Why do coffee shops hide napkins behind the counter?
Posted by OrdinaryIncome8@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 35 comments
Chain coffee shops such as Costa and Pret tend to have all kinds of things for customers to pick freely: sugar, stirrers, spoons etc. However, usually napkins are not, but must be requested from the staff instead. Why is it so? After all those are similar low value items, and staff is always happy to give bunch of those when asked.
AdvancedSquashDirect@reddit
Counter point, These stupid metal dispensers make it that you get half a torn one or 12 napkins and there is no inbetween.
cardamom-me@reddit
I cater in an office of around 800 people and I order in around 32,000 napkins a week. People can take them freely. Llots of them take a huge stack, use one or two and bin the rest. It's so wasteful.
I know that's "only" 8 napkins per person per day, but it's still a lot.
Quiet_surprise79@reddit
I worked at Costa when they still had napkins out for customers to take and I can't tell you how frustrating it is when you put out fresh napkins just before a big queue forms, you're halfway through it and someone grabs your attention to tell you that there's no napkins. When someone eventually has a spare 30 seconds to top them up, you walk past a table with half the original stack sat stuffed in a coffee mug even though they clearly weren't otherwise used.
Or they're stuffed down the toilet for no reason.
People don't do this so much with the other items.
One-Program6244@reddit
Sooner or later, some selfish wanker is going to come along and just grab the whole lot.
JurassicM4rc@reddit
Well, if they're doing that in there then I imagine a few napkins would come in handy.
Holli303@reddit
Lmfao! This comment made my day and reminded me why I have my own espresso machine 😂
srm79@reddit
Then why leave the sugar, milk, stirrers etc., out? Why is it just paper napkins that are behind the counter?
Youppi27@reddit
People left to their own resources don't seem capable of taking just enough.
YoungGazz@reddit
So they don’t become Kid-napkins.
Pale_Slide_3463@reddit
Because stuff costs money
No-Veterinarian-3916@reddit
Maybe as a technical fast food model, they copy McDs or BK or KFC. as they all have a separate desk for napkins and condiments.
They probably want to conserve them, as if customers freely take them they might take them too much. And it impacts on their costs.
I do't work for Costa so this is just random musing. They have their reasons obviously.
Specialist_Emu7274@reddit
I used to work in an independent coffee shop. It’s because people pick up like 20 then only use 1, but obviously we have to chuck the rest away. Napkins aren’t expensive but it’s a cost that can more easily be reduced compared to other things
ChaiSlytherin@reddit
Sustainable pushes, otherwise people grab massive handfuls that all just have to be thrown out even if they didn't visibly use them all
Real23Phil@reddit
Have you met the public? For one some people use the most tissue for tiny spills
neilm1000@reddit
Because people nick them or take absolutely loads.
OrdinaryIncome8@reddit (OP)
If the reason would be just to avoid nicking, then it would make sense to it apply for other similar stuff as well. Itis hard to imagine that napkins would be more prone to nicking than for example  spoons. However, as others have pointed out, the quantity taken most likely explains the difference.
neilm1000@reddit
When I worked for Pret, people used to take enormous amounts of napkins home. Along with salt and pepper. No one really took the cutlery because it was wooden and useless (we did have the bioplastic stuff but that wasn't popular either due to how it felt).
But mainly it's because people just take loads.
another_awkward_brit@reddit
People will grab far too many, not use most of them then bin the rest. It's a colossal waste when multiplied by however many customers each firm serves.
Willing_Donut_5625@reddit
I often think this and came to the conclusion that it's probably that people often take way more than what's needed. With a fork or spoons, you'll likely take 1 as you know you only need one. With napkins, you'll take a handful, even though maybe you only need 1. They were probably forking out (excuse the pun) a fortune on wasted napkins.
OrdinaryIncome8@reddit (OP)
That is a good point. There usually is not a need to take few spoons 'just in case', and even for sugar people might have better understanding on how many they prefer.
PM-me-your-cuppa-tea@reddit
And sugar is in a packet so you can pop it back if its unopened.
Embarrassed_Park2212@reddit
I was guilty of usually taking too many but I did keep them in my bag/trolley and use them next time. Now I don't ask for them and carry a pack of baby wipes because the table will need wiping and a dry napkin won't do it so carry my own supply.
AuroraDF@reddit
I noticed this in the Tesco cafe near my mother's house recently. They over filled the cup so much that their was coffee all over the tray by the time I got it to the table. But they hadn't provided any napkins. When I went back to the counter and said I needed napkins to mop up spilled coffee, she gave me two. Two. Im afraid I inadvertently got out my teacher look.
dinkidoo7693@reddit
I work in a coffee shop, when we put them out customers take far too many and we run out, we also spend ages tidying them up, taking used napkins off chairs, tables and out of cups.
Tight-Principle-743@reddit
Most likely, people take more than they need and they don’t want that to happen, hence hiding them behind the counter.
PurchaseDry9350@reddit
Pret loves to inconvenience people, incredibly loud music, etc. All about money for them, get people in and out while using as little services (seat, napkin) as possible
yossanator@reddit
People will take loads, then either leave them at their table, so have they to be binned or take them with them. They cost 2p per unit for the small cocktail ones, as used in most coffee shops. That adds up when you look the scale of operations. Given the economy, these chains will be looking at costs down to a crazy level.
DeadPonyta@reddit
Thieving Greedy Selfish bastards is the short answer.
People take them in bulk and quite often not even customers. I definitely remember on many occasions seeing people walk into coffee shops, restaurants, fast food joints and take all the napkins from the self serve console and then just walk out again.
BroodLord1962@reddit
To stop people helping themselves to half a dozen
-myeyeshaveseenyou-@reddit
I’m a chef but I’ve done a lot of purchasing of napkins over my career. Napkins can get pretty expensive depending on the quality. A box of napkins is usually somewhere between £30-£50. If you just have them out people tend to take more than they need. A lot of businesses are struggling these days so costs have to be controlled everywhere
Boulder_Brock@reddit
As someone who works in an independent coffeeshop, we do the same.
People can't just take 1 or 2 they take a handful, use one and leave the rest on the table. Those napkins then have to be thrown away because they've been handled.
Pottage10@reddit
Worked for Pret and it’s because customers often take huge handfuls of them and they are surprisingly expensive particularly if branded. Sugar sachets can usually be put back if left over on the tables.
Last-Deal-4251@reddit
Because people lift loads at a time and the majority end up in the bin.
Amazing-Visual-2919@reddit
Because people steal handfuls of them.
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