🥐 The Croissant That Cost a Coffee Shop My Business

In the Philippines, I swear some businesses are doing everything they can to make sure you don’t buy from them.

Here’s one story that stuck with me.

I walked into a beautiful French-style coffee shop. Croissants, pastries, breakfast menu on the wall. I was ready to spend money.

But when I ordered a breakfast item, the cashier simply said:

“Sorry sir, croissants are in the oven.”

That was it. No coffee. No food. No tip.

All because of the croissants.

And it’s not just cafés.

It’s salons, restaurants, even phone shops.

The default answer is too often No, instead of How can we make this work?

As a business coach, this blows my mind.

So much money is left on the table … especially in a city like Cebu, full of foreigners like me who would gladly pay more, tip more, and return again for better service.

But instead, customers are trained to walk away.

Why is this “normal”?

Culture? Bad training? Laziness? A blind spot in customer experience?

🎧 Listen to the full 3-minute rant above and let me know what you think.