Ring Ring….Not Here!!

On your mobile? Not in my shop

The coffee trader who banned bad manners deserves a medal.

I don’t know whether the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for this year has been finalised but, if not, I would like to nominate Mr Darren Groom of Norwich for an MBE. The 36-year-old coffee-trader has struck a valiant blow for the rights of ordinary people – rights that are in danger of being swept away by the tsunami of technological progress.
Irritated by customers mouthing their orders to him while jabbering on their mobile phones – a phenomenon so widespread that others have lost the will to protest – Mr Groom has had enough.
Why should he and his staff be treated in this offhand way? Why should they have to be amateur lip-readers, trying to work out if the moron reliving the Manchester United match with his mate Barry has ordered an espresso or a latte?
Mr Groom, a true tribune of the people, and a tireless champion of good manners, has now introduced a zero-tolerance policy in his shop, refusing to serve customers who flout the house rules. “SORRY WE ARE UNABLE TO SERVE YOU IF YOU ARE ON THE PHONE,” reads a sign above the till. And even that polite “sorry” – probably the word that, more than any other, epitomises traditional English courtesy – endears you to the man. Did I say an MBE? Make that an OBE. He is a hero.