The Cocoa Con

(I work at a cafe in a bookstore. People will occasionally ask us for hot water for their tea bags that they brought from home, which we happily oblige, free of charge. One day…)

Supervisor: “We’re going to have to start charging $0.25 for water.”

Me: “Why?”

Coworker: “You’ll see.”

(A few days go by, then a man and a woman come in.)

Customer: “Can I have a large cup of hot water? Just half full?”

Coworker: “Sure, but it’ll be $0.25 for the cup.”

Customer: “What?! But it’s always free!”

Coworker: “Sorry, new policy.”

Customer: “Come on! I didn’t know. Can’t I just have the water this one time? I’ll know for next time!”

Coworker: *sighs* “Just this last time.”

(The woman then takes her hot water to the self-service bar, where we keep the cinnamon, cocoa, sugar, milk, cream, straws, stirrers, etc. She dumps in half of the cocoa and fills up the rest with cream, stirring it together to make hot cocoa, and also making a huge mess.)

Coworker: “That’s why it’s $0.25 now, because of those two.”

(We later banned the two of them because customers kept finding pamphlets that they left in all of the books,and they constantly found new loopholes to get free stuff from the cafe.)