I was completely taken aback, and amused I must say, to learn that one cafe in France is “charging” customers for their rude behavior. I like the concept in theory, but I wonder how it would actually works in practice.
NBC News reported that a cup of coffee at a certain little cafe in the town of Nice costs about $9.50 USD if you order it straight up. If you ask for your coffee politely and say “please” you get a huge discount that lowers the price of your coffee to about $6 USD. That is a darn good “coupon”!
It gets better! If you are extremely nice you can get your coffee for about $2 USD by going the extra step and greeting your barista a “good morning”. Heck, I say “good morning, hope you have a great shift, happy evening and hope you sleep well!” Wonder if I could get my Joe for a buck if I did that? Might as well try, can’t hurt, might help! 🙂
The thing is, the discounts aren’t real, they are only perceived to be real. Fabrice Pepino, the cafe owner, has never actually charged more than approximately $2 USD for a cup of coffee, but the customers find the sign threatening a steep price for their bad behavior entertaining and it lightens their mood. He says some even give it a go and try to get the “deep discount”. Sorry folks, in reality “good morning, hope you have a great shift, happy evening and hope you sleep well!” won’t get you any better deal, but it will sure make your barista’s day better and I believe, in turn will make yours a little better too. Kindness rubs off on others that way.
If you want to see the picture of the menu that went viral on twitter you can see it here: http://nbcnews.to/1byNv0v
