I tried this place this morning. Or rather, I tried to try this place this morning. It was cold; I…read morehad my two girls with me. One on foot, the other in a little stroller. I walked past the window of the establishment. The pastries looked really dry, and let's say, hideous. But since it was cold, I went in.
There was absolutely nobody there. Neither in the room nor behind the counter. After a few seconds, a man came out of the back of the store. He looked a little surprised to see someone, almost panicked.
I ordered a croissant and a pain au chocolat. Then I asked if I could sit at one of the 4 or 5 (empty) tables. The man replied naturally: "no, you can't. Not by ordering so little."
It was my turn to be surprised by such an answer. Again, it was cold, I was with two perfectly good children, I ordered food, and the store refuses to let me stay. Why?
I refused to buy the pastries and said I would go elsewhere. To which the man replied, "good luck with that".
I was pretty flabbergasted by the attitude of the man who was obviously determined to make me leave.
I still insisted. Not to sit down (I didn't want to stay anymore) but to understand the reason for his refusal. The man kept telling me I couldn't sit because the server was late; he had to go back, and he couldn't take care of me.
I reassured him that he did not have to take care of me. I was only buying the pastries. I wanted to sit down to eat them and leave 5 or 10 minutes later. I didn't expect him to sing to me or tell me stories. He just didn't have to take care of me.
But he didn't give up, so I left. I was astonished and amazed at such an attitude and an execrable sense of business and service, but also glad I didn't give money to such an individual to eat really ugly pastries.
The bakery at the end of the street had no table but welcomed me with a smile. That was all I wanted.