like Universal did and have guests who want water wait in live and hand it out in cups from behind the counter. That would be a similar scenario to what is going on at Universal. I don't know of any fast food restaurants that have stooped to this level yet. I'm disappointed that Universal has.

Five Guys and Pei Wei don't have fountains behind the counter. Wendy's and Burger King use theirs for the drive thru window. None of them use the fountain behind the counter for the lobby guest that has access to the Freestyle machine.

And sure, every guest has paid money to get into the resort, but the Freestyle guest has paid an extra $8 or so to use the Freestyle machine and they're the ones complaining about people using the machine for ice water or water. The people paying the extra $8 are going to get a more sympathetic ear than the person that's not paying anything extra.

 

[s8film40]

And sure, every guest has paid money to get into the resort, but the Freestyle guest has paid an extra $8 or so to use the Freestyle machine and they're the ones complaining about people using the machine for ice water or water. The people paying the extra $8 are going to get a more sympathetic ear than the person that's not paying anything extra.

I don't for one second buy that complaint isn't extremely rare. Even if it were the case that's not really a valid argument as paying customers now have to wait behind those guests now in line at the QS locations. Those guests are also paying a lot more than $8.

 

[graspthesun]

I don't for one second buy that complaint isn't extremely rare. Even if it were the case that's not really a valid argument as paying customers now have to wait behind those guests now in line at the QS locations. Those guests are also paying a lot more than $8.

I addressed that argument before too. If I walk by a stand, say in Jurassic Park, and the line is 8 people deep, I can either join the line or walk by. If I join the line and someone requests water, then the water request will take about half as long to fulfill as a full paid transaction. Therefore, my line wait will be shorter than it was when I expected that all 8 people would purchase something. People who are getting in line to order something want to order something and the difference between 5 people and 6 people in line won't make a huge difference in their decision to wait. They can also continue walking to the next available stand. The number of available stands far outnumbers the number of available Freestyle machines. Additionally, the people waiting in line are prospective buyers. Freestyle guests have already spent the money and should be able to access the product that they purchased.

Ultimately, I think your argument is that you don't want to wait in line for water when there is a self-serve option available and the argument that Freestyle guests are making is that they don't want to wait behind people who are freeloading off the system. The guest that has spent more money is going to win out every time.

 

[s8film40]

I addressed that argument before too. If I walk by a stand, say in Jurassic Park, and the line is 8 people deep, I can either join the line or walk by. If I join the line and someone requests water, then the water request will take about half as long to fulfill as a full paid transaction. Therefore, my line wait will be shorter than it was when I expected that all 8 people would purchase something. People who are getting in line to order something want to order something and the difference between 5 people and 6 people in line won't make a huge difference in their decision to wait. They can also continue walking to the next available stand. The number of available stands far outnumbers the number of available Freestyle machines. Additionally, the people waiting in line are prospective buyers. Freestyle guests have already spent the money and should be able to access the product that they purchased.

Ultimately, I think your argument is that you don't want to wait in line for water when there is a self-serve option available and the argument that Freestyle guests are making is that they don't want to wait behind people who are freeloading off the system. The guest that has spent more money is going to win out every time.

I'm sorry your argument makes absolutely no sense. It's a much bigger impact to have guests waiting behind guests getting water at a QS than a Freestly machine, these machines the vast majority of the time have no line at all.

Not to mention in the past when you went to a QS location and asked for water they just simply handed you a cup to use with the Freestyle machine. I don't know how they're handling this now but I can't imagine it's not more time consuming now, and in turn causing those guests who spend a whole lot more than $8 an extra wait time. As far as I can tell this whole guests complaining about waiting is complete fiction anyway.

 

[Teebin]

I cannot believe all the yapping about this. Buy one of these and be happy.

 

[MrRoamer]

I cannot believe all the yapping about this. Buy one of these and be happy.

Those are probably part of the problem. People are more frequently using these and Tervis' for their drinks because of the plastic bottles are bad scare.

 

[s8film40]

I cannot believe all the yapping about this. Buy one of these and be happy.

Honestly that's what I do and really have no problem at all with the changes.

The problem I have is it just feels really cheap and petty and it's not the kind of company I thought and hoped Universal was.

 

[sparky]

I cannot believe all the yapping about this. Buy one of these and be happy.

Better to get one of the insulated ones. I use one of those and it is nice to have my drink actually stay cold. tepid, or warm water..ughh

 

[s8film40]

Better to get one of the insulated ones. I use one of those and it is nice to have my drink actually stay cold. tepid, or warm water..ughh

Haha, I think I may be the only one who actually likes the water fountain water. I don't mind the taste at all and I prefer the fountains over the Freestyle specifically because it's warmer. I like tepid or slightly cool water because I like to drink it fast and I get a brain freeze if it's too cold.

 

[anihilnation]

Haha, I think I may be the only one who actually likes the water fountain water. I don't mind the taste at all and I prefer the fountains over the Freestyle specifically because it's warmer. I like tepid or slightly cool water because I like to drink it fast and I get a brain freeze if it's too cold.

Technically room temperature water is healthier, cold drinks cause a mild shock to the system.

 

[sparky]

Technically room temperature water is healthier, cold drinks cause a mild shock to the system.

After spending some time in the middle east desert many years ago I swore to myself I was never going to drink warm water again.

 

[anihilnation]

After spending some time in the middle east desert many years ago I swore to myself I was never going to drink warm water again.

It is interesting how we tend to perceive cold drinks as tasting better, and how tepid is perceived as bland. Heard even red wine is said to taste a little better when slightly below room temperature.

 

[sparky]

It is interesting how we tend to perceive cold drinks as tasting better, and how tepid is perceived as bland. Heard even red wine is said to taste a little better when slightly below room temperature.

I find that I drink faster if the drink is cold. I just don't like the feeling of warm water. Warm coffee, or tea I am fine with. Warm water ICKK

 

[deathcab4cutie]

kinda weird how just getting ride of water merits 12 pages

 

[Hockeyman55]

Technically room temperature water is healthier, cold drinks cause a mild shock to the system.

Supposedly cold water will boost your metabolism on an empty stomach so that is one small benefit of cold water

 

[RevFreako]

Honestly that's what I do and really have no problem at all with the changes.

The problem I have is it just feels really cheap and petty and it's not the kind of company I thought and hoped Universal was.

Have you ever heard the phrase "Mind the pennies and the dollars take care of themselves"? Unfortunately, cheap and petty is what keeps businesses afloat. I don't like it either, but we know how this game is played.

 

[s8film40]

Have you ever heard the phrase "Mind the pennies and the dollars take care of themselves"? Unfortunately, cheap and petty is what keeps businesses afloat. I don't like it either, but we know how this game is played.

Have you ever heard of the business term "loss leader"? Keeping people happy at the parks is the number one goal in the theme park business. The longer people stay the more money they spend. If Universal manages to save $.05 by keeping the water away from guests and they get dehydrated and leave or worse not come back it certainly isn't worth it.

 

[TubaGeek]

Are their QS places in Universal that have soda fountains available to guests? I don't know any off the top of my head, but I only ever go into a handful of them as most of them are burgers and I am just not into burgers and fries at every theme park meal. Or crappy Pizza.

I'm pretty sure only Freestyle machines are accessible to guests. I don't remember what they had before those...