Ve-gone!
I used to work in a restaurant that would be visited by beggars asking for free food up to twenty times a day. We were only open from 5 PM to 11 PM so you can imagine how much of a hassle this was, especially considering that some of them wouldn’t take no for an answer until we threatened to trespass them.
When it was brought to the attention of the owner, he shrugged and simply said:
Owner: “Do they know we’re a vegan restaurant?”
Me: “Uh, it never came up.”
Owner: “Just tell them that we only have vegan dishes to offer; that usually deters them.”
Me: “That’ll work?”
Owner: “This is my third restaurant. Trust me.”
The next day, the first homeless man starts loitering at the front, asking for a meal.
Me: “We can offer you steamed broccoli and carrots with tempeh.”
Homeless Guy: “Got any chicken?”
Me: “We’re a vegan restaurant. We can offer you steamed broccoli and carrots with tempeh.”
Homeless Guy: “What about fish? I’ll take fish.”
Me: “We’re a vegan restaurant. No meat whatsoever.”
Homeless Guy: “Stupid f****** hippies.” *Wanders off.*
For the remaining time I worked there, we saw the number of beggars fall from the double figures to less than half a dozen PER WEEK, all because we actually started to offer them food.
