Taking Neighborliness to a Fault
During the summer, our Tea Room has a sidewalk cafe with a few tables. This June with rain just about everyday, it hasn't been used much but on a gorgeous day like today, our customers are sitting outside underneath the garden umbrellas and taking in the view. Since we close at 6 pm, our neighbors, the Greek restaurant "Lefteris Gyros" use our outdoor space for additional dinner seating. Why not - we're not there and they have lines out the door waiting for tables.
A few days ago, we had two customers who sat outside for lunch. They started by ordering tea and they then proceeded to look through the food menu. We served them their tea and after a few minutes, Charlene, our server that day, noticed they were walking away with our cups and saucers in hand! She ran after them asking them where they were going. They explained that they were going next door to the Greek restaurant and weren't we all the same?!
So there you go! There is a downside to being so neighborly - you can lose customers! We didn't mind, of course. We gave them their tea in a take-out cup and retrieved our good china cups and saucers!
