Sinamon franchise has four locations across Perth, and its owner, Abarai Mido, took the initiative to a local community Facebook group to promote his cafe and boast about his low prices.
“Who else thinks that 12oz (large) coffee needs to stay at $5? #justsaying,” he wrote in a post that has since been deleted, accompanied by a photo of a large coffee from the establishment.
Mr Mido’s post was clearly meant to shame other cafes for the price tag of their coffees, and some locals did not appreciate the comment.
“I think our café owners need to earn enough to pay their staff and keep doors open. If that’s more than $5 then that is what it is,” they bit back.
Mr Mido argued that he pays his staff “plenty” and urged the commenter to consider the “common day-to-day consumer”. He then posted a photo of a woman holding up a sign that read “greedy”, which was met with outrage.
“This is why businesses should be very careful with how they post on social media. Not very professional,” one commenter wrote.
“I don’t understand why you posted this as a business owner. Seems you’ve shot yourself in the foot with narky responses to people. Not a good look at all,” added another.
“I think you’re opening a can of worms by calling other cafes “greedy” for setting their prices higher than yours,” another said.
A final commenter wrote, “As someone who loves supporting local businesses (and that included yours), this sort of thing makes me not want to buy from you again,” they wrote.
“Look, if you are enjoying overpaying or overcharging for food and coffee, that’s your choice and opinion, and just go with it,” Mido responded.
Speaking with Pete and Kymba on Perth’s Mix94.5 station, Mr Mido defended his post, arguing that he never implied other cafe owners were “overcharging and getting greedy”.
“I didn’t actually say that,” he said.
“All I said in the post – which was kind of rhetorical – was 12oz should stay as $5. We are doing our (best) to fight inflation,” he continued.
Mr Mido said Sinamon faced the same economic pressures as other cafes but was willing to “take a hit” to keep customers coming back.
