Current Issue

Table of Contents

Latest News

Submission Info

Upcoming Issue

Tell a Friend

Dear Dr. Savant,

I was wondering about what works best when you do a drink giveaway during the summer.  Does it matter what you use?  How much variety should you offer?  Is it okay to use generic soft drinks like Big K so you can give more away?  What do you think about just making big jugs of Gatorade or lemonade from powder in those big orange jugs and letting people fill their own bottles and cups they might be carrying?  Shouldn't we be eco-friendly during our outreaches?

--Pete Pimblebottom

Madison, Indiana

Dear Pete,

When it comes to doing summer beverage outreaches, the two operative words are cold and wet. It is hard to mess this up.  Well, okay, it can be messed up, ask Steve Sjogren about the time he tried to give away chilled cans of Clamato one day--the folks that weren't completely grossed out by the concoction of diced clams and tomato juice were pissed off because there was no vodka to go with it.  Go figure.

Anyway with exception of handing out weird stuff, you can't go wrong offering someone a cold drink on a hot day.  I would shy away from generic soda pop.  I would also avoid making the big jugs of homemade beverages--in this day and age, folks simply do not trust strangers that touch what they consume and therefore sealed packages seem to work best, but it is laudable to be environmentally considerate.

You really don't need a huge variety.  Sometimes variety can lead to problems.  If you have a huge selection, but don't have everything, you risk alienating the person that wanted diet, caffeine-free, low sodium, cherry-vanilla Coke.  Better to keep it simple.  I like just bottles of water.  It also helps with a clever opening when you approach people.  I smile real big with a bottle of water in each hand and walk up to folks and ask them "Do you want regular wet, or diet wet?" This always gets a smile and a head tilt and gets people talking to you.

--Dr. Savant

Have a question for Dr. Savant? Send him an email and he might choose your letter to respond to in the next issue of Serve!