The customer service here is probably the best you will find in any coffee shop anywhere, but it is especially superb for the U.K., and even more so for a corporate chain.
The warmth of the atmosphere is readily apparent upon stepping inside. Baristas routinely hold doors open for the elderly and disabled, who make up a high portion of patrons. It is clear they care and want to help out of the goodness of their hearts. And they greet everyone with the same openness and friendliness, with the result being that everyone is a little friendlier, a little more likely to hold the door open for the next person, and a little more likely to share in a smile.
This is the fabric of any good community, so they make this an especially great place to settle in and feel at home. But the community that is created here in this one coffee shop has also colored my experience of Aylesbury, where I come to work and might otherwise remain disconnected from the life of the city.
One of the baristas named Gabriel Muresanu reaches out to seemingly every third customer, getting to know the regulars, with an unreserved openness to whoever seems to need it, while bringing to his work a contagious vitality of seemingly boundless energy. Another named Michaela Walker brings to the room a softer kindness that is more evenly distributed, making the place feel like home, while never missing a beat on the job. Meanwhile, Francesco Trippichio the manager is seemingly everywhere at once, checking up on each customer, racing across the room to hold open the door for a woman with a stroller, constantly clearing the tables, sharing in a smile and a laugh.
I have included their full names because I believe they deserve a lasting testament to their dedication, and they deserve to be promoted. If only every store might have general managers like these the world would be a far warmer and more caring place, and Costa's would stand out as something special. There are many chain stores that have prioritized customer service, but this seems to flow naturally, without any sense of compulsion. And it can be quite infectious, even for a writer like myself, who comes here to work and focus.
The wide front windows, and the walking high street that it opens onto, just make it all the better. It is a beautiful coffee shop, staffed with a beautiful staff, bringing out the beauty in patrons who frequent it. Go, if you want to experience the warmth of humanity in your everyday interactions. Go, if you want to be treated kindly and with respect. Go, if you want to find community.
Theo Horesh, author of Convergence: The Globalization of Mind read more
