So I am disappointed and really would rather have been giving this place a higher rating because this was one of my favorite spots. My husband loved it, I brought my daughter here and she wound up bringing her college friends too (they all bought merchandise to represent) but the negatives are starting to outweigh the positives. I believe that if these things aren't addressed it may begin to affect business and it is such a cute spot with a fun theme and creative concoctions I would hate it to go south.
Like I said, I have been a regular for awhile now, in fact, I have purchased quite a few pieces of merchandise for friends and family and even came into the shop with my West Shore T-shirt during my last visit! But there have been a few consistent issues that are beginning to affect the experience.
I usually like the cookies and cream concoction. It is offered as a latte with espresso. I am highly anxious and cannot have too much caffeine for numerous reasons, so I have been ordering just the coffee version. Whenever I clarify, the barista charges me accordingly because I believe it really is the espresso that is the up charge not bits of cookies. But my last visit was strange...
So, I arrived ( in my West Shore T-Shirt) on July 21st, looking forward to my coffee and order. It began with the encounter of the barista who I often see and get really bad vibes from and STILL don't know her name because she isn't friendly to me and avoids eye contact and dismissive. After ordering, she quickly informs me that she is going to charge me $5.00 for the coffee whether it is the latte or not because of the "fixings." I am almost 100% positive that she meant the crushed cookie pieces. I asked her if she can just make the flavor, she said yes, so it was the coffee without the cookie pieces.
I cannot understand how the cookie pieces would warrant an extra $2.00. I can understand the espresso! This puts me in an unfortunate position because I can't justify paying $5.00 for cookie pieces in my coffee, so I ordered it without the cookies, a tea and an avocado toasted bagel.
I can understand charging a little extra, but not the same price as the espresso. This confusion had also cost me from having my coffee partner( husband) accompany me there. He often encourages us to go other places because he said he no longer likes going. I asked why and he said they are "not friendly, charge unfairly and take too long." I argued and would say that only a few people were unfriendly and perhaps he was unclear to them as to whether he was ordering the coffee or espresso. He would often get charged different prices. Now I know it wasn't him. Maybe there had been confusion amongst the staff as to what they should charge, and this was their decision unfortunately.
In the beginning, there was a lively, friendly and informative gentlemen we would often encounter. We returned often after ordering from him. We are unaware if he is he owner or manager, but it would make sense that he was. Whenever we would go in when he wasn't there, we would feel unwelcome. No eye contact, personal conversations that would make us feel awkward, and the workers just talk amongst themselves with whoever their "friends" are at the bar. They are often so engaged in their own conversations it takes FOREVER for them to complete orders. I remember and understand how nice it is to have fun with co-workers and hang with friends at a work place ( coffee shops and bars) and I understand that the theme is laid back, but it is still a business. People are often in a rush when they grab their coffee, unless the ambiance and people are welcoming. I often returned regardless because the vibe is intended to be relaxed ( music , allowing dogs, Disney movies) and so I anticipated longer wait times, but if the staff isn't having you join in on the friendly laid back atmosphere never even saying HELLO or goodbye you end up feeling like an " outsider" impatiently waiting for your food.
Overall, it isn't good business sense to only be friendly to a certain client base ( I guess we don't fall in that base) and not others and to lose consistent and dependable income from regulars like me in the long run. Eating the extra cost of cookie pieces ( probably like 15%) from a dependable source who comes back and brings others to the business just doesn't add up literally.
I am writing this lengthy review so that it may help the owner. I also gave it two stars because I didn't want to hurt the ratings too much, but needed this to come to their attention because I am sure there are others like me. I like the food, the coffee and the theme and the few interactions with the friendly people but said above needs attention. I may try it again in a month or two to see if anything changed. Perhaps my review won't even make a difference, but it would be nice if it did. I like to see businesses thrive. My family owned one. It was in the family since 1929!
So that is my 2 cents... read more