‘No more free drinks’: Pepsi dispenser limits the number of ounces customers can pour, requires a QR code
For years, the self-serve drink system has been simple: buy a cup, fill it up, and then, if you’re still thirsty, simply fill it up again. Now, it seems like a new system from Pepsi is looking to change that.
In a video with over 48,000 views, TikTok user Pinky (@xxladiixpinkyxx) demonstrates the system. According to the video, one must scan the QR code on their cup, at which point a “drink balance” will show up on the screen.
From there, they are given 30 seconds to complete their fill-up. For Pinky, she had a remaining balance of just over 2 ounces—meaning she could only get a sip or two of soda.
“No more free drinks,” she writes in the video’s caption.
@xxladiixpinkyxx No more free drinks😭🤣 #technology #drink #sodamachine #funny ♬ original sound - Pinky
There’s little information about Pepsi’s Fast Fill mechanism online, though some can be gleaned from locations that use the technology.
According to the website for Hershey Park, which uses the machines, users can fully refill their drink every 10 minutes, though water and ice can be dispensed without a scan. If they are out of their drink balance and want a drink before the 10 minutes are up, however, they will have to wait—or purchase another beverage.
For her part, Pinky says that this video was taken at the Great Wolf Lodge in Pennsylvania.
In the comments section, many users were opposed to this system.
“We need to [boycott] this,” wrote one user. “soda doesn’t even cost them that much why they rationing.”
“Are you serious? Yet I can head down to ampm and get a gallon for 13 cents?” questioned a third.
For context, Yahoo! Finance reports that a can of soda costs a restaurant just 16 cents, with the typical restaurant markup for a glass of soda hovering at around 1,150%.
Many users echoed the idea that they would resist going to restaurants that offered this service as a drink option.
“I'll stop going to places that have this crap,” claimed a commenter.
“If I see one of these I’m walking right back out,” agreed a second.
The Daily Dot reached out to Pinky via TikTok comment, and to both Pepsi and Great Wolf Lodge via email.
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