I just got home, back to Portland, from school and decided I would get out of my house and walk to Palio's, a cute cafe just a few blocks away, to do some writing and reflect on my time away. I choose to settle at a small two person table even though some larger and probably more comfy tables were available because I knew I wanted to spend a few hours at the cafe and being only one person didn't want to take up to much space. I had been sitting for just over an hour when I was abruptly approached by the barista who said to me, ""you can't sit at these tables and use our internet unless you buy something."" That was all she said. No ""Hello"" or ""How are you today"" prefaced her demand. At first I thought she was coming over to ask If I would like something to drink, but she did nothing of the sort. I thought it was very rude how she handled the situation so I packed my things and spoke with her to let her know, as a customer, I think she could have approached me differently because she clearly assumed I would not be purchasing anything and that I just came to use the internet, which is in fact not true. Her response to my comment was, ""you have been sitting there for an hour and a half and you haven't ordered anything, we have signs posted."" Unfortunately I did not see the sign that said, ""We offer horrible customer service!"" If I didn't order speedily enough for the barista oh well, but if it really was an issue I wish the owner would have said something to me, maybe it would have come off better. I'm sure I will eventually go back to Palio's for some late night loose leaf tea and vegan dessert, but hopefully this barista will not be there because she was not very nice. Enough of my time and energy has been spent on this Palio's incident now I am going to get back to my writing. Don't let this comment turn you away from visiting Palio's because it really is a lovely cafe, just watch out for the blonde and order right when you walk in the door or wait to see what happens at your own risk, she could get nasty!
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