Bewleys pressure selling tactics?

Alwayson

I go to various coffee shops depending on whether I'm on my own or meeting someone. I always buy a coffee and most times a sandwich or a cake. Bewley's Grafton Steet is the only place that pressurises me into buying more, sometimes when I haven't even finished my first order and when I'm in conversation with somebody. Staff come over three or four times asking if I want something else or taking away plates and cups as soon as you finish with them. I eventually tell them a bit firmly that I'm fine, I don't want anything else and they reply that they are just doing their job. But it seems intrusive. I always pay my way in coffee shops and don't stay long, so are they being trained by their bosses to try and sell more or is it because Grafton Street rents are so high they need a fast throughput of people? I won't go in there again despite its charm.

Phoenix Park

I would say i have been in there literally hundreds of times over the years and don't have a problem with them, are you sitting just inside the front door?. I prefer to go further inside.

William Powell

Just hold your cup out and say "I didn't know the price included free top-ups".

Alwayson

Mostly on the balcony upstairs overlooking the street and admittedly I haven't been there very often. Maybe that's prime real estate area and there's a big demand for seats there. I'm sure not everyone has this problem or Bewleys probably wouldn't be as popular as it is. Maybe the staff are genuinely trying to be helpful but in a situation where two people are still consuming their coffee and pastry and staff come back several times asking if you want anything else I would call it over enthusiastic.

MagicMarker

Sounds like good service to me.

Alwayson

Thats my point - where does good service become intrusive? Most people meet in a coffee shop for a chat, and are quite capable of deciding if they want to order something else. I am not advocating people who come into coffee shops and stay for eight hours using the free WiFi on the strength of one coffee. The deserve to be hounded. Most meetings I have last 30-60 minutes and 1-2 coffees each are voluntarily consumed. So is there a subconscious ratio of meeting time to coffee consumption in most fair-thinking people's minds? I reckon 1 item purchased per 30 minute visit is fair. I would certainly try to apply this ratio if I owned a coffee shop!

naasrd

William Powell wrote: »

Just hold your cup out and say "I didn't know the price included free top-ups".

Brilliant! I'm gonna try this.