Lukewarm response to charging for hot water

Pricewatch: Charging for hot water may seem like a fairly absurd notion but it is common practice on Iarnród Éireann, one PriceWatch reader has discovered.

When Carmel Wilde went to the dining car on the Kilkenny to Dublin train last month in search of green tea - generally held to be a more healthy alternative to tea and coffee - she was to be disappointed on two counts. First off, staff in the dining car were unable to supply her with her chosen beverage, and when she asked for some hot water instead, she was charged €1.50.

Wilde "queried the charge and was told that the charge for tea, coffee or water was the same".

Last week, on the same journey, she once more asked for green tea, only to be told that it was once more unavailable. She was then charged a further €1.50 for a mug of hot water.

"Why can Iarnród Éireann not put green tea on their trains and give satisfaction to their customers?" she asks. "More and more people are drinking green tea because it is healthier than regular tea."

More to the point, by what rationale can Iarnród Éireann charge €1.50 for a mug of hot water? PriceWatch contacted the company's spokesman, Barry Kenny, who accepts that charging for hot water is not something that should be part of Iarnród Éireann's policy. He explains that, for safety reasons, tea and coffee were sold in enclosed containers and there was no facility to provide hot water in receptacles other than the enclosed cups.

"If there is a case where customers have specific needs, we will certainly remove the tea bag," Kenny says. "She should not have been charged but clearly there are control issues on our side that need to be addressed." He adds that the company will look at providing a wider range of products for its travellers, and he will also arrange a couple of complimentary train tickets for Wilde.

Time saver Ronan Coburn from Dublin writes to inform readers there is a way they can avoid paying through the nose to have their watch batteries changed. One reader was charged €9.99 to perform this operation. "To facilitate the very basic DIY task of carefully changing a watch battery," Coburn says, "one can buy a card containing 40 super alkaline button batteries." This bargain can be had in the 2 Euro shop in George's Street, Dún Laoghaire for "a mere €2", obviously enough.

Crisp note Another PriceWatch reader writes in connection with last week's item on the price of a bag of Tayto. While Tayto suggests a recommended retail price of 50 cent a bag, he found a shop called No 1 on Cecilia Street in Temple Bar, Dublin, selling them for 65 cent a bag.