Last December, Coexist Coffee Co came under scrutiny after a diner claimed they were “chased out” of the cafe despite there being “many empty seats” left.
What initially seemed like a PR nightmare has turned out to be a lightbulb moment for the cafe.
On Jan 1, Coexist Coffee Co took to its socials to announce a unique promotion that rewards diners who opt to spend a longer time in the cafe.
It’s a simple enough premise: the longer you stay, the more you save.
The caption read: “It’s our way of welcoming everyone who loves studying or working in a cosy cafe environment.”
Diners who stay for two hours will receive a 10 per cent discount on their next visit.
Add an extra half hour and the discount goes up to 15 per cent.
The discount is capped at 20 per cent, for those who chill for a minimum of three hours at the cafe.
A plus for Coexist Coffee Co lovers is that the promotion is available at both its outlets in Eunos Road 8 and Hillview Terrace.
However, do note that the offer applies to a single receipt per visit and is not valid on weekends and public holidays.
There is no word yet on when this promotion will end.
In response to AsiaOne’s queries, Coexist Coffee Co affirmed that the promotion “is related to the incident” that occurred at its Eunos outlet last month, but clarified that the cafe has not changed any of their existing policies.
They added: “Instead, we introduced this promotion as an additional gesture of sincerity and to provide further context regarding the situation that occurred.”
Going against the grain
This move of rewarding customers the longer they stay is one that appears to go against the grain of how cafes and other F&B outlets operate in Singapore.
Dining establishments typically aim to optimise their table turnover rate in order to maximise revenue and minimise customers’ waiting time during peak periods.
On its website, Lola’s Cafe states that its one-hour dining time implemented on weekends is to ensure its patrons need not experience an “unbearable waiting time”.
In September 2023, the now-defunct Gloria Jean’s Coffees outlet at West Coast Plaza outlet had announced that it would disallow patrons from studying at its outlet on weekends and public holidays.
Table-hogging behaviour from some customers had led the coffee chain to implement the policy, it said.
Incident a ‘misunderstanding’
Two days before announcing the promotion, Coexist Coffee Co released a clip on Instagram regarding its dining policy.
The Eunos outlet manager, Jun Rong, took time to address a “misunderstanding” that took place at said outlet last December.
“Let me clarify, we did not chase the customer out. We will never chase them away,” he said.
Jun Rong explained that the customer was told that the cafe needed her table back due to a high number of reservations.
While Coexist Coffee Co does have a 90-minute dining time policy, the outlet manager stated in the video that this isn’t fully enforced — apart from peak periods such as lunch hour or weekends, or when there are reservations.
“We are quite chill, so we just let you sit for as long as you need,” he added, before teasing the new promotion.
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