mad_dr

(which, of course, it is!) why the hell are pubs charging so much money for soft drinks!?

Alcoholic drinks carry tax so I understand that the pub has to charge an amount to cover larger costs before they turn a profit but last night, I drove to the pub and ordered a 3 pints of Fosters for my mates and a pint of Coke for me. Pints of Fosters were £1.70 each and my Coke was £1.85! what the **** is going on?!

I'd have saved money by having a beer and yet the pubs and the government claim that they're trying to encourage less alcoholic drinking! Bollox - they are actively encouraging you to drink alcoholic drinks and because a lot of pubs are driven to they are encouraging drinking and driving.

Now I know the difference between a pint of Coke and a pint of beer was only 15p (no big deal) but it's the fact that we all know how cheap Coke is to make (bit of syrup and water. Anyone know exactly how much it costs the pub?). It's like paying £50 for a pair of trainers made in a sweatshop in Thailand or £100 for a badly made pair made by people getting paid a fortune in the UK. Who in their right mind is EVER going to 'do the right thing'?

Anyway - I'm sure they know what they're doing but I reckon if you are clearly a designated driver (IE you're with a load of people buying alcohol) you should either get a free soft drink with every round or they should at least slash the prices of the soft drinks. 50p a pint for Coke - fair price.

Dracoro

The most profitable drink in most pubs is lemonade (think shandies/mixers charged at same price and full pint). Has been this way for donkeys years.

However, not long ago soft drinks were usually about half the price of alcoholic ones.

paul-s

pubs are businesses. simple, they want to make the most profit possible on each drink. unless you nationalise pubs into a single govmt.run company then the prices will stay high. id make the most of 1.70 fosters, its about 3 quid where i live !

Brendan Hughes

IIRC there's a law in Germany called the apple juice law, where at least one soft drink in a bar or club MUST be cheaper than an alcoholic drink, for this reason. Sounds sensible.

I usually drink pints of OJ and lemonade, which my mates used to buy when I drove. At about 70% more than a beer, bet they were glad that my little tum could only handle 2 in an evening!

ScoobyJawa

This has irritated me for years, all the drink drive campaigns etc when there is absolutely no incentive to go to a pub and end up on soft drinks. Its stupid.

paul-s

leave the car at home then

shaunywrx

£1.70 a pint, were do you live? Stop moaning man if i lived there, i'd be an alcoholic.

Leslie

Pubs may be a business, but it does not absolve them from responsible behaviour. Since they are making a living by selling alcohol, then I think they should encourage the driver to stay sober.

Leaving the car at home is a fair comment though.

Les

Dracoro

Yup, leave the car at home so that neither the driver and his mates can get to the pub in the 1st place.

speedking

We all know how cheap beer is to make (bit of yeast,sugar and water....

suprabeast

you could always walk?

Dracoro

What, walk 10 miles? When I used to live at my parents many moons ago, that's how far the local town was. If me and my mates wanted to go out, one of use would have to drive the rest of us there. And you certainly couldn't get taxi's out to the middle of nowhere late at night! Anyway back then in the early nineties, a coke or lemonade was 40/50p.

Brendan Hughes

Have a look at these programmes around Europe:
http://www.amsterdamgroup.org/main.html

I like the French one, Capitaine de soirée: "Volunteers will invite young people in discos to designate the person who will not drink. This person will receive a bracelet to be identified. This person will get a free entrance and two non-alcoholic drinks. Posters and leaflets are displayed in the discos and several time over the night, prevention message are delivered. When leaving the disco, the “capitaine de soirée” will go through a breath test to make sure he/she has respected his/her commitment. In this case, he/she can participate to a contest to win a trip (value 1000 € and the same for the owner of the disco)."

Jerome

1.70 a pint. Try doubling that and more for Central London.

Here (and in much of N.America), they have free soft drinks for designated drivers in many bars. Drink driving seems to be much more of a problem here though.

ScoobyJawa

Leave the car at home - what a great answer Shame its not that easy.

hail-hail

Pub in Largs used to give free soft drinks to each designated driver within a party of people.
Obviously this was open to **** take, and I am not sure if they still do it, but it was the sole reason we went there for lunch/**** up and dinner/**** up.

I think pubs pubs are missing out on marketing winner with this approach, ok so a lot of pubs are busy enough and wouldn;'t need to do it, but for all those out there think of this.

Scenario 1 - 5 people, 4 drink pints, 1 drinks coke
Here is the maths - 2 free cokes = 2p cost to pub, 8 pints = £16 profit for pub

Scenario 2 - we go to another pub
Here is the maths - you make 0p profit.

Waken up, dd is not longer socially acceptable - I thank you

Markus

Jerome,
Really? oooh, name me a few bars will ya?

On the subject of booze, we seriously need to meet up for drinkies soon!

gsm1

How the hell did you drink a pint of Coke? I'd be gagging after half of a pint of that stuff.

Poor Guy

come to Doncaster. Fosters is 80p a pint

Dracoro

PG - we're talking about beer, not urine.

TJG

I've seen it in London (of all places - who drives to a pub in the middle of London?) where soft drinks for "Des" (designated driver) are free. Can't remember the full details, or how it was governed but on the whole sounded like a good idea to me.