There are many ways for you to differentiate your business from other similar businesses in the neighbourhood. Perhaps you offer additional products and services that are not available elsewhere. Maybe you combine related services together to provide customers with a “one stop shop” experience. Or maybe you think completely outside the box and run your business in a completely different way than anyone else.

That was the strategy taken by John Bergen when he decided to pen City Cafe Bakery in Kitchener, Ontario. It’s not that his bakery specializes in a niche area of baked goods; he sells muffins, bagels, and coffee like everyone else. What sets City Cafe Bakery apart from the competition is that it operates on the honour system. There is no cash register. There is no one watching as you collect your food.

Instead, customers walk right up to the counter, pour their own coffee and grab their own muffins, and proceed to a bin at the end of the line where they deposit their money. The bin is actually a retired fare box from an old bus. Remember, there is no cashier. Customers tally up their own totals. To ease the process, Bergen has rounded all prices to the nearest quarter and all prices include tax.

By his own estimations, Bergen is only getting “ripped off” about two percent of the time. This is when customers either underpay or not pay at all. Because of the trust and convenience factors, customers are also overpaying three percent of the time. The net result is that Bergen is at least breaking even. Employees are paid handsomely too: average wage is $15.50 an hour.

For more information on City Cafe Bakery, check out this article on Bakers Journal.