
By: Michael Colvin on May 16th, 2020
How Much Does Bottled Water Delivery Cost?
If you are looking to provide your family or employees with safe, great-tasting drinking water, one solution is to hire a water company to deliver bottled water to your home or office.
At Exell, we have over 85 years of experience serving business owners, office managers, factory supervisors, and parents interested in adding either home or office bottled artesian spring water service.
The first question most of our customers have is: how much does the service cost? Of course, there are a few variables that when added together will give you an idea of the price of bottled water service in dollars and cents. We’ll also go beyond the direct costs and look into the hidden costs of not having clean drinking water in your home or office.
First Steps Toward Bottled Water Delivery Service
When you contact a provider to begin bottled water delivery service, the provider will collect the most basic information about your residence and water habits to determine if you are a suitable candidate for bottled water delivery service. They will likely ask for information about:
- where you live,
- what your current drinking water situation looks like,
- how many people are in your home or office, and
- what uses you plan to address with your bottled water.
After a provider collects this information some providers may simply begin the process of delivery. Some providers want to be a little more thorough. For example, at Exell the next step includes a site visit during which we perform a survey of your home and/or office to address the specifics of your situation – including a water quality test.
A typical residential service plan consists of a few components:
- the type of service that suits your needs – either bottled water service or water filtration service (for the sake of this article we’ll assume bottled water is the right service for you),
- the right equipment to accomplish your usage,
- the consumption rate per service period, and
- the frequency of delivery.
Once these factors are determined, the next step would be to begin the service and a 90-day evaluation period. At the end of the first 90 days , you and our specialists will ensure the service is working for you. We will make any adjustments to the service that you may want at that time, but we’re always available to serve you should you see adjustments needing to be made before or after that 90-day point!
Cost of Water Delivery Service – Breaking down the Variables
Equipment
For most bottled water customers the equipment is very minimal, and it comes down to a choice between water coolers separated by one basic function – hot water.
The first and most basic cooler dispenses water at two temperatures – a chilly 38 degrees on one side and tepid, or room temperature, water on the other.
The second popular choice of cooler distributes heated water on one side and chilled water on the other – what we call a “hot and cold.”
Hot and cold coolers are particularly popular for office environments where there may be few hot tea drinkers. For residential customers with children, the hot water dispenser comes with a safety mechanism to prevent accidentally discharging hot water.
After you make your choice, we will rent a cooler to you for a monthly price. Why do we advocate for rental equipment as opposed to owning the equipment outright? Essentially, we do this as a means of providing the best service to our customers as possible.
Rent to Avoid Service Costs
When you rent your equipment, you can rest easy that if there are ever any issues with the equipment , you will not have to pay for repairs and/or replacement. Renting eliminates the burden of worry. If there are ever any issues with your equipment, simply inform us and we will replace or repair the equipment at no additional cost to you – typically within 24-48 hours.
Below are the water delivery costs you might expect to see as an Exell customer:
Equipment Cost Breakdown
“Cold & Room Temperature” cooler – $11.00 per billing period of 28 days
“Hot and Cold” cooler – $14.00 per billing period of 28 days
Water
While we do offer 3-gallon bottles for folks who may have difficulty lifting a heavier bottle, the vast majority of our customers purchase 5-gallon bottles of water.
5 gallon water bottle – $9.95 per bottle
3 gallon water bottle – $8.45 per bottle
Delivery Service
There is an environmental surcharge added per delivery, and we typically deliver to customers on a quarterly or monthly basis, depending on your needs and rate of consumption, but we have a number of other frequency options available, as well!
Environmental surcharge – $5.99 per delivery
Refundable Deposit
As with many bottled goods, our bottles do come with a refundable deposit. Traditionally, customers will pay a deposit at the beginning of their service and as long as the number of bottles we pick up doesn’t exceed the number we drop off, the deposit will simply rollover from month-to-month until the end of the service agreement, at which time the deposit will be refunded.
Deposit – $7.00 per bottle
So…What Does Bottled Water Delivery Service Cost
Keeping in mind that this article is meant as a guide, and not a substitution for a conversation and evaluation by an account specialist, let’s determine the sample price for a typical residential customer receiving 3 bottles of water per month with a “cold and room temperature” cooler:
Price Breakdown:
“Cold & Room Temperature” Cooler Rental – $11
Three 5-gallon bottles – 3 x $9.95 = $29.85
Environmental surcharge – $5.99
Each Period = $46.84
+ tax
one-time refundable deposit – 3 x $7.00 = $21.00
Ultimately, this means your first bill would be around $72.59, and then you’ll pay roughly $50.11 every billing period thereafter, depending on your tax rate.
Of course, there are variables that will impact the cost of bottled water delivery service for your home or office, and we’re happy to go over all the options with you when you’re ready!