Drinks Capsules

[James]

Ha! They may as well just send out a letter saying: "Thanks for your money. We've stopped selling capsules now, so if you have any problems or need a replacement, tough, we ain't helping you. Have a straw though, don't worry, it's on us."

 

[T]

Ha! They may as well just send out a letter saying: "Thanks for your money. We've stopped selling capsules now, so if you have any problems or need a replacement, tough, we ain't helping you. Have a straw though, don't worry, it's on us."

So true. Very annoying, and after around 5 weeks of ringing, emailing and speaking, I have been given.... A straw.


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[BigAl]

Perhaps money off the next capsule might be a better idea than wasting money handing out straws that don't really solve anything?

 

[djtruefitt]

Surely if they are selling you a product that should last a year "unlimited refills for 2012" then that is what you should get. If not they should certainly give you a refund.

 

[Alastair]

Surely if they are selling you a product that should last a year "unlimited refills for 2012" then that is what you should get. If not they should certainly give you a refund.

The day anyone gets a refund from Merlin will be the day pigs fly.

 

[BigAl]

A full refund is unfair when you've used it for most of the year and you've still had a lot of pop, but something like £3 off your next capsule would be okay (assuming that the next will be much better over the last ). That makes them not much more than the regular capsules.

 

[Alastair]

Went relatively well today taking my old black day capsule in place of my broken MAP one. Took some explaining to the first guy who was adamant that he would only fill the blue MAP bottles or the new tall slush ones - however eventually he succumbed when I explained that it had broken, and when I refused to walk off despite a large queue forming behind me

 

[T]

Went relatively well today taking my old black day capsule in place of my broken MAP one. Took some explaining to the first guy who was adamant that he would only fill the blue MAP bottles or the new tall slush ones - however eventually he succumbed when I explained that it had broken, and when I refused to walk off despite a large queue forming behind me

This is absolutely the wrong way to approach the issue. The members of staff at the refill points aren't there to e told what to do by you, they are there to serve you with a product that you've either purchased already (a refill), or are going to purchase. They have rules and guidelines, as well as procedures they have been given by their managers, and they are expected to stick to them. Demanding that they refill your appropriate cup isn't going to be a valid action for them to take, and as such they shouldn't be backing down when you're persistently demanding it!

I suggest you contact Merlin or Alton Towers directly, rather than taking this out on the members of staff that are only there to do their literal job of providing your refills & serving you.


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[Tim]

But if Merlin has no solution what else are you going to do?

As someone who hasn't used the refill capsules but has read this thread the whole situation sounds like an absolute shambles. If you sell year round refillable bottles to customers you better be able to supply them with a product that can achieve this. If the bottles break they should be replaced. By failing to offering a suitable alternative then people deserve compensation.

But why are these capsules so poorly designed in the first place? When I visit a theme park or go on a day out I tend to take a bottled drink with me and refill the bottle whenever I find a water fountain. This is normally in the form of a standard coke bottle you can buy from any shop. Some of these bottles I have been using for several years and they are still as "fit for purpose" as when they were first used.

I fail to see how the people in charge of this have messed up so badly. While I feel sorry for any staff member that gets flack I think the customer is totally within their right to kick up a fuss about this and demand to use their own container.

 

[Alastair]

Went relatively well today taking my old black day capsule in place of my broken MAP one. Took some explaining to the first guy who was adamant that he would only fill the blue MAP bottles or the new tall slush ones - however eventually he succumbed when I explained that it had broken, and when I refused to walk off despite a large queue forming behind me

This is absolutely the wrong way to approach the issue. The members of staff at the refill points aren't there to e told what to do by you, they are there to serve you with a product that you've either purchased already (a refill), or are going to purchase. They have rules and guidelines, as well as procedures they have been given by their managers, and they are expected to stick to them. Demanding that they refill your appropriate cup isn't going to be a valid action for them to take, and as such they shouldn't be backing down when you're persistently demanding it!

I suggest you contact Merlin or Alton Towers directly, rather than taking this out on the members of staff that are only there to do their literal job of providing your refills & serving you.


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Having read this thread, and seen the email response that someone else in a similar position to me received from Merlin - there was literally nothing else I could have done. The guy even had the cheek to ask me to buy another refill cup for £5 despite the fact that I'd already paid £16 for a product that was meant to last the whole season but broke within 3 months and they were unable to replace!

 

[T]

Went relatively well today taking my old black day capsule in place of my broken MAP one. Took some explaining to the first guy who was adamant that he would only fill the blue MAP bottles or the new tall slush ones - however eventually he succumbed when I explained that it had broken, and when I refused to walk off despite a large queue forming behind me

This is absolutely the wrong way to approach the issue. The members of staff at the refill points aren't there to e told what to do by you, they are there to serve you with a product that you've either purchased already (a refill), or are going to purchase. They have rules and guidelines, as well as procedures they have been given by their managers, and they are expected to stick to them. Demanding that they refill your appropriate cup isn't going to be a valid action for them to take, and as such they shouldn't be backing down when you're persistently demanding it!

I suggest you contact Merlin or Alton Towers directly, rather than taking this out on the members of staff that are only there to do their literal job of providing your refills & serving you.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Having read this thread, and seen the email response that someone else in a similar position to me received from Merlin - there was literally nothing else I could have done. The guy even had the cheek to ask me to buy another refill cup for £5 despite the fact that I'd already paid £16 for a product that was meant to last the whole season but broke within 3 months and they were unable to replace!

Those emails and posts you read we're my own!

Despite the fact this is also a problem for me, I have no intention on making it the staffs fault!


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[Alastair]

Went relatively well today taking my old black day capsule in place of my broken MAP one. Took some explaining to the first guy who was adamant that he would only fill the blue MAP bottles or the new tall slush ones - however eventually he succumbed when I explained that it had broken, and when I refused to walk off despite a large queue forming behind me

This is absolutely the wrong way to approach the issue. The members of staff at the refill points aren't there to e told what to do by you, they are there to serve you with a product that you've either purchased already (a refill), or are going to purchase. They have rules and guidelines, as well as procedures they have been given by their managers, and they are expected to stick to them. Demanding that they refill your appropriate cup isn't going to be a valid action for them to take, and as such they shouldn't be backing down when you're persistently demanding it!

I suggest you contact Merlin or Alton Towers directly, rather than taking this out on the members of staff that are only there to do their literal job of providing your refills & serving you.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Having read this thread, and seen the email response that someone else in a similar position to me received from Merlin - there was literally nothing else I could have done. The guy even had the cheek to ask me to buy another refill cup for £5 despite the fact that I'd already paid £16 for a product that was meant to last the whole season but broke within 3 months and they were unable to replace!

Those emails and posts you read we're my own!

Despite the fact this is also a problem for me, I have no intention on making it the staffs fault!


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Oh yeah, didn't think to check the username! I'm certainly not making it the staff's fault, the staff were in fact more helpful than Merlin appear to be by actually filling up my capsule. The second time I got a refill I was just asked for a receipt when I explained, which I luckily still had in my wallet from when I bought it. So the staff were great, it's Merlin that I have the issue with.

 

[Thomas]

Has anyone seen the new Towers ones? They have reduced capacity and look like sheisha pipes?

 

[Scott]

There's a pic on a previous page. They're the slush capsules so arent designed for the postmix drinks. It's a clever enough move in a business sense - so that quenchers can still be sold. However, they aren't really fit for purpose.

 

[Thomas]

Ah, apologies. They just seem to spill everywhere as badly as the old ones did. Does this mean that for 2013 we'll see a new quenchers design?!

 

[Andrew]

The current capsules are obviously temporary, as they have no branding or any advertising at all.

I'd expect a brand new, hopefully good, design next year.

 

[BigAl]

I'd expect a brand new, hopefully good, design next year.

After the silver one's we had prior to this year, I expected them to be replaced with decent capsules for this year. So much for that!

 

[thefatone]

But why are these capsules so poorly designed in the first place? When I visit a theme park or go on a day out I tend to take a bottled drink with me and refill the bottle whenever I find a water fountain. This is normally in the form of a standard coke bottle you can buy from any shop. Some of these bottles I have been using for several years and they are still as "fit for purpose" as when they were first used.

...reusing a plastic bottle is extremely dangerous, as over time something around the spout (of which you cannot clean) gains harmful bacteria and can make you very ill - hence why almost all plastic bottles strongly suggest you don't reuse them!

 

[DiogoJ42]

Pfff, please. I and many others reuse bottles all the time. Of course there eventually comes a time when they need replacing, but I can get several months out of a water bottle before it turns grotty.

 

[Tim]

It hasn't killed me yet. Probably because:
A) I give it a good wash immediately after every use so there's very little chance of anything growing.
B) I normally use Oasis bottles which have larger heads so are easier to clean.
C) If anything suspicions does appear I chuck it.
D) I'm very good at tasting what isn't good for me and it helps that my mum’s a Biologist

That's beside the point anyway; I wasn't suggesting that MAP capsules should just be plastic bottles. More questioning why I can use the same plastic bottle for several years but a MAP capsule breaks in a day of use. Something's not right.