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Author Topic: Coca-Cola FREESTYLE...the future of bad soda Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-26-2016 11:41 PM                     I have having to push several buttons just to get a Coke. It's like playing a video game! I want a "Just give me a Coke" button!  |  IP: Logged Louis Bornwasser Film God Posts: 4441 From: prospect ky usa Registered: Mar 2005 posted 12-27-2016 10:05 AM                        The machines are on line to both the store manager's cell phone and to Coke HQ. Yes the cartridges are exactly like ink cartridges. Taste issues aside, the system works well. My personal thoughts on taste: places with water issues seem to have a greater problem with bad tasting cokes using the new machines . This actually makes sense because the old style syrup is about 95% water, so the local water has less effect on taste. Louisville seems to do OK with the new machines; we have water that tests better than most bottled water and in the top 5% for purity.  |  IP: Logged Jim Cassedy Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1661 From: San Francisco, CA Registered: Dec 2006 posted 12-27-2016 12:09 PM                     Louis- - not having worked on the concession side of things, other than having to occasionally un-plug clogged soda dispenser drains, I always assumed that Coke 'filtered' or otherwise somehow conditioned local water sources so the product always tasted the same, no matter where you got it. Am I wrong in that assumption?  |  IP: Logged Mike Spaeth Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1129 From: Marietta, GA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 12-27-2016 02:53 PM                        To answer the question about Coke vs flavored Cokes. The plain Coke is made with the Coke cartridge + HFCS. The flavors use the Coke Zero cartridge + HFCS. The machine must have been out of the Coca-Cola cartridge.  |  IP: Logged Jack Ondracek Film God Posts: 2348 From: Port Orchard, WA, USA Registered: Oct 2002 posted 12-27-2016 03:13 PM                        quote: Louis Bornwasser Taste issues aside, the system works well. Pretty much says it all...  |  IP: Logged Mark Ogden Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 943 From: Little Falls, N.J. Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-27-2016 03:21 PM                     Few people have probably encountered one, but Pepsi has, or had, their own version of this machine called the "Spire". I ran into one at some fast food Chinese place in Pasadena awhile back. Same idea as the Freestyle, but it had a much larger screen and a cooler design. Worked well enough, I got my drink out of it, but they seem to have abandoned it. I can't even get the website for it to load, and I have never seen one here in the NYC area. As a Pepsi preferrer, I had some hopes for it. I wonder if Coke's market share is that huge that it made it unprofitable or impractical to keep developing it.  |  IP: Logged Justin Hamaker Film God Posts: 2253 From: Lakeport, CA USA Registered: Jan 2004 posted 12-27-2016 03:32 PM                        quote: Jim Cassedy I always assumed that Coke 'filtered' or otherwise somehow conditioned local water sources so the product always tasted the same, no matter where you got it. It is possible Coke might do this in some flagship locations, but not as a general practice. Our theatre is on a well with extremely hard water. Simply softening the water was not enough to remove the mineral taste, so we had to install a reverse osmosis system. To the best of my knowledge, Coke has never paid a penny to help cover the cost of this system or the on going maintenance expenses.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-20-2017 08:16 PM                        My wife went to the movies today at the Carmike->AMC Shilo 14 in Billings. She said their concession counters look bland and bare because they have taken out all their soda machines and put in two (2) Coke Freestyle machines. This is for a 14-screen plex that has six concession stations and about 2000 seats total. Lynn said there were only two people in the lobby in front of her and she STILL had to wait in line behind them to get her soda. I can't imagine what it will be like on the night of a huge blockbuster opening. They charged her $5.79 for a 32-ounce "medium" cup that she had to fill herself. Sheeez, no wonder people are staying home in droves. (By the way, here at the single-screen Roxy, we charge $3.04 less for the same thing, and we fill it for you, and I hate having to charge that much.)  |  IP: Logged Frank Cox Film God Posts: 2234 From: Melville Saskatchewan Canada Registered: Apr 2011 posted 04-20-2017 10:40 PM                        I just had to raise my concession prices on April 1 to account for a new provincial sales tax on popcorn, candy and drinks. None of the customers have commented about it, though. Even though the prices seem high to me (and even higher now) I guess they're still cheap compared to other places.  |  IP: Logged Buck Wilson Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 894 From: St. Joseph MO, USA Registered: Sep 2010 posted 04-22-2017 04:11 PM                     Large popcorn- $9.23 Large drink- $6.84 And this is in one of the lowest cost of living areas in the nation. And Regal ups the price regularly. I'd say a dime or 2 every 6 months is what it's been going up for the last while  |  IP: Logged Frank Cox Film God Posts: 2234 From: Melville Saskatchewan Canada Registered: Apr 2011 posted 04-22-2017 05:20 PM                        Large popcorn: $6.00 including taxes. Large drink: $3.00 including taxes. (Prior to April 1 the large popcorn was $5.00)  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-22-2017 10:42 PM                        Our "Large" soda is $2.75 (32 oz) and we have "XL" (44 oz) for $3.75. Large 85oz popcorn $4.75 and XL 130oz is $5.75. Our best selling item is probably our Couple Combo which is an XL popcorn and 2 Large drinks for $9.75.  |  IP: Logged Marcel Birgelen Film God Posts: 3357 From: Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands Registered: Feb 2012 posted 04-23-2017 06:29 PM                     quote: Justin Hamaker It is possible Coke might do this in some flagship locations, but not as a general practice. Our theatre is on a well with extremely hard water. Simply softening the water was not enough to remove the mineral taste, so we had to install a reverse osmosis system. To the best of my knowledge, Coke has never paid a penny to help cover the cost of this system or the on going maintenance expenses. Coca Cola indeed doesn't require you to install a filter system in regions were the tap water is drinkable. Especially in warmer climates, this often results in a noticeable chlorine taste in fountain drinks. Some franchises like McDonald's have mandatory reverse osmosis systems in place for their fountain drinks. Whenever your tap water has a highly noticeable "taste discoloration" it's probably a wise decision to invest in a reverse osmosis system. You can use the filtered water for other purposes too, like your coffee machine if you have one.  |  IP: Logged Leo Enticknap Film God Posts: 7474 From: Loma Linda, CA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 04-23-2017 09:05 PM                        Couldn't agree more. When we moved into our current house the tap water tasted seriously vile (much more so, interestingly, than at our previous home, which is only four miles away). After some online research, I bought this Express Water system, which at time was on sale for $150, including a year's supply of filter cartridges and a spare UV bulb. We couldn't be more pleased with it: the difference in taste between water straight from the faucet and water that has come through this thing is astonishing (and if I described the gross and disgusting slime in the old filters on removal in any significant detail, you wouldn't want to eat your dinner tonight). The filters need replacing every six months and the RO membrane and the UV bulb annually: total cost per year in filtration consumables is probably around $50. It's a bit of a faff to install and half an hour of messiness to swap out the filters, but it's still an improvement over messing around with jugs, and a lot cheaper than buying bottled water to drink. Presumably you can get a slightly heavier duty version of something like this to feed a soda fountain system. Given the rate of water flow, I'm not sure that this one would be up to it.  |  IP: Logged Jarod Reddig Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 513 From: Hays, Ks Registered: Jun 2011 posted 05-02-2017 08:48 PM                     Still for me I love a Coke from Mcdonalds with either a wax or styrofoam cup. Coke from a glass bottle being my favorite. My local spots with Freestyle seem to have gotten a bit better tasting. Unless Im just getting used to them but ive gotten better and better tasting drink from them. Still the Sprite is always off to me.  |  IP: Logged

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