Cafe Charging you to drink your own drink a

Do you bring your own glass and wash it too?

I assume the fee is related to the glass you drink out off, the cost related to washing said glass and the disposal of bottle/can. You mention the comment 'what am I meant to drink ?' How about tea/coffee or a soft drink? You could always have an alcoholic drink when you return home.

It's not extortion, jesus.

Most restaurants make a lot of profit on their wine and beer so paying a euro or so probably just about covers the cost of disposal and glass cleaning.
Personally I think it's a great idea.
It takes the hassle out of scanning the wine list looking for something that appeals to you and most likely you will have bought your favourite tipple at a far more reasonable price to enjoy with your meal and good company.

To serve beer you need a license which would be passed on to the consumer in the form of higher prices. €5 a drink v off license price plus corkage. I know which I prefer. Also means the cafe can get around the no license law cause it doesn't "sell" alcohol.

Having intoxicated people on the premises could warrant the charge too. A lot more claims and damage happen when alcohol is involved.
I really don't see a problem with it, but I think the charge "could" be illegal. The premises doesn't have a licence, unlike a hotel were corkage is common, so charges related to alcohol could be a breech??

gilberto_eire wrote: »

They already do in Amsterdam... and not even just for someone walking in off the street which is understandable.

50c and somebody collects it so its not avoidable like the shopping centres do her occasionally.

Defo the scabbiest charge I've encountered.

I agree, I'm only back from a break there and everywhere in Amsterdam they charge you to go to the toilet, even Mc Donald's, and they certainly arent kept clean for the privilege!

Senna wrote: »

Having intoxicated people on the premises could warrant the charge too. A lot more claims and damage happen when alcohol is involved.
I really don't see a problem with it, but I think the charge "could" be illegal. The premises doesn't have a licence, unlike a hotel were corkage is common, so charges related to alcohol could be a breech??

It's not illegal, a licence is only required to sell alcohol. Though it sounds like they already have a wine retailers licence.

lycan238 wrote: »

I assume the fee is related to the glass you drink out off, the cost related to washing said glass and the disposal of bottle/can. You mention the comment 'what am I meant to drink ?' How about tea/coffee or a soft drink? You could always have an alcoholic drink when you return home.

hairyprincess wrote: »

Its called corkage. Extremely common practice, particularly for weddings.

I actually forgot the 'corkage' element of the charge. Yes its very common.

Kristopherus wrote: »

I'd call that extortion:(. Next they'll be charging you to pee:rolleyes:.

gilberto_eire wrote: »

They already do in Amsterdam... and not even just for someone walking in off the street which is understandable.

50c and somebody collects it so its not avoidable like the shopping centres do her occasionally.

Defo the scabbiest charge I've encountered.

This I think will become a lot more common in the future here in Ireland. I actually know of one place that charges for access to the toilets but if you purchase any drink in one of the many cafe's in the location you dont pay to access the toilets ie if you have lunch out in the location you dont have to pay to use the toilets. If you walk off the street looking to use the toilets you pay 20c. You show them your receipt to prove purchase.

Kristopherus wrote: »

This corkage lark is just like Ticketmaster adding booking fees and C.C. charges. IIRC it started with hotels charging it at weddings. Not alone did the sell the plonk, they charged for pouring it. Now it has spread to some restaurants. What else could you call it, but extortion.

It's not extortion.

It reminds me of a (very) small cafe/sandwich shop owner that I know. He has a shop in a small office park and relies on office workers coming in each day for coffee/sambos etc to keep afloat.

I was having a chat with him and he said people often come in to the cafe and ask him for a slice of bread and not expect to pay for it because "it's only a slice of bread". Another person used to come in with their own pastry and ask him to put cheese on it and toast it for them for nothing! He ended up charging 50 cent each for these requests and proper order too!

These are largely small business owners who are struggling to stay afloat.

A person who brings their own beer must realise that the cafe owner is paying for heating, rent, rates, recycling/waste disposal etc etc and for this reason a small corkage fee is well justified in my opinion.

braddun wrote: »

most places have a corkage charge 1.50 is cheap

+1, this thread belongs in bargain alerts!

Is this a 1.50 flat fee or per drink?

Even as a per drink charge its relatively cheap compared to what a cafe would charge.

I know people who go to BYO places and end up saving money, some places will put your bottles in the fridge for you. These people would split a bottle of vodka & a 2L of coke. They were able to order their own drink and waiters would put it in glasses with ice & lemon.

A bottle of vodka & coke and be got for about €20 if an offer is on, a bottle of tesco rum (surprisingly good) and real coke would have been €13.70 recently.

The local pub would be €3.85 per shot & €2.85 per 200ml coke, this works out as over €100 to buy 700ml of vodka & 2L of coke