No longer free: Paying for former freebies
By Aviya
Kushner • Bankrate.com
The best things in life are free, or so pop
songs and well-meaning grandparents insist. While love and sunlight
and smiles still don't cost a cent, much of what used to be free
isn't anymore.
Part of this is just the usual pesky cost-of-living
increase. "I remember when bread was five cents a loaf,"
says Ruth Rhoads of Iowa City, who is nearly 80 and remembers cheaper
times vividly.
And some of the freebie evaporation might just
be a tightening of belts and a scrutinizing of bottom lines.
But asking people across the country what freebie
they missed most, from butcher-shop generosity to full service at
the gas station, yielded a fascinating snapshot of tight-fistedness
run wild. Plenty of nostalgic consumers, it seems, are frowning
at the bill and reminiscing about a kinder, cheaper America.
Food freebies that now cost
you
"Doggie bones" at the butcher. "Once it was OK to
ask for them and the butcher would wrap them up for you, but now
they call them soup bones or soup starters and they are $1.69 to
$1.89," says Spider, a semi-retired artist in Mesa, Ariz.
Extra cheese at the pizza parlor. Forget having a
little more cheese, just because you're the customer and it's the
restaurant's job to make you happy.
"Now everything is pre-measured and instead of
flipping an extra handful on the pie, they ring up another dollar
and grumble about going to the refrigerator for it. Or worse, charge
you for it, but 'forget' to put it on," adds Spider.
Butter. Expect to pay for it at Bruegger's Bagels, in the Midwest,
and at many Dunkin' Donuts outlets on the East Coast. The cheaper
the restaurant, the more likely you'll pay for butter.
Soup and salad. "They used to come with the meal
in a restaurant," says Spider, who's 64 years young. "Now
you have to pay through the nose or get the salad bar for the lukewarm
soup and wilted lettuce."
Parsley. "It used to be available in bunches
at no charge," says Glennis McNeal.
"It helped flavor the soup made from 'dog bones'--
also provided free by the butcher, who was kind enough not to ask
for proof of dog ownership."
Beverages - Where's the generosity?
Coffee refills. The local diner may refill your cup for free, but
don't expect the pricey coffee house to give you a second cup of
java for free. At $3 or $4 a pop, Starbucks won't give up profits
to be that generous.
Water. Sarah Courteau, who grew up in Arkansas, sometimes
has to pay for a glass of water. She's not the only one complaining
about that indignity. In fact, Arizona had to pass a law making
it illegal to charge a parched customer for a little H2O.
Paper cups. In the old days, a deli might give you
a paper cup to take a pill or split a soda can between two kids.
But a sign in a funky Des Moines coffee shop spells out the hard
modern truth -- "We don't give out paper cups."
Bottles. The bottle your beer is in will cost you.
"Returnable bottle fees, returnable wet cell batteries, propane
tanks. If you don't return them when you buy new ones, you get fined,
right?" says Owen Duff, who lives in New Jersey.
Bags and gift wrap will cost
you
Gift wrap. "Gift wrapping in many stores is an extra-cost item
now and that used to be the bachelor's salvation," says Spider.
"The people wrapping them seemed to care and they had some
real skill.
"Now it's plain paper and a stick-on bow that
won't," he says. "You're supposed to pay for a fancy bag
to put the gift in since everybody is too busy to even unwrap what
your hard-earned money went for."
Bags. Call 'em what you like -- sacks, bags, wraps
-- they now cost money at many grocery stores. ALDI, a discount
food chain with outlets in Illinois and Iowa, charges 10 cents a
bag.
Supermarket carts. Remember when you could just take
a cart and shop? At some chains, you now need to lend the store
a quarter for the use of the cart. No quarter, and you'll be stuck
carrying, not wheeling.
Shipping. Von Maur, a department store in the Midwest,
will ship your merchandise for free. But that doesn't happen too
often anymore.
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