IS £2 TOO MUCH TO PAY FOR A CUP OF HOT WATER AND A SLICE OF LEMON? WHAT THE CUSTOMER AND THE CAFE MANAGER SAID ON TRIPADVISOR
What the customer said...
'This place is absolutely awful. I went out for afternoon tea with some friends and I was on a tight budget. I ordered hot water and a slice of lemon which, firstly, did not arrive on time with all my friends cake and drinks. I was then charged £2 for the hot water and a thin slice of lemon. When I asked why I was being charged so much for some water the waiter rudely said "well, do you know how much a lemon costs?" Yes, its definitely not £2. He then went on to wrongly inform me that a 'pot of tea for one' (which is what I was charged for) is the same price as a lemon. To show just how ridiculous this is, my friend ordered a slice of chocolate cake which was £1.90.
'Dreadful place, would definitely not recommend, and the rude waiter that served me should be sacked. I will not be returning and will be advising friends and family not to go there.'
... And how the manager responded
'I’m sorry that you feel that you were “ripped off” and I’ll try to explain why you weren’t.
You entered the cafe and the waiter showed you to your seat, gave you a menu, waited for a time and then took your order. He entered it into the till, collected a cup, saucer and spoon and took them into the kitchen. There, he selected a knife, chopping board, got a lemon from the fridge, cut off a slice and put it in the cup. Then, he returned to the dining room, drew off the necessary hot water and carried the cup to your table. When you were leaving, he printed off your bill, took it to you, processed your credit card payment and cashed off the till. After you left, he cleared away your cup, saucer and spoon, took them into the kitchen, washed and dried them, along with the chopping board and knife and put away the lemon. Then, returning to the dining room he restacked the cup, saucer and spoon, wiped down your table and replaced the menu, awaiting the next customer.
That’s at least 2-3 minutes work for the waiter.
The cost of overheads for the business, i.e rent, business rates, electricity costs, bank charges, etc works out at £27.50 per hour of trading. I pay my colleagues a decent living wage and after taking into account holiday pay, national insurance and non-productive time prior to opening and after closing, the waiter who served you costs me £12.50 per hour. Therefore, together the cost is £40 per hour or 67p per minute, meaning that the cost of providing you with 2-3 minutes of service was £1.34 - £2.00. Then the government add on VAT at 20% which takes the cost of that cup of fruit infusion to between £1.60 and £2.40 irrespective of whether you had a teabag costing one and a half pence or a slice of lemon costing five pence.
I have to pay my suppliers otherwise the facilities won’t be available to other people who use them in the future. I accept that it makes the price of a cuppa in a city centre cafe look expensive compared to the one you make at home but unfortunately that’s the cruel reality of life. It’s actually the facilities that cost the money, far more so than the ingredients.
Perhaps, the rudeness that you perceived in me was triggered by the disrespect that I perceived in you by your presumption that you could use our facilities and be waited on for free.'
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
Back to the OP, while I think that 2 pounds (the price of a pot of tea for one, which is probably a cup and a half or more, and more than a piece of cake) is a lot to charge for a single cup of hot water and lemon, the establishment can charge what it likes. If the account of the customer is correct, I do think the waiter was rude by snapping about the price of a lemon, I don't know how the customer addressed him (not that customer rudeness justifies the rudeness of a waiter, but it should be taken into account). It could have easily been handled by raising the price up front either on the menu or by saying, just so you know we have a minimum beverage charge of 2 pounds. Alternatively, they could apply a cover charge for each patron whether they order something or not.
It looks like the manager overreacted as well--the overhead charges apply to all patrons, not just her, and unless the place is empty in any minute there is apt to be more than one patron being serviced, making the argument just silly.
FWIW, I think it better for all if she does not go back. And FWIW, being on a tight budget doesn't make one exempt from paying for food and service.
...and you just know that she had already stuffed her purse with sugar packets, right?
I have , on occasion, when encountering a rude clerk, just thrown my money on the counter and walked out, without getting rung up on the register..., that got their attention.....
once, a few years ago, at a local shop called Pier 1, I was gonna buy this really nice brown leather small arm chair and ottoman. I had always wanted a nice leather chair and I was gonna use part of my Christmas bonus to get this one.
anyway, the sales people kept walking by me and looking down their noses at me. I had come straight from work and was dirty.
I eventually just walked out. I never have gotten a leather chair.....
damn, I had it all picked out, the cash in my pocket and my truck outside, all they had to say was can I help you?
I can only think that this complaining customer was an immigrant (or educated in a secondary modern school). It is absolutely rude to take up time and space in a cafe/restaurant only to order a cup of hot water, far less with lemon. Utterly bad manners.
It's as bad as those people who go into petrol stations to use the toilet and purchase nothing. This woman probably walks into shops, asks for directions and leaves without making a purchase either.
For Christianity, by identifying truth with faith, must teach-and, properly understood, does teach-that any interference with the truth is immoral. A Christian with faith has nothing to fear from the facts
What's probably an expected sight for even a late-night trip to a Waffle House, a Georgia woman stripped off her clothes and tried to start a melee inside the popular 24-hour diner chain.
Jennifer Mary Nicholson allegedly broke a woman’s nose and smashed a window after throwing punches and tossing Waffle House platters at patrons and workers late last Friday in Kennesaw, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported. She did all this while in the nude.
“The accused stripped off all of her clothes off in front of Waffle House staff and patrons during a suspected excited delirium state,” according to the warrant.
She also chucked a platter at a police officer and scratched one across the chin, drawing blood. The arrest report said Nicholson was charged with two felonies: Aggravated battery and criminal damage to property. She also faced charges for simple assault, obstruction, simple battery and public indecency.
The nude assailant might win the award for the strangest Waffle House story in the past week, but the alleged suspect has close competition. On Thursday, the chain fired two employees for styling their hair in the kitchen at a restaurant in Arkansas. Video showed a worker dipping her hair into a pot of water in the Waffle House kitchen.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Your collective inability to acknowledge this obvious truth makes you all look like fools.
What's probably an expected sight for even a late-night trip to a Waffle House, a Georgia woman stripped off her clothes and tried to start a melee inside the popular 24-hour diner chain.
Jennifer Mary Nicholson allegedly broke a woman’s nose and smashed a window after throwing punches and tossing Waffle House platters at patrons and workers late last Friday in Kennesaw, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported. She did all this while in the nude.
“The accused stripped off all of her clothes off in front of Waffle House staff and patrons during a suspected excited delirium state,” according to the warrant.
... "
back to the OP: I suspect the restaurant had already had experience with people ordering a cup of hot water w/ lemon and then using their own tea bags.
rubato wrote:back to the OP: I suspect the restaurant had already had experience with people ordering a cup of hot water w/ lemon and then using their own tea bags.
yrs,
rubato
I've done that myself, because when I drink tea I have specific wants and desires from time to time.
So I'll order tea but tell the server to just bring the water and leave the teabag on the side. I will then pocket the cheap POS teabag they bring me and use my own; and once the bill comes I will pay them their going rate for tea. Problem resolved and no one gets their knickers in a twist. -"BB"-
Yes, I suppose I could agree with you ... but then we'd both be wrong, wouldn't we?
wesw wrote:anyway, the sales people kept walking by me and looking down their noses at me. I had come straight from work and was dirty.
I eventually just walked out. I never have gotten a leather chair.....
That reminds me of a story.
Many years ago (you'll figure that out as soon as I mention Packard) there was a local rural doctor who started a very successful small town hospital and clinic. He had half a dozen doctors on his staff. He decided to reward his staff with new cars for Christmas. This doctor's regular attire was a pair of bib overalls with a white shirt, cowboy boots, no tie. He came 50 miles to the " big city" and went to the Cadillac dealer. He walked in, but could not seem to attract the attention of any salesmen. After being ignored for several minutes, he walked across the downtown (Remember when new car dealers were downtown?) street to the Packard dealer where he received a warm welcome. He bought six Packards to be delivered to the hospital's Christmas party. He told the salesman that he needed one more thing to seal the deal. The Packards were to be parked in front of the Cadillac dealer's show room, all in a row at the curb, with the parking meters well fed. When the Cadillac dealer complained, which he did, it was to be explained that those were the cars that he missed selling to the small town doctor with the large checkbook. That evening, they were delivered to the party.
If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space.
