Does it ever drive you nuts when you’re waiting in line at say, Subway or Hannaford Supermarket’s deli counter, and the person behind the counter says, “Can I help who is next?” and the person who’s next grunts: “Yeah... uh gimme a [insert order].”

Don’t you just want to turn to the cretin and say, “Ya think you could manage to choke out the word ‘please’ with that?”

A café in Nice called the Petite Syrah has found a novel way to get customers to be more polite when ordering a coffee. It’s about time.

Barking out: “A coffee” when ordering will cost you €7 ($9.65).

Adding a “please” to your order will cost you €4.25 ($5.85).

Being a normal human being and adding a “Good morning” along with your “please” will only cost you €1.40 ($1.95).

They say until you’ve been the person behind the counter at one point in your life, you’ll never quite understand how far a little civility goes in the retail and service industry.

Midcoast businesses, what do you think of this sign?

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com