Discussion about costs – Upper Austria: A glass of water with lemon for a whopping €3.20

After three coffees and a pastry, a glass of tap water to finish: When ordering at Café Traxlmayr in Linz, the waitress is a bit uncomfortable: “Fill your glass there for free at the drinking fountain,” she says. “Here at the table it costs 50 cents.” The waitress tip works – but only in the summer when the drinking fountain is in operation.

Hundreds of comments on “Krone” articles
Of course, the cafe is not alone in this. There are now catering establishments all over the country that charge tap water. A topic of suspense is evident from hundreds of responses to our “Krone” article from Monday. As reported, teenagers had to pay two euros for a glass of water at Kolmgut in Prambachkirchen. Operator Klaus Peter Wagner described the price as an “emergency measure” – because after 8 p.m. water consumption spiraled out of control.

Host Spokesperson Doesn’t Understand Excitement
Guest spokesperson Thomas Mayr-Stockinger doesn’t understand the excitement: Tap water also causes costs. He himself charges 1.40 euros for 0.5 liters in his inn in Ansfelden. Mayr-Stockinger is prominent here: in the Weisses Rössl on Lake Wolfgangsee 0.25 liter cost 80 cents – after all, according to the menu it is “Ganderwasser”. This is also available at Thalhammer’s at the bathing lake in Feldkirchen – 0.3 liter costs 1.50 euros.

“In addition, the glasses go off”
In Café Traxlmayr people are surprised about the excitement about the price of water: “We charge 2.30 euros for soda water, nobody has ever complained about that, while that is really nothing else,” says boss Ulrich Traxlmayr. He also introduced the water price out of “self-defense”. “Someone orders water just because the waiter is there, and the next table says, ‘Four more waters for us, please!'” The effort for the service is the same. “Besides, the glasses go off.”

However, Traxlmayr cannot really explain why he has to pay 3.20 euros for a quarter liter of tap water with lemon. Moreover, where the same “only” costs 1.70 euros in the famous Café Zauner in Bad Ischl.

“Krone” Comment: Cost Recovery or Scam
Water comes from the tap, so it costs nothing. This misconception causes outrage among many guests when the glass of water suddenly appears on the bill at the inn. Of course there are costs for the landlord: service, dishes – and the water itself costs something. But this is a matter of proportionality. Anyone who only orders tap water in a restaurant and pays 50 cents for it will be more understanding than someone who, after extensive consumption, would have to pay 3.20 euros for 0.25 liters of water with lemon. That is nothing but brutal scams.