One cup of coffee, three prices.

I went to France because of my work. Not long after I arrived, an old friend in France invited me to a coffee shop to catch up. I was gladly invited and hurried to the coffee shop. This is a coffee shop called Sheila's Shop, which is very ordinary both in appearance and signboard. Although the decoration of the whole space is simple, it is full of warm style, customers are coming in one after another, and business is very hot.

Before I ordered coffee, I was shocked by the enthusiasm of the French. As soon as a fat man sat down next to him, he hugged a woman at the next table without warning, and the woman greeted her happily. Then the fat man ordered a cup of coffee and sat down. I saw the waiter come and charge him only 1.4 euros. A cup of coffee is so cheap. No wonder this shop is doing so well. I am surprised that there are so many strange places in this ordinary coffee shop.

When my friend came in, I went straight to the service counter for coffee and said to the waiter in French, which is not fluent, "I'll have a cup of coffee." The waiter looked at me with slight surprise and asked, "would you please repeat what you just said?" I thought he didn't understand my broken French, so I repeated it timidly, "I'll have a cup of coffee." This time, without saying anything, the waiter quickly handed me a cup of coffee and told me, "this cup of coffee is 7 euros, ma'am." I couldn't believe my ears and asked again. After confirming that it was still 7 euros, although I was bitter about the coffee price of that fat man just now, I was embarrassed to ask, so I had no choice but to pay 7 euros.

When I got back to my seat, I complained to my friend, "what's going on?" Why charge the same cup of coffee only 1.4 euros for the man just now, but charge me 7 euros? It's not fair! " My friend smiled cunningly and said that I would know if I continued to watch.

After a while, another elegant lady came and said to the waiter, "would you please prepare a cup of coffee for me?" The waiter immediately handed her a cup of strong coffee and charged her 4.25 euros. I paid special attention to the fact that she ordered exactly the same coffee as I did. does it mean that this store charges for people? But there was nothing special about that man just now.

One after another, I found that the same cup of coffee has three different prices: 1.4 euros, 4.25 euros and 7 euros! I began to feel aggrieved at the unfair treatment of 7 euros.

Then the friend laughed and told the truth: "have you noticed what they said to the waiter?" If you just say to them, 'have a cup of coffee!' The price is 7 euros; if you say, 'Please give me a cup of coffee.' The price is 4.25 euros; but if you say, 'Hello, may I have a cup of coffee, please?' Even if you give a stranger a hug, coffee costs 1.4 euros. "

After listening to her explanation, I suddenly realized that I was impressed by the unique creativity of this coffee shop. Accustomed to the "wave to come, wave to go" style of ordering to the waiter in China, I can't help but feel ashamed when I think of my rude language to the waiter just now.

She continued: "at the beginning of the telegram, the French wasted nearly 2 million euros on the word 'please'. Even so, the French did not give up sending telegrams without saying 'please'. As a result, the persistent pursuit of politeness by the French is evident. "

I think it's a good idea to remind people to be polite by the difference in coffee prices. The coffee shop, called Sheila's Shop, tells people in this special way that they should treat others politely and get along with others in an elegant way. A cup of "polite coffee" not only brings us a warm and comfortable atmosphere, but also skillfully let everyone experience the fun of "politeness", and the elegance of a nation is also reflected incisively and vividly.

Editor's notes

In the same coffee shop, the price of an identical cup of coffee varies greatly due to different polite terms. This interesting phenomenon, however, is rooted in the attitude and demand for civilization and politeness in the hearts of the French. Perhaps, the function and charm of language is not only to convey a message or appeal, but also to convey heart-to-heart communication and people's attitude towards people. Just imagine, if one day there was such a coffee shop around us, what would it be like if the prices were different because of our civilization and politeness?-the answer is in our hearts and in our words and deeds.