I used to love going to Kinley's Tea House to work on my assignments. The baristas were upbeat and the manager was very informative and fun to talk to even and maintained her friendly disposition even when there was a rush. I loved the variety of tea, including the boba milk teas and the crystal sunrise tea, which was made with oolong and hibiscus. They also made some soup with matcha-infused broth and tea-marinated tofu (I believe it was with their lapsang souchong.
I can forgive a few hiccups, but the last time I was there, their service was so bad that I didn't want to return, and I haven't since then and don't plan to. It seems like the friendly staff I once enjoyed no longer work there, or perhaps I was just unlucky and happened to go when they weren't there. I kept getting this one girl whose expression was as mundane as I imagine she thought her job was (whoa is me --I have to make tea! Life so so stressful!). I would get over it if she was like that just once in a while, but that wasn't the case every time I got her, and no matter how nice I was (I'd also tip her despite her subpar customer service), it felt as if I was annoying her.
The last time I went, which was a few months ago now, I ordered -very slowly and clearly, when there wasn't a rush- an iced loose-leaf tea. I asked her if she could sweeten it with honey while it was steeping before she iced it. I sat down and read a newspaper, and when I heard "hot tea ready at the bar," I assumed that was for someone else (although there were only two other people than me there). But after 15-20 minutes of waiting, I thought, "Oh, I guess that WAS for me!" And sure enough it was. I said, "I'm sorry, I remember ordering this iced." And without a word, she lazily got the hot tea and poured it over ice, which diluted the flavor. When you make iced loose-leaf tea, the amount of tea, water, and time you leave it steeping is different, and seeing as this is a place that SPECIALIZES in tea and that I've had great service in the past, I figured she'd get something very simple like that down (especially since she had been there the last several times I went).
I had an hour to work on my assignment before they closed, so I went upstairs and made sure not to order anything else so they could clean and leave as soon as I left. At a few minutes til closing time, I got up, put my laptop away, looked down stairs, and the girl with an attitude and a co-worker were leaving, not realizing I was still there. One turned around and saw me. I expressed that there were a few minutes left and I was trying to pack up and go, and they didn't seem at all bothered or sorry. As I waked to the Kinley's Coffee House next door, the same girl with a 'tude also walked there and quickly went to the back.
All in all, I was tired of feeling as if I was burdening the lazy staff members and decided to never go back. There are some great tea establishments very close to that business and luckily I haven't had the same bad service with them. I'll still go to Kinley's Coffee House, because the waitstaff there has been nice. I'm crossing my fingers that the girls from that night quit, because the vibes they gave were was such as sad, stark contrast from the ones of the previous staff members and no one deserves to have that kind of service. read more