should the restaurants allow unlimited refills on milk and juice?
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I work at a small restaurant and often discuss the prices/profits with the owners (my aunt and uncle). Really it boils down to pure economics. A Gallon of Milk or Juice is 128 ounces and normally served in a 12oz cup. That means you only get maybe 10 servings per gallon. If you charge $1.50 per glass you're grossing only $10.50 per gallon. For those of you who haven't been grocery shopping lately a gallon of milk or Juice is over $5.00 per gallon. If every person who came in wanted a refill on those items you would LOSE money by offering them. Now consider this! Fountain drinks and water are VERY inexpensive to sell. It costs about $20-$30 for a box of Post-mix soda syrup, and the only other ingredient is carbonated water (which pepsi or coke normally supply the co2). You get over 300 servings from a box of soda syrup! It costs the restaurant about a penny ($.01) for a glass of soda, not counting the cost of labor associated with bringing it to you. This is why refills are free on sodas and NOT free on milk and juice.
I'd imagine in some places there is concentrated Juice that can be served in a similar fashion, but generally this is not the case. Milk on the other hand is rarely bought and stored in bulk. Also, Milk is Milk. There is nothing cheap to dilute it with like you do with soda and water.
I agree though, it sucks you can't get refills on juice (I don't care much for milk). There is nothing worse than being in the middle of breakfast, and drinking your last drink of OJ without having finished your meal. Normally I bite the bullet and order another glass. When I'm working as a waiter, sometimes I'll sneak and grab the customer a refill without charging them, but I know for the business' sake, I can't afford to do that very often.
But to sum it up, please don't get frustrated with your diner when they charge for refills on certain items. If they do not offer refills on beverages (excluding water, fountain drinks, and brewed tea) its probably because doing so would cause them to lose money, and what sense is there to coming to work if you're just giving things away for free?
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