Austin Simms of Roanoke, Virginia, thought some of his customers could use a little help with their manners. The CUPS Coffee & Tea worker put up a sign indicating that the more impolite you are, the more you’re going to have to pay.
The shop’s sandwich board read:
“One small coffee”
$5.00
“One small coffee, please”
$3.00
“Hello, I’d like one small coffee please.”
$1.75
Each phrase indicates what a customer should say to receive the most inexpensive price. The less rude, the better. Sometimes we’re so busy — or barely awake — when we order our morning coffee, we forget that the person serving us is in fact another human being.
There’s no need for being short with someone during a transaction, and the sign is a firm reminder of that.
“I decided, because I need to solve all the injustices of the world, to start charging more for people who didn’t take the time to say hello and connect and realize we’re all people behind the counter,” Austin told WDBJ7.
He wrote the sign one day. By the very next day, a photo of it appeared in a newspaper in England, then went viral on the internet. Eventually, a swarm of news cameras showed up at the store.
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One thing is for sure: At CUPS, there will definitely be service with a smile.
This article originally appeared on LittleThings in June 2017.
