Do you wish your barista a good day and say please when you order your coffee? You’ll be glad to hear that if you do this at the Sihlpost Coffee Bar in Zurich, you will get your coffee for half the price!
The Coffee Bar, located in the post office next to Zurich HB, advertises coffee at cheaper prices when customers are polite to the barista. A coffee that usually costs four Swiss francs will cost three francs if you say please and just two francs if you also greet the barista with “Guten Tag!”
Coffee Bar manager Radoslaw Kubieniec told 20 Minuten that “almost everyone who gets coffee from me has seen the sign. [They] then order in a friendly manner and with a smile on [their] face.” According to the Polish-born barista, many people think his discount is such a great concept that they voluntarily pay more for their coffee.
Kubieniec has lived in Switzerland since 2016 and initially wanted to start a business on Bahnhofplatz. After that didn’t work out, he simply walked into the Sihlpost office and told a worker that the post office needed a coffee bar.
The post office allowed the aspiring coffee shop owner to have a trial month running his barista bar. With high foot traffic and a great location close to the train station, it was no doubt a success. Kubieniec continues to rent the coffee bar space in the post office and manages the business with his girlfriend.
Many of his customers work or study in Zurich and grab a coffee in the mornings or during their breaks. Others visit the coffee bar when they post letters or packages at the post office. Kubieniec hopes to build a positive relationship with these customers with his “friendliness discount”.