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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| French cafe offers discounts to polite customers | French cafe offers discounts to polite customers |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| A cafe on the French Riviera has gained international notoriety after reminding customers to mind their manners. | A cafe on the French Riviera has gained international notoriety after reminding customers to mind their manners. |
| What started as a local joke generated an internet buzz this week after a diner tweeted the sign outside the Petite Syrah in Nice on the Côte d'Azur. | What started as a local joke generated an internet buzz this week after a diner tweeted the sign outside the Petite Syrah in Nice on the Côte d'Azur. |
| In an attempt to turn the tables on customers who complain that serving staff are rude, the manager warned he would hit impolite customers where it hurts, in the pocket. | In an attempt to turn the tables on customers who complain that serving staff are rude, the manager warned he would hit impolite customers where it hurts, in the pocket. |
| A sign outside the establishment states: | A sign outside the establishment states: |
| "Un café - €7 [£5.90] | |
| "Un café s'il vous plaît - €4.25 | "Un café s'il vous plaît - €4.25 |
| "Bonjour, un café, s'il vous plaît - €1.40." | "Bonjour, un café, s'il vous plaît - €1.40." |
| The appeal for some old-fashioned savoir-vivre clearly touched a nerve around the world. Within hours, the story went viral on Twitter. | The appeal for some old-fashioned savoir-vivre clearly touched a nerve around the world. Within hours, the story went viral on Twitter. |
| The former centre-right government minister Christine Boutin responded, also by Twitter, that it was an excellent idea, and the story in the local Nice-Matin newspaper received tens of thousands of "likes". | The former centre-right government minister Christine Boutin responded, also by Twitter, that it was an excellent idea, and the story in the local Nice-Matin newspaper received tens of thousands of "likes". |
| The manager, Fabrice Pepino, told the paper: he had even had television cameras turn up to film the sign. | |
| "We live in a strange old world. For three years we have put all our passion into what we do, which is trying to offer quality food, and good wines … and it's this that creates the buzz. A few words on a blackboard," he said. | "We live in a strange old world. For three years we have put all our passion into what we do, which is trying to offer quality food, and good wines … and it's this that creates the buzz. A few words on a blackboard," he said. |
| He added: "It wasn't even an original idea. I saw it on the internet and liked it … but I was planning to rub it out." | He added: "It wasn't even an original idea. I saw it on the internet and liked it … but I was planning to rub it out." |
| Pepino said he had not yet had to enforce the politeness policy, and admitted the sign was more of a gentle reminder than a serious threat. | Pepino said he had not yet had to enforce the politeness policy, and admitted the sign was more of a gentle reminder than a serious threat. |
| "It started as a joke because at lunchtime people would come in very stressed and were sometimes rude to us when they ordered a coffee," Pepino told the English language website the Local. | "It started as a joke because at lunchtime people would come in very stressed and were sometimes rude to us when they ordered a coffee," Pepino told the English language website the Local. |
| "It's our way of saying: 'Keep calm and carry on.'" | "It's our way of saying: 'Keep calm and carry on.'" |
| He added: "Most of my customers are regulars and they just see the funny side and exaggerate their politeness. | He added: "Most of my customers are regulars and they just see the funny side and exaggerate their politeness. |
| "But people are more relaxed now, and they're smiling more. That's the most important thing." | "But people are more relaxed now, and they're smiling more. That's the most important thing." |
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