One of the first things I learned at university was around customers and retail. My lecturer asked who was more valuable to a restaurant? The family that came in once each month for dinner, or the guy who came in every day for one cup of coffee? The answer was the coffee guy. The mark up on coffee was good and the value of 30 coffees is more than a family dinner.

This is what came to mind today as I was asked by the manager of Mugg ‘n Bean (South African coffee chain) in Sandton City if we wouldn’t mind leaving as they had a long queue. (it was Saturday morning) I guess they calculated that 2 people drinking coffee over an extended period of time wasn’t as profitable as the many people standing in line for breakfast.

And maybe they were correct today? There probably was someone in the line that would have spent more money. But maybe tomorrow and the next day and the day after that, they’ll miss my coffee order. It’s not like there aren’t enough coffee shops on our planet.