Please and thank you: Spanish restaurant introduces ‘rude customer tax’

Some people believe having good manners is its own reward, and now it could have financial benefits when you’re travelling overseas.

A restaurant owner in Spain has started adding a "rudeness tax" onto the price of coffee, with impolite customers paying up to $5 more for a cup.   

Inside the Blau Grifeu restaurant in northeastern Spain, a sign dictates the price of coffee depending on how customers phrase their order: Brusquely asking for "one coffee" will cost $7, while adding "please" will see the price dropped to $4.

But the best price of $2 is reserved for people who say: "Good morning, one coffee please."

Owner Marisel Valencia Madrid told The Times UK that the scheme is already working: "I put a sign in the window with the price system and it has made all the difference. People are now super polite in all matters and it has really improved daily life."