The only reason I mention this first bit is because of what happened yesterday. Accidents happen, wrong change is given etc.
A few weeks ago, we went to this little coffee shop that we frequent. We have been going there for 10 years. It is very convenient for us when we go shopping in Woolworths, so we drop in for a coffee and a pie / cake. Well, on this ocassion, when I was presented with the bill by the owner, it seemed very high for what we had. I said to the lady "are you sure that's right?". she said:"Yes I checked it twice". So I paid the amount and went to the car. I couldn't help myself - I wrote down what we had and added up what it should have been. I have never done this before even though on a few ocassions I have been puzzled by the amount charged. But this time, it seemed it was $4.20 more than we should have been charged. Now, $4.20 doesn't
sound much but to some it is a lot, so this time, I went back. She (the owner of the cafe) recalulated what we had and, sure enough, she had overcharged us by $4.20. There was no apology except a rather rough "here's your change".
Since that day, if the owner is there, she is very curt with me whereas before that she was always all smiles and greetings. I thought to myself, she's probably just embarrassed, she'll get over it", so we kept going there.
We went again Yesterday. The owner was busy serving and so was her sister so this young girl (a trainee) served me. The total of the bill came to $16.10. I gave the girl $20 bill. The young girl gave me our food and change, which I carried over to our table. I put the change on the table and was speaking with a friend of mine when I noticed the change - counted it and there was $16.10. I drank the rest of my coffee, because the staff were still very busy, but then I took the change over to the desk and the owner's sister, who was making someone else's coffee, said to me "What's wrong, {my name}?". I said, I think your young trainee has made an error in the change. Our total came to $16.10, I gave the girl a $20 note and I have just noticed
that she has given me $16.10 change. She took the $16.10 and said "OK, I'll fix it up and bring your change to your table".
She (owner's sister) brought the change and placed it on the table in front of me. She may have said something but neither I nor the friends I was sitting with heard it.
When we were leaving the cafe, I saw that the 3 staff were no longer busy so I went to the owner and asked "did your sister tell you what happened?". Owner:"Yes, she did". I quiped "Well, as you can see I am honest, and I pay for what I have". Owner:"I never said you weren't" was the reply with what I would describe as indifference. We left.
Now, I didn't expect that she would jump over the counter and give me a hug and tell me how pleased she was that I brought the $16.10 back, but is it unreasonable of me to expect a thank you (especially in view of what happened a few weeks ago), or am I being a little precious?
