"You can't have it for free",aibu?

[imacccu]

So I'm at Manchester for the Christmas markets.
Spent £20 on a Greek sharing box to eat for lunch.
I ask for two forks and she tells me they've ran out and to get them from the Brazilian stand opposite.
So off I go and say "can I have two of the plastic forks please as the Greek stand have ran out"

She says "no I'm not allowed as you didn't buy food here,you can't expect them for free"
I said okay il buy a drink
She said no only food
The cheapest thing was £10
So I sad no
Aibu to think she could of gave me a plastic fork
Is this what the worlds came too?
She had a huge and I mean huge tub of cutlery

So we had to eat with our hands which was near impossible as it was coated in sauces etc

You may want to refresh yourself in analogies. It’s a question that was directly prompted by your silly statement. That the answer isn’t to your liking doesn’t change the facts.

What you do in your small (non catering) business has nothing to do with how they run theirs.

And I’d suggest you look into a mirror. Your attitude, which proclaims that anyone who doesn’t run their business as you see fit (despite the fact that you know nothing about them or said business) is somehow lacking in decency and kindness strikes me as cold, self-centred and lacking in psychological insight.

The fact that you are compelled to insult anyone who disagrees with you strikes me as extremely dim. Which isn’t an attractive trait.

Yup, I'd give someone 10p if they needed it and asked, probably the next person too, probably the next 10 or 20.
But I'd have to draw the line somewhere because even if I was 'only' giving away 10p at a time, in a situation where I was continually faced with requests, it'd start costing me what I can't afford pretty quickly.
And no matter with which person I drew the line, whether I'd given away 10p or 10 grand - that person would feel aggrieved that I wouldn't help them to the tune of 'only' 10p. They wouldn't know or care about the people I'd previously helped to be nice, only that I was 'mean' by not helping them.

That said it's a good business tactic to destroy the reputation of a competitor - send everyone over to the opposition for a fork because you've run out, knowing they'll either say no or they will soon get fed up and then people are put off them by them saying no and are not likely to use them in future, and there you are (with replenished forks at the ready) to serve who may have been their customers!

Also with the mutual fork covering agreement - maybe they had this agreement and the Greeks didn't fulfill their obligations yesterday when the Brazilian's ran out of cutlery and the Brazilian's are now returning the favour? 🤔

Why is it a silly question?

Was it today you ate lunch with your hands, in the dark, at 20:30?

Do you not think it a wee bit cheeky and rather awkward to be effectively saying "I see that you are selling food, which is what I now need, but I shall instead give my business to your competitor

From the customer’s perspective, it’s just a fork, but is cheeky from the stall holders perspective.

I was at an event where there were 4 food stalls, all providing the same kind of hot food for free. (i.e. paid for by the event organisers but us attendees got it for free).

I chose the stall with the shortest queue food and got my food with a paper plate and plastic cutlery but they had run out of takeaway boxes (I wanted to take it away). They asked me to ask another stall for a box.

I asked another stall and they said sorry, they only had enough for their own customers.

I was a bit miffed, because it was a free event and the stalls had already been pre-paid for their services.

But then I realised, it was extremely busy and they had to prioritise the customers who had chosen their stall.

We had been to las iguanas for bottomless brunch so our "dinner" was just when we fancied it ..hence grabbing something so late from the markets

Obviously I’ve really hit a nerve judging by the angry tone of your replies. We’re clearly not going to agree. You think it’s good to be tight and I don’t. Different strokes for different folks, I guess 🤷‍♀️

"i don't understand how other business in other situations are run, but you are all wrong anyway. And angry"

😂

OP did actually offer to pay for £3 for a drink, which would cover the cost of the fork many many times over.

Someone doesn't understand how profit works .....

I'd give a person 10p, or even £10.

A business? No.

And if I were a business, I'd not go around giving away 10p here and there.

My response was in the tone befitting of your (now deleted) insulting comment. Your multiple odd posts on this thread would indicate that the person for whom this has ‘hit a nerve’ is you. I wonder why.

You think it’s good to be entitled and blinkered and I don’t. Different strokes for different folks, I guess. 🤷🏽‍♀️

That said it's a good business tactic to destroy the reputation of a competitor - send everyone over to the opposition for a fork because you've run out,

It doesn't do an awful lot for your own reputation to sell people food that obviously needs cutlery and only then tell them that you don't have any, though.

One reason I prefer Aldi or Lidl over Asda or Morrisons is because the former always have boxes that you can take or otherwise will sell you a decent re-usable bag for a fair price if you need one. Asda only ever have those 30p plastic 'bags for life' (that are now so thin, they're barely any stronger or more durable than the old 'single-use' bags - and our local Asda frequently run out of them anyway); and Morrisons will either charge you 60p for a similar bag (granted, a bit thicker than the Asda ones) or offer you one of the rubbish paper ones.

I know others will disagree, but to me, in this one aspect at least, I consider the German stores good businesses in recognising the customers' need and being willing and able to help you to take your goods away in a practical way; whilst the others (in this respect) are shockingly-bad businesses that don't even care about helping customers to get their purchases home, once they have their money. It's certainly put me off going to them or buying nearly as much if I've forgotten my own bags or have underestimated how many I would need.

I was also going to say that, if any half-decent person would give anybody 10p without thinking twice, can I come to yours with 500 mates who are all 10p short - and then back again tomorrow and the next day?!

YABU for using a plastic fork in the first place.
Take your own cutlery with you next time, then wash it at home.

Are you for real? I can see you never have had and never will have a business .

I'd be mightily PO and have told the Greek stall exactly what I thought and asked for a refund. They should have told you they had no forks.

They don't need (or really get) repeat business. They aren't permanent premises with regular customers, they're temporary stalls visited by tourists/out of towners.

The stall you bought from should’ve ordered enough forks!..
why should the other supply forks to people who shopped elsewhere.. then they’d run out..

Those who should have given culterly where the ones who sold them. If they were out they should have gone over themselves and requested extra from nearby stall. Of course they don't owe you the cutelry.

The Greek stall were being ridiculous. They knew they had run out of cutlery - they should have asked a favour to buy some in bulk from another stall so they could continue trading. It was very unreasonable of them to tell you to ask a competitor for free stuff, when they had taken a sale away from them.

The Greek stall were being ridiculous. They knew they had run out of cutlery

On the other hand, if it had been plates that they'd run out of, I would completely understand

No, she couldn’t “of gave” you a fork but she could “have given”
I don’t care what a snotty cow I am or what outraged replies I get. But FFS, 2 grammatical mistakes in two words 🙄

Am assuming Manchester has a shop that sells forks 😝 More going on here. Absolutely they should do a deal with a fellow trader and sort it longer term. Appalling that you are already paying a premium and they aren't delivering a means to eat it.

It's their cutlery, they can give it away or not. However, I imagine you won't be buying anything from them in future, and neither will some of the people you have told this story to. A business should never undervalue its reputation, something the Brazillian stall has failed to grasp.

Incorrect, since if one is unable to meet demand from cutlery, the other could easily profit from selling cutlery at a markup.

The more I think about it the more it's clear that the Brazillian stall is in the wrong.