Well, this is certainly one way to avoid the infamous Starbucks coffee cup name flubs.
A coffee shop in Valley City, North Dakota has a very unusual approach to customer service: none. That's not to say the employees are bad at their jobs, they actually have NO employees.
The Vault is an entirely self-serve cafe and there aren't even any employees watching to make sure nobody steals. They simply trust people not to do so and it sounds like their strategy is working so far.
Basically, you make your coffee, grab yourself a scone, a cookie or whatever you're craving, add it all up, pay and go along your merry way. Customers can either leave cash on the counter, use the credit card reader or deposit a check in a slot provided - all on the honor system - and they're doing it.
"When I add up how much has been taken and how much is in the till at the end of the day, people are 15 percent more generous than thieving," the owner explained.
We have to admit, we're pleasantly surprised to hear that, although we can't help but wonder if it's partly due to the small-town setting where a lot of people probably know each other. Do you think it would work in a bigger city like Los Angeles or NYC where customers can be more anonymous?
A coffee shop in Valley City, North Dakota has a very unusual approach to customer service: none. That's not to say the employees are bad at their jobs, they actually have NO employees.
The Vault is an entirely self-serve cafe and there aren't even any employees watching to make sure nobody steals. They simply trust people not to do so and it sounds like their strategy is working so far.
Basically, you make your coffee, grab yourself a scone, a cookie or whatever you're craving, add it all up, pay and go along your merry way. Customers can either leave cash on the counter, use the credit card reader or deposit a check in a slot provided - all on the honor system - and they're doing it.
"When I add up how much has been taken and how much is in the till at the end of the day, people are 15 percent more generous than thieving," the owner explained.
We have to admit, we're pleasantly surprised to hear that, although we can't help but wonder if it's partly due to the small-town setting where a lot of people probably know each other. Do you think it would work in a bigger city like Los Angeles or NYC where customers can be more anonymous?