The 3-Line Message That Instantly Makes Rude Customers Nicer

Waking up on the wrong side of the bed, being late to work, and realizing you’re out of coffee beans – sounds like the start of a cliche comedy or how a ton of people start off their day.

In the real world, people often become rude to others without knowing it. For the most part, it’s because of something that happened prior to their bad interaction. Maybe they got caught in a traffic jam or they’re late for work. But none of these things are evident to the person on the receiving end of the rudeness – all they see is a rude person with a gruff voice and curt command.

Cafe owner Austin Simms of Roanoke, VA knows this all too well. So instead of giving up and just letting rude customers be rude, he put up a sign to encourage them to be a little more polite.

Outside of his cafe CUPS Coffee & Tea is this sign:

Welcome to CUPS!

“One small coffee”
$5.00
“One small coffee, please”
$3.00
“Hello, I’d like one small coffee please”
$1.75

If people were made to compare their politeness with how much money they could save on coffee, they may be forced to rethink the way they interact with others. In this case, the more polite a customer is, the less they had to pay for their coffee.

It’s a nice way to remind people that no matter how bad your day may be, that gives you no right to take it out on other people who are there to offer their services to you. So the next time you order anything from a restaurant, no matter how tired or grumpy you may be, be a little nicer. The world could use more of it.