Man goes to New York City bartender. Then she charges him $3.75 for a club soda: ‘I feel it’s really fair’

A New York City bartender took an opportunity to lament about a customer. However, her audience disagreed with her take regarding what's “fair” to pay for at a bar.

Alana (@alanaaedson) posted a video that received more than 7,000 views. In it, she discussed how she brought a customer a club soda. Then, she said the customer complained to another one of her coworkers that the soda water came with a cost—$3.75.

Alana questioned why the customer had a problem with the charge in her video. But according to her commenters, it's not even an industry standard to charge for the carbonated beverage.

‘This is delusion. Delusion'

Alana told her audience that a customer complained about the price of her bar's club soda during service.

“Our club soda is $3.75. It's a fountain beverage. All of our fountain beverages are $3.75, which I feel like is really fair, especially for where I live in New York,” she said. “So if you're in food and bev and you see this, please let me know what you charge for club soda and where you live.”

She added that the customer's wife even asked for the charge to be removed from the bill. A coworker, she said, explained that it was just the price of a club soda at the bar.

The commenter debate

Despite Alana stating the charge was fair in New York, a majority of viewers said that charging for soda water was unheard of, even at fancier restaurants. A few commenters, however, said that at certain spots, it's reasonable to do so—especially if the soda water comes from a can rather than a soda gun.

“I've been a bartender for like 10 years, and I've never charged for soda water. Tonic MAYBE if you're unpleasant. Soda water? Never,” one commenter said.

Another commenter said, “I'm in Colorado, [a] non-corporate restaurant … We do not charge for club soda. I have never worked at a place that did. That's wild.”

A few viewers pointed out that charging for carbonated water rather than still was off-putting for customers.

“It's free. No syrup goes in … The total cost of the CO2 in that glass is less than a penny … It is tap water with bubbles,” a viewer said.

@alanaaedson #serviceindustry #bartender #serverproblems ♬ original sound – alanaaedson

Is it normal to charge for soda water?

On other platforms, the debate proved just as divisive.

A Redditor, who posted to r/bartenders, for instance, asked whether bars regularly charge for soda water after a friend of theirs got charged “$4(!) for a plain, old, straight from the gun soda water.”

A commenter on the other side of the debate explained why the soda water might have a price.

“You're lucky any water is still free,” they said. “I honestly don't know how it still is … I mean, someone pays that water bill, not to mention having to use more water to clean it, ice, straws, the glass … [none of it] is free. Not to mention it's 0$ which servers don't get tipped on even if they refill it 15 times.”

The proving point as to whether soda water deserves a charge, then, is the cost. According to Advanced Mixology, concerns regarding carbonation, or CO2 cost, may be warranted.

The publication notes that with a cylinder exchange plan, a “bar pays roughly $60 to $120 per month in gas cost, plus $30 to $50 in cylinder rental. Total: about $100 to $170 per month. No contract.”

Per customer, that's not necessarily a “large” figure. But the publication continues, adding that many restaurants have contracts associated with the purchase of CO2. “The same 200 pounds of CO2 costs $150 to $220 per month in gas at year one prices, plus $80 to $150 in tank rental. Total: about $230 to $370 per month. Locked in for three to five years. Gas price rises 4 to 8 percent every January,” they said.

For a customer, that price is still nominal. The cost for the restaurant would be cents, not dollars. But giving away free soda water may not be every business's prerogative. As costs in the restaurant industry continue to increase, so does the cost to sit at a table and enjoy the hospitality.

Buzz News reached out to Alana via TikTok direct message for comment.