Café in England charges different prices, depending on how polite or rude a customer is

Your post tempted me to start a whole thread where we could share our horror stories, then I realized I do not want to relive those memories. (Shudder)

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I like espresso and puppies but they never seem to want to let me in on that deal!

Can we add another £5 to the charge for those that say any version of “smile for me?” (Or for misgendering, etc.?)

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In the US, where food service workers often receive less than minimum wage, polite customers pay more because they tip generously.

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Man, I feel that US Tipping Culture is such a rubbish system; just pay the waiting staff already.

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I get why the misogynistic “give me a smile” is offensive, but “give me the magic words” grates on me even more. In the other direction, I get more connection out of smiles than hello/please/thankyou. Monetary motivations make any of these things demeaning, reminding me of parents who withheld rewards until the magic words are incanted. Diffrent strokes for different folks. Visual trumps verbal for me.

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Or 10…

Agreed. But until then, people need to acknowledge the facts as they exist with regards to pay for wait staff.

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My first job out of college was working in a pack-and-ship place, and if you were having us pack something, there was a lot of discretion in our pricing. We definitely had a PITA surcharge.

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When I was a kid I spent one weekend at my grandma’s. I got up for breakfast and went into the kitchen where my brother and sister were getting ready to eat. I sat down and my grandma immediately sent me back to bed. After a bit she invited me to breakfast, I sat down, she sent me back to bed only this time I got a spanking with a barber strap.

It took several trips to figure out she was upset because I did not say good morning (at that point it wasn’t actually a good morning). And also, my brother and sister can bite me for not cluing me in on the secret don’t get hit code word.

A guy at a job site we frequent has a similar policy, If you ask him a question or start a conversation, no matter how polite, if you don’t start the conversation with good morning he will not answer and then be a jerk the rest of the day. All that accomplishes is I avoid him because I never know what will set him off.

I would definitely say the magic words for a discount but I’m always polite when ordering anything. Would someone still get a discount if they said “Hi, can get a desi chai”, and I had a smile and said thank you but I forgot to say please? Would I get a do over?

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that sign would not even be necessary if the ratio of polite people to assholes wasn’t so skewed. there have always been rude customers, but post-pandemic it is off the charts. some people have largely forgotten how to be civil to one another.

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I’m okay with this.

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Oh, is it over? What a relief! /S
:wink:

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Oh look, a very similar policy at a cafe near me (just took the photo on my walk home)

What are the chances!

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Usman Hussain, the owner, said he had got the idea from a Facebook post of an American cafe.
Maybe this is the culprit?

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Holy beans, that is indeed possible!

ETA: a fb post corresponding to the picture I took:

I can’t see who liked/shared it however.

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