Spanish café offers concessions to courteous customers

A café in Spain has begun charging rude customers more for their coffees and pastries.

Restaurant Blau Grifeu in Llança on the Costa Brava charges ill-mannered patrons an extortionate €5 for their morning brew, while those who behave more courteously pay just €3.

Meanwhile, saying ‘please’ and wishing the barista ‘Buenos dias’ prior to ordering will snaffle you a coffee for just €1.30.

41-yar-old Colombian owner Marisel Valencia Madrid says the scheme is working, and that customers are starting to become more polite.

“I put a sign in the window with the price system and it has made all the difference. People are now super polite in all matters and it has really improved daily life,” she told The Local.

“Yesterday some children even told their parents to say please, so it’s working!”

Marisel has run the eatery for nine years, but has become increasingly cheesed off with bad-mannered clientele.

One customer posted a photograph of the house rules on social media, sparking a war of words over the use of good manners in Spain.

“I’m not singling out Spanish people as rude,” asserted Marisel. “We are just off the seafront so have a lot of tourists here well, French, German and British, and I think generally people could just be more polite.”

“The normal price of a coffee is €1.30 and thankfully I haven’t had to charge more because everyone is giving me a greeting and saying please,” she added. “Some even say thank you now too!”

The madcap scheme was apparently inspired by a Parisian bar that offers discounts depending on the behaviour of its clients.