goodeats21

Stopped by the United Club Pop-up in C today to grab a quick coffee. Surprised to find that all the Coke products have been replaced by Shasta !

Are we going to see generic soda in the clubs now? Maybe a pre-order system where you can reserve a Coke, but only the first 10 people every day?

manstein58

Shasta?!!? You have to give credit where credit is due-United throws those nickels around like they're manhole covers!!

PTahCha

No - it is a United Club, not a MLL, so United Club entry rules apply (i.e., no UA*G entrance on domestic flights unless you're GS).

EWR764

Walking by the C-1 Club yesterday, it looks like interior fit out is underway. Light fixtures going in, ceiling panels, etc. My hope is it could open around Labor Day, but expectation would be some time in the late summer/early fall. Finally.

United Club or assisted living facility? Yikes.

The best explanation I can come up with is that United will close the pop-up when the new C-1 UC opens, which will have a Coke Freestyle machine. Thus, no need to bulk order canned Coke products anymore, and Shasta is just a stopgap.

goodeats21

Haha. Maybe their thought, but Shasta?!?! Even as a stopgap, that is a horrible replacement. Are they really so cheap now to not run the risk of having a couple cans of real Coke products left over?
They really never cease to amaze.

I do also love the sign...crossing out "Coke" and handwriting "Shasta" with a sharpie. Classy all around.

EWR764

Who knows... worth noting, that this is a vendor decision, not United's. It's unclear whether Shasta is a contractually-acceptable substitution for a brand-standard item... I'd say probably not, but I don't know for certain what's behind it.

DELee

Hey - getting items out of the back of a truck, which ever truck that pulled up to the dock, was a win in their mind. And, apparently, they didn't mind.

David

LAX

The temporary UC is run by a third party? I thought carbonated beverage companies (ie: Coca Cola vs Pepsi) are supposed to have "exclusive" contracts. Thus, one would either see Coke or Pepsi in a lounge and not other brands. Wouldn't serving Shasta violate that exclusivity?

LAX

EWR764

Food and beverage programs in United Clubs at hubs are run by a third party (FLiK Hospitality). United has a pretty broad deal with Coca-Cola, hence the Freestyle machines in new lounges. Coke products onboard, co-brand elements (napkins), advertising, etc. FLiK serves what United dictates, although there are certain allowable contingencies/substitutions in all such contracts. The Shasta products seem to be little more than a one-off to supply the C93 pop-up lounge for the last few weeks of its existence before the renovated C-1 United Club reopens, which is no more than a few weeks away.

This is much ado about nothing.

goodeats21

Sorry, can't agree with this part. I'm not willing to ignore United's conscious decision to cheapen out on a product I pay a yearly subscription for.
Another example of contempt for customers to save a nickel.

And I would be shocked if the C93 club opens in a "few weeks".

EWR764

I didn't want to keep belaboring this silly point, but since you responded directly to me, I'll bite.

Can you point to evidence (besides the basic fact that a cheap hospital soda brand is actually stocked instead of Coke) that this is (1) a conscious decision; (2) by United; (3) to cheapen the product? Are there any other examples, besides a temporary pop-up club with a different beverage program than any of the other lounges at EWR, where this is happening?

If you are in such dire, urgent need of Coca-Cola products, they are still widely available at the C123 club, the Terminal A club, and every other United Club in the system. And "contempt"? Really? I hesitate to attribute to malice or contempt that which can be just as easily explained by totally innocuous factors, like we have discussed above. Now, if there were some widespread transition to Shasta across the system, or at other locations at EWR staffed and supplied by the same vendor -- even a rumor of the same -- then I would feel differently about it. Here, there aren't, so I don't.

As far as the C-1 club opening in a few weeks... time will tell.

JAXPax

Maybe there is a supply issue. A few other lounges like a couple of the east coast The Club lounges have had Shasta pop up in the last 10 days or so. There are a few companies that specialize in being the final fulfiller at airports (like Bradford Logistics as one) that tend to be the supplier for all the varietals of clubs... kind of like DFW the same third party provides the food for Admiral's Club, United Club, PrimeClass, etc.

manstein58

Your points are acknowledged…but UA under Kirby has a detailed history of nickel-and-diming its good customers to death. So…they do not get the benefit of the doubt here in my book

HeadInTheClouds

Guy on delivery truck: "Here's your soda."
Employee: "Huh? Shasta? What's this?"
Guy on delivery truck: "Dunno. You want it or not?"
Employee: "I guess it's better than nothing."
Staffer in lounge: "I'll just be proactive and change the sign so people don't get mad."
FT: NUCLEAR ARMAGEDDON!

goodeats21

Sure. And I don't intend to make this out to be the end of the world. But it is actually the contempt part that irked me the most.

I doubt seriously that all lines of Coke products suddenly become unavailable, and the only substitution available was Shasta. But if so, how hard is it to show you actual acknowledge and care?

"Due to supply chain constraints, we are not able to stock our normal selection of Coke products. While we work quickly to restore availability, we have been able to obtain Shasta products as a temporary solution. We apologize for this substitution and be assured Coke products will return as soon as possible."

And as someone that has oversight of both in-house and contract hospitality in my portfolio, in my mind it is squarely on United. Both the outage, and the reaction to it. Especially as this is a pop up club to try and address the inconvenience of not having a full club available in this area. To me, that is the last place you cheapen out.

On a happier note, I am glad that you think the remodeled club is within a couple weeks of opening. I will be glad to be wrong on my skepticism of this. You seem to have good info / sources on things, so fingers crossed.

I now return to more pressing matters, like worrying if my morning flight out of EWR tomorrow will be delayed by the weather this afternoon.