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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

360 replies

imacccu · 02/12/2022 15:00

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

OP posts:
KettrickenSmiled · 02/12/2022 15:38

RishisProudMum · 02/12/2022 15:03

I don’t get this, sorry. They’re a business. Why would she give you free cutlery?

Human decency
Helping out a neighbouring business
Public relations

But oh no! 4 pence worth of plastic forks are WAY too important for those small considerations!

shiningstar2 · 02/12/2022 15:39

The Greek place should make sure they have enough forks to give out with their food. It is understandable that rival food stalls don't want to give out their utensils free to people buying from other businesses ... especially when people are spending less and businesses are struggling to stay afloat.
However plastic forks don't cost much to businesses so she was a bit silly not to let you buy a drink and include a fork as it's still a bit of profit. Or she could have charged you £1 per fork. Great profit margin on a fork for her and then she wouldn't be subsidising your choice of buying from another stall.

pizzaHeart · 02/12/2022 15:40

But the Greek food stall are U for selling you food without warning that they had no cutlery.
This^ absolutely . You don’t know maybe Brazilian place has brought certain amount of forks and spoons for the market and hasn’t planned to top up.

KettrickenSmiled · 02/12/2022 15:41

ilovesooty · 02/12/2022 15:27

The Brazilian stall did nothing wrong.

You have lunch at 8.30pm?

Yeah they did.

They missed out on a maybe 500% mark-up on the can of drink OP offered to buy to sweeten the deal.

That's just being miserable & unhelpful for the sake of it.

ShadowoftheFall · 02/12/2022 15:41

How were you eating lunch at 8.30 pm?

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 02/12/2022 15:42

Hobbesmanc · 02/12/2022 15:20

You should have gone into the Morrison's by the food market and grabbed cutlery. Tip for next time 😏😂😂😂😂

Because, of course, all food markets are in walking distance to a Morrisons Hmm

Bluekerfuffle · 02/12/2022 15:43

The Greek food stall owner should have made sure there were enough. They should have got them off the Brazilian stall and if that meant buying something, then they should have bought it, not expect their customers to do it. Of course the Brazilian stall could have just given you a couple of forks as well.

Lockheart · 02/12/2022 15:45

Invest in a small travel set of cutlery if you're going to a food market.

Much more environmentally friendly (disposable plastic cutlery should really be banned it's so wasteful) and you know you'll always have it!

VanGoghsDog · 02/12/2022 15:45

imacccu · 02/12/2022 15:07

Tbh I found the markets a bit overpriced anyway and the food not that great
The best thing we bought were brownies from a little independent trader

Surely not!!! 😱

ElephantInTheKitchen · 02/12/2022 15:46

Normally within street food there's a good culture of helping each other out, and people are forever swapping food amongst themselves.

I suspect that in the this case there was either history between the two traders, or they had been taking the piss (e.g. repeatedly ran out of forks, or hadn't bothered to restock overnight)

If someone was having genuine multi-day stock problems then I'd expect them to ask to buy some off another trader by the 100 or 1000, not send all their customers over to disturb the other trader

InsomniacVampire · 02/12/2022 15:47

Ages ago we went to a restaurant (very touristy city, and a little 'restaurant island with some shopping arcades) and when we wanted to use the toilet they told us sadly theirs were broken but we can use next door's restaurant ones.SO we went, they were surprised and asked us who sent us. We said that we just ate at the restaurant next door who had a broken toilet, and they looked supor pissed off about the restaurant sending customers off to use their toilet(but they let us in). Clearly the first place did not let them know about it.
Maybe it's the same here, it's more of a principle the Greek place just casually sent people over to other stalls without even running up to and asking if it is OK.

MysteryBelle · 02/12/2022 15:47

Very rude! Not a good way to run a business. She could have helped you, smiled, and treated you like a potential customer and human being.

The only excuse for her hostility would be if the first market had habit of ‘running out’ of supplies and telling customers to get them from the other market.

Even then, she shouldn’t have been rude to you.

BarbaraofSeville · 02/12/2022 15:48

ShadowoftheFall · 02/12/2022 15:41

How were you eating lunch at 8.30 pm?

Gotta love MN, focussing on an entirely inconsequential detail.

The Greek place is the CF here. Sending it's customers to a rival business when it needs helping out.

But I hate eating with wooden cutlery, and obviously try not to use single use plastics, so I always carry a spork with me which also helps avoid getting caught in the cross fire in an international street food related incident.

OP, I suggest that you and your mate buy each other one for Christmas

www.gooutdoors.co.uk/15903783/sea-to-summit-titanium-spork-15903783

Ineedsleepandcoffee · 02/12/2022 15:50

Yabu to you it is just two girls but you don't know the history between the stalls you are assuming that the Greek stall had forks available most of the night and just ran out and will restock tomorrow but there might have been ongoing issues with them expecting the Brazilian stall to support their customers for no benefit.

UsingChangeofName · 02/12/2022 15:51

YABU. It is the Greek place you should be annoyed at.

Changing your story from "I am at the market" ...... "getting lunch " to then saying it is late in the evening just makes you sound like you are making the whole thing up.

The Greek place should have warned you they didn't have any cutlery / should have offered to go an buy a load off the Brazilian stall or set off to track some down from Poundland or a supermarket, not sent dozens (hundreds?) of people over to scrounge off the other stall.

Choconut · 02/12/2022 15:51

Greek stall should make sure they have enough cutlery for the number of meals they can produce, they should also tell you before you buy if they have run out.

The Greek stall really shouldn't be telling people that another stall will give them free plastic cutlery without checking with the other stall first.

KettrickenSmiled · 02/12/2022 15:52

Ineedsleepandcoffee · 02/12/2022 15:50

Yabu to you it is just two girls but you don't know the history between the stalls you are assuming that the Greek stall had forks available most of the night and just ran out and will restock tomorrow but there might have been ongoing issues with them expecting the Brazilian stall to support their customers for no benefit.

What is just two girls?
Who are these girls, & where do they feature in OP's lament?

853ax · 02/12/2022 15:53

I asked a coffee stall once for a paper cup.
I had got cup coffee & bottle water. Two young children easier give younger one drink water from cup.
Yes no problem but it will cost £1 .... For the empty paper cup, seemed to be a button on till and no delay in getting information out so sounded like a common transaction.
I didn't pay it.
I think the Brazil stall should have helped you. Perhaps when you went back next time would remember and get food from them.

thelobsterquadrille · 02/12/2022 15:57

The Greek stall is at fault for not having enough cutlery.

Why would the Brazilian stall give away cutlery to people who aren't buying food? Surely they'll then end up in the same position?

VanGoghsDog · 02/12/2022 15:57

853ax · 02/12/2022 15:53

I asked a coffee stall once for a paper cup.
I had got cup coffee & bottle water. Two young children easier give younger one drink water from cup.
Yes no problem but it will cost £1 .... For the empty paper cup, seemed to be a button on till and no delay in getting information out so sounded like a common transaction.
I didn't pay it.
I think the Brazil stall should have helped you. Perhaps when you went back next time would remember and get food from them.

Yeah, you were totally in the wrong there. Bring a cup for your child to drink out of, don't expect people to give them to you free, they cost money you know.

Dontaskdontget · 02/12/2022 15:59

Blanketpolicy · 02/12/2022 15:32

The greek stall were being CF sending you to another trader for forks to eat their food. It is likely you were not the first to ask and after a few the other stall were pissed off giving their forks away.

The greek stall should have asked other stall if they could purchase some from them. Y(and the greek stall)ABVU

This.

poefaced · 02/12/2022 15:59

It sounds like it was a point of principle for the Brazilians. The Greek stall must pull this stunt all the time.

thelobsterquadrille · 02/12/2022 15:59

853ax · 02/12/2022 15:53

I asked a coffee stall once for a paper cup.
I had got cup coffee & bottle water. Two young children easier give younger one drink water from cup.
Yes no problem but it will cost £1 .... For the empty paper cup, seemed to be a button on till and no delay in getting information out so sounded like a common transaction.
I didn't pay it.
I think the Brazil stall should have helped you. Perhaps when you went back next time would remember and get food from them.

Why should they give you a cup for free, though?

Businesses will buy in a certain amount of supplies, and will calculate their prices accordingly. If they start giving away free cups to anyone that asks, they'll soon be out of pocket.

poefaced · 02/12/2022 16:01

VanGoghsDog · 02/12/2022 15:57

Yeah, you were totally in the wrong there. Bring a cup for your child to drink out of, don't expect people to give them to you free, they cost money you know.

Show quote history

Bit harsh, 853 probably spent a fiver with them on the coffee and water. The cup would have cost them 3p.

poefaced · 02/12/2022 16:01

thelobsterquadrille · 02/12/2022 15:59

Why should they give you a cup for free, though?

Businesses will buy in a certain amount of supplies, and will calculate their prices accordingly. If they start giving away free cups to anyone that asks, they'll soon be out of pocket.

Show quote history

She bought a coffee and water with them though. A cup is nothing.