French cafe charges customers more than double for rudeness

(LA PETITE SYRAH)

In France, make sure to order your morning coffee with a side of manners. A French café is now charging customers more for coffee if they fail to ask nicely.

The Petite Syrah café in the Riviera city of Nice has implemented a new pricing scheme that lists three prices for coffee, each one dependent on the rudeness of the order.

The first price is €7 ($9.64) for people who merely grunt “un café” to order their coffee. Customers get a cheaper price of €4.25 ($5.85) if they politely add a “s’il vous plaît” (please) to their order. And if they throw in a “Bonjour” (hello) and a “s’il vous plaît,” (please), they only pay €1.40 ($1.93).

“It started as a joke because at lunchtime people would come in very stressed and were sometimes rude to us when they ordered a coffee,” manager of Petite Syrah, Fabrice Pepino, told The Local. “I know people say that French service can be rude but it’s also true that customers can be rude when they’re busy.”

While Pepino admited he has yet to actually enforce the cafe’s pricing scheme, he has noticed that his customers are treating the staff better.

“Most of my customers are regulars and they just see the funny side and exaggerate their politeness,” he said. “They started calling me 'your greatness' when they saw the sign."