This is moldy old post but I think the point is still relevant in many places…

On the side of things that just make you shake your head was a discovery I made in the main cafeteria at Algonquin one day. When I told other inmates of the place about it they were either incredulous or thought that I was joking. Unfortunately, it is true, and it says so very much about the whole scenario…

I was in the cafeteria to buy a cup of tea – really a tea bag in a cheap styrofoam cup, covered with not-hot-enough-for-decent-tea water. I and a fellow employee were looking at the expensive new mural that had been added to the wall for ambience, when the manager of the place strolled up to extol the virtues of his decor.

We then noticed that water – not bottled water mind you, but plain tap water, was no longer free. It seems that too many people had the audacity to come in for a refill of hot (closer to tepid) water in their cup, and that this represented a diversion from the ‘revenue from everything’ bottom line management view. So hot water is now 10 cents a cup!! Now, just to be clear, in case you are confused, that doesn’t include the cup.

The explanation from the manager and perpetrator was “Nothing is free, you know”.

What can I say about this that you aren’t already shaking your head at. They had, of course, raised most other prices as well, but the water said it all – and a lot more by implication.

You will have to draw your own conclusions, but one might speculate that it is a good thing that they aren’t handling Ontario ground water resources, or you would be either mighty thirsty or mighty poor in short order…