I gave two stars because the coffee when made properly is good. I've been coming to this place for years. At one point it was called Grindz. Since then it has had a couple of owner changes. Unfortunately, with the changes the service changed as well.
Yesterday (07/08/14) I ordered a coffee through the drive thru. (Which is horrible by the way. I'm going to assume they do not have any type of alerting system that lets you know there is someone in the drive thru. I had to do that fake cough move to get the owners attention, which was just standing there; watching TV might I add.) So, I order my usual white chocolate mocha-hot. As I'm driving away I let it sit for a few minutes because I don't want to shock my senses or burn my tongue with the heat. When I finally take a drink I'm like 10 minutes away from Santee. Half way to work which is in Clairemont Mesa. THIS DRINK WAS THE WORST I HAD EVER HAD FROM ANY BARISTA, EVER!! The guy had to be hung over (speculation) it literally tasted like I poured the white chocolate powder down my throat with no liquid. It was atrocious!! I was half way to work at this time and not going to turn around to replace the coffee. I attempted calling the place when I arrived at work to let him know of my discontent, but the phone number when you google the place was incorrect. I tried going after work but the place closes at noon. I ended up throwing the coffee out and hoping I could just let the manager know of my bad experience the next day, get a replacement coffee, brush it under the rug and I would continue being a loyal customer.
The following morning: I actually come into the shop because the drive thru like most days is not open as soon as the rest of the store does apparently. (It's hit or miss with the drive thru's reliability if you haven't noticed by now.) I enter with the same mindset as that of the day before. The owner knows im a longtime customer, I'll get a replacement, BS a little, no harm no foul. Our conversation,"Good morning, Just dropping by to see if I can get a replacement coffee. Yesterday morning I had to throw out the one I bought because it was made with way too much powder." His reply, "We dont do that here, we make $300 in sales a day, If you'd of brought it back yesterday after you bought it I might have done something." I replied,"I couldn't have brought it back because I was half way to work when I realized it was bad. I tried stopping after but you were closed" Owner: "sorry" Me: "I thought I'd give you a chance to make a mistake right" Owner:"sorry man"
Now this is my venting to the owner which I hope reads this. 1. I dont care how much you make in sales a day. 2. You're business hours are from 6 to noon. Even if I had tried to go during my lunch break I couldn't have been there on time to return the coffee. If you only make $300 in sales. Why are you only open for 6 hours a day? Doesn't add up. 3. I believe in mom and pop shops. I try to stay as far away from big name places like starbucks, target, etc....Unfortunately, the only place to get a good coffee with a guarantee or your money back is starbucks. So from this day forward never again coffee corner. Helloooooo STARBUCKS!!! read more