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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Had to pay twice in cafe, as they got my order wrong

202 replies

CoffeeDrinker2023 · 18/04/2023 11:11

I called in to a decent coffee place yesterday morning. As usual it was busy and all the tables were full. The lady at the counter was chatting to someone she obviously knew, while me and the person behind me had to wait. Maybe this went on for 3-5 minutes.

I told her I wanted a Long Black, paid for it, then moved to the other end of the counter where they make the drinks. But I looked up at the board and realised I’d been overcharged for my drink. It turns out she had imagined I’d said Flat White, so had charged me that higher price.

She then corrected the order with the baristas and told me she could refund me. I said you can just give me 40p in cash? But no she said, they are cashless.

So I thought she would refund me the 40p back to my card. But actually she refunded the whole price of the drink. And then said “But you still need to pay for your Long Black”. Which I did.

So essentially I had to pay £6.60 to get
my £3.10 coffee. And I’ll have to wait till later in the week to get the £3.50 back.

I’ve been to this cafe a dozen times before (never ordering a flat white!) and she’s probably seen me there before. AIBU to think she should have either just refunded me the 40p, or if the system didn’t allow that then she should have given me the Long Black for free to make up for her error?

It is a busy and surely very profitable cafe by the way, though it is an independent.

OP posts:
Whatkindofuckeryisthis · 19/04/2023 19:04

Takes a while for a refund to come through. It was like £3! Get a grip! Isn’t like £300! She refunded you then charged you again for your actual order. You’re being dramatic!

lap90 · 19/04/2023 19:09

I'm not sure what the issue is? They sorted the matter.

With that said i've been in coffee shops where i've been given a free drink or pastry for having been inconvenienced for much less to nothing at all.

ChocoChocoLatte · 19/04/2023 19:10

My cafe is exceptionally busy but no where near profitable again yet. I would have given it to you for free or comped you the next one for the sake of customer service. And then had a chat with the staff member chatting to her mate and not paying better attention...........

rumpsteak · 19/04/2023 19:20

Is this cafe the Italian name for a type of cake?

liveforsummer · 19/04/2023 19:23

I'd have probably just have told her to forget the 40p 😆. If you're buying coffee in a cafe though I doubt it's a huge hardship to wait - card transactions do take time to clear and if they are cashless they couldn't have done it any other way. I thought you were going to say you'd had to pay for both (no refund) that would have been unreasonable

Beachywave · 19/04/2023 19:47

Probably wouldn’t have demanded the 40p back in the first place to be honest. There’s a chance the refund could come out of her pay if she were to give you a free drink on top so I can see why she wouldn’t.

Lifeisapeach · 19/04/2023 22:16

LadyLump · 18/04/2023 11:18

I swear I have read this exact thread before, even down to the amount of 40p

Me too!

Anderson2018 · 19/04/2023 23:18

How do you know it was her friend she was chatting to? Some customers can be very chatty and it could have appeared that way and she was just being polite. I work in a similar setting and it’s difficult to interrupt when a customer is chatting to you. Although I wouldn’t let it go on for 5 minutes if it was busy I’d excuse myself to serve. Also if she’d been hit with lots of coffee orders all morning it’s easy to get confused but she should have confirmed your order before payment so I agree the service could have been better and you have been inconvenienced because of it.

BearPunter · 19/04/2023 23:32

Is this actually a parody thread? Not sure if I'm accidentally on Reddit...

She ordered a drink, they processed the wrong order, she pointed it out, they offered to refund the additional cost, she said OK. They then took both payments with a verbal promise to refund the incorrect amount.

Damn right I'd be pissed off - I've paid for the coffee I want plus the one I didn't want but it's ok because sometime this week I'll get the refund for the one I didn't want and didn't get.

Just remind why I'd even consider going there again?

BearPunter · 19/04/2023 23:37

Undisclosedlocation · 19/04/2023 19:02

if you can’t wait patiently for few days for a refund of less than £4, I’d have to say you have no business being in the cafe ordering a coffee of any description in the first place!

Do you often pay businesses for the privilege of ordering a service you won't receive?

Weird.

JesusMaryAndJosephAndTheWeeDon · 20/04/2023 06:49

BearPunter · 19/04/2023 23:32

Is this actually a parody thread? Not sure if I'm accidentally on Reddit...

She ordered a drink, they processed the wrong order, she pointed it out, they offered to refund the additional cost, she said OK. They then took both payments with a verbal promise to refund the incorrect amount.

Damn right I'd be pissed off - I've paid for the coffee I want plus the one I didn't want but it's ok because sometime this week I'll get the refund for the one I didn't want and didn't get.

Just remind why I'd even consider going there again?

It wasn't a verbal promise to refund, they processed the refund via the means she paid. It just didn't clear immediately

Uokhon · 20/04/2023 08:25

YABU

if you can afford to buy coffee out you should be able to afford to wait for a refund. Take your business elsewhere if you aren’t happy.

AIGenerated · 20/04/2023 08:36

No, you didn't deserve a free drink.

Fair enough to be irritated that they couldn't do a simple refund of 40p in cash. But it doesn't merit a free drink.

You can afford to wait for a refund if you regularly spend upwards of £3 for black coffee.

If the customer service is poor, politely point that out. You can choose where you spend your coffee money. Go elsewhere.

Phoebo · 20/04/2023 08:54

Exact same thread like this is February but it was about £40

TeaAndTwoSugars · 20/04/2023 09:17

It's annoying but it's just 40p bit of a non story really.

ChairFloorWall · 20/04/2023 09:50

Why don’t you just save money and make the coffee at home if waiting a few days for a 3.50 refund is ruminant ur life lovely xxx

Harry12345 · 20/04/2023 10:20

the system is annoying, I went out with £80 in my bank, was getting paid the next day. I ordered 3 glasses of wine and she charged me for 3 bottles at £25 each, she said I would be refunded within 5 days but that left me with £5 in my bank. Maybe you only had a tenner and wanted to buy a coffee and pay for parking and you were getting paid the next day, the system means that you no longer have the money for parking and it’s no one’s business what you choose to spend your money on!

badger2005 · 20/04/2023 10:33

Yes, I'm baffled by all of this 'you shouldn't be buying coffee for £3 unless you have another £3 that you're happy to have refunded later'. Why? Are you only allowed to spend £3 on something if you are generally wealthy?
I think people are being unfair here, and if you look at the OP's replies you'll see they've taken it all in good grace. OP - as I said, you deserve the coffee that you ordered and a refund. I hope the refund comes through, and I think you should consider an almond croissant or similar to make up for the harshness of some of the replies on this thread!

sweeneytoddsrazor · 20/04/2023 11:17

As already pointed out if you check the amount on the card reader you would know you were paying too much. At that point your order can be rectified without the need for a refund.

henlee · 20/04/2023 11:23

sweeneytoddsrazor · 20/04/2023 11:17

As already pointed out if you check the amount on the card reader you would know you were paying too much. At that point your order can be rectified without the need for a refund.

I don't think it's reasonable to suggest it's people's responsibility to not be overcharged for things, rather than the business's to not take too much money!

AIBU is like this - if someone had posted "Accidentally overcharged a customer for brunch so charged them a second time and they're annoyed. Don't know why as we charged them again the correct amount and processed a refund that will be in their account in 3-5 days not our problem"

Not sure why they couldn't refund the amount they overcharged, rather than charging customers twice.

pippylongstockings123 · 20/04/2023 11:48

Am I the only one who thinks the world is becoming too self-entitled and "the whole world revolves around me"? Feel like this is a perfect example.

And "fingers crossed" for a £3 refund!! Are you serious?! If you really need £3 that desperately, I can send you some over.

sweeneytoddsrazor · 20/04/2023 11:49

Well yes I don't know why their system is set in such a way that they can't refund the 40p but I would very much expect customers to look at the card reader before tapping. Sometimes things come up at the wrong price, sometimes people accidentally double scan things at the self checkout, sometimes the person entering the details on the cash register can make a mistake. Presumably if they were paying by cash they would notice, and check their change afterwards so why not take 10 seconds to look at the card reader?

Maverickess · 20/04/2023 12:03

pippylongstockings123 · 20/04/2023 11:48

Am I the only one who thinks the world is becoming too self-entitled and "the whole world revolves around me"? Feel like this is a perfect example.

And "fingers crossed" for a £3 refund!! Are you serious?! If you really need £3 that desperately, I can send you some over.

No I don't think you are, expectation that everyone must show them consideration to the fullest degree and very put out if that doesn't happen, yet zero consideration for anyone else, and quite baffled they should be expected to show any.
It's also I think, become quite fashionable to be a 'victim' of poor customer service and to completely overreact to very small things that happen every day and insist they are massive problems that are causing so much hardship when in reality they're a minor inconvenience if that. To the point people will make stuff up to bleat about if they feel they haven't had enough attention today.

Howdoyou · 20/04/2023 12:08

It was just an accident and you will receive the £3 refund, it can just take a few days. If you have money for a coffee shop coffee in the first place, I’d hazard a guess you can survive without the £3 for a few days.

They’re only human, humans make mistakes sometimes. It’s a really crap job, I did it as a student and hated difficult customers who treat me like a piece of shit.

Whycry · 20/04/2023 12:22

So you’re complaining about nothing then.. someone obviously didn’t hear you, they refunded you.. you didn’t pay twice.. get a life 🤣🤣