While the suction hand does not work well with porous objects (clothing) or flat items, such as disks, it can pick up most hard objects, including glasses or bowls.
Installs gone wrong certainly aren't all that uncommon, but the tale told by one VTECnical of the 8thcivic.com forum is undoubtedly a cut above the rest, and could well have you reconsidering that suction cup option.