Waiters in France are being given the power to charge customers more or less depending on how polite they are.
Waiting-on is considered a profession worthy of respect in France, so the policy of charging rude customers extra is reportedly becoming more widespread.
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n 2013, La Petite Syrah in Nice became so fed up of rude customers it began penalising them. If waiters were asked for “a coffee” they charged 7€ (£4.90). Ask for “a coffee, please” and the price was dropped to 4.25€ (£3.60).
The winning formula, though, was to say “Bonjour [‘hello’], a coffee please”, which would cost you the typical price of 1.40€ (£1.20).
Manager Fabrice Pepino told The Local at the time: “It started as a joke because at lunchtime people would come in very stressed and were sometimes rude to use when they ordered a coffee.”
Meanwhile at L’Hamburgé in Grenoble, southeastern France, three prices are advertised for one coffee, using the same conditions as La Petite Syrah.
The Times (£) reports that critics believe the policy is often just used as an excuse to charge tourists more – with holidaymakers charged far less than regulars.
However, the policy is not completely far from the Pret A Manger one which allows staff to give out free hot drinks and food to customers they like or find attractive.
Adam Garah, owner of L’Hamburgé, said the idea was a joke and that some customers had become “excessively polite” in the hope of getting a free coffee.