The inflated café surprise

I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was. It was my own fault, and I'll own it. I'd walked into a café I've been to several times on Saturday morning, not a favourite café, but they had a big board out the front promoting their new menu and it caught my eye. I was in the area to buy a few things before I flew interstate for work and figured eggs on toast sounded like a good idea.

Where I went wrong was that I didn't look at the menu as I figured a simple eggs on toast would be available. Yep, a dumb mistake.

I ordered scrambled eggs on toast with mushrooms and relish on the side, a small flat white coffee and glass of freshly-squeezed orange juice. Sure, they were on the menu, so no worries there, but when the girl at the counter said, that's $34.50 (AUD), I just about keeled over and died right on the spot. I'd not expected that, it was a full $10 over what I'd expected to pay. I should have told her to forget it but didn't, I paid and took my seat.

What arrived was:

• Freshly squeezed orange juice (watered down)
• Scrambled eggs (made in the microwave, non-fluffy and tasteless)
• Mushrooms (they seemed lonely, there was only three, and they were cold)
• Relish (tasty, but so cold it made Antarctica seem warm)
• Toast (that was so over-toasted I could have stabbed someone with it)
• Grass (I don't know how else to describe it.)
• Small cup of flat white (which I enjoyed)

I've certainly had worse food, of that there is no doubt, but it was so over-priced; I don't mean for what I got, I mean in general. I have the financial ability to pay this sort of price for breakfast and appreciated that the coffee was good...but I sat there eating tasteless eggs, trying not to stab someone everyone with my toast, and wondering what the actual fuck was going on.

I was saying to someone just the other day that I've had to add almost $500AUD to my monthly shopping budget. I mean for food, cleaning products, toiletries and so on from the supermarket. Diesel is $2.10/L, vehicle registration and insurance, health and house insurance, council rates, water, electricity, cost of clothing, internet, phone service and much more...all have increased dramatically. Wages have not.

Along with those increases has come a decrease in quality, and this café is a perfect example. Less staff so longer wait-times, sub-standard/cheaper produce, corner-cutting in the kitchen process, smaller portions...all at an increased cost to the consumer.

I was surprised at the $10 premium I paid at the café on Saturday. I can't even say I'm out of touch with eating out as I eat at café's all the time and have done so for years. It shocked me to be honest, the cost and how bad it was, and in my head I'm like, note to self, don't come back here.

Have you noticed the cost of things rising dramatically and the decline in quality and service because of it also? I'll be honest and say I'll probably not believe you if you said no as it's a problem across the world, whether a person wants to admit it or not.

If you have an inflation story, one about declining quality or just a rant about bad service feel free to tell me in the comments below.