So many wrong answers!

John Pemberton, the creator, had a medical degree and was addicted to morphine. The first version was an attempt to produce a tonic as an alternative to morphine. It was alcoholic.

Shortly after, with prohibition he created an alcohol free version.

He was trying to solve a problem in the start, now it’s past that.

Sounds like you’re one of the 66% that don’t tell a friend, and that’s fine. For the rest, 34% of guests telling a positive comment about the company is a good hit rate for such a cheap strategy.