Poor customer service or am I nitpicking?

#1: Post by **erik996** » October 20th, 2011, 11:07 pm

For reasons beyond my control, I had to buy my morning latte today. I went to a local roaster/cafe that I consider among the best in Portland, and a place I have frequented and bought a lot of whole beans from. I was actually looking forward to getting a drink and pastry there.

I parked in front of the cafe and noticed there weren't any customers inside, but the lights were on and the barista was behind the bar doing barista things. There weren't many people out and about and I thought I just may be the first customer. I pulled open the unlocked door and the barista shouted to me: "we don't open until 6:30!" Granted, the GB5 was making noise and we were about 30 feet apart so she had to raise her voice, but she sounded pissed off. I looked to the right of the door to see a 3x5 card with the store hours listed. I was 4 minutes early and was shooed from the cafe.

I left and went to another nearby cafe and enjoyed their latte and scone. I don't know when I'll go back to the original cafe, but I'm still a bit miffed about it. Yes, I was early. I totally understand that, but the door was unlocked and shooing a paying customer away over a 4 minute discrepancy was in poor taste IMO. I've worked customer service jobs in the past, and in a similar situation, I would never do something like that.

Am I way off base here? The crowd here seems to be a more genteel and civilized than other forums I frequent, so you folks may agree that I should have stood outside for 4 minutes and waited. What say you?

October 20th, 2011, 11:33 pm

If I was the barista I would have invited you in and asked you to hang out for a bit while I got everything ready for opening.

If I was you I would probably have left if you felt unwelcome. I would probably return soon, though, if it was my favorite place. Anybody can have a bad day including the staff at my favorite places. If the same barista kept sounding pissed off then I'd probably let management know.

#3: Post by **yosetl** » October 21st, 2011, 12:02 am

Erik, sorry to hear about your bad experience.
Maybe you are dealing with some snob

BTW which one from these two who shooing you ?

http://ow.ly/74cXz
Coffee Snobs by Funny or Die

#4: Post by **dsblv** » October 21st, 2011, 12:26 am

Sounds like nitpicking to me. The barista could have invited you in before opening or you could have patiently waited 4 minutes. Sounds like both of you needed to chill out.

October 21st, 2011, 1:01 am

Just sounds like the barista was having a rough morning to me...maybe she didn't have her first coffee of the day yet either.

#6: Post by **blzrfn** » October 21st, 2011, 1:02 am

Tough call, but I would lean towards poor customer service. My guess is that she was behind on her morning tasks and didn't realize it was only four minutes until opening. Rushing to get everything ready and dialed in for the morning rush could be frustrating and she made a poor choice in handling the situation. I try to be rational about these situations and don't hold a grudge, however if I did receive similar treatment during regular hours and it was a place that I otherwise enjoy frequenting then it is time to make a phone call, e-mail or have a chat with the management if they aren't busy. I have found myself not giving the appropriate service to customers when I am not in the groove. I try to recognize and correct it myself, but have even had an employee put me in my place once which earned major brownie points with me. It takes a brass set to tell management to chill out and I respect that.

#7: Post by **Randy G.** » October 21st, 2011, 1:27 am

While I have never worked in the food service industry, I have worked customer service. The correct response could easily have been, "Have a seat and I will be with you in just a few minutes. It's a bit before our opening time of 6:30, so I'm not quite ready. It will just be a few minutes."

A coffee shop operates on two things - their coffee and the atmosphere. You should almost feel like family when you walk in. Not my family, though..

#8: Post by **LATrapp** » October 21st, 2011, 1:54 am

In my opinion, 100% poor service. If the shop is closed for business, then the door should be locked. If the barista has mistakenly left the door unlocked, then they should realize their error and NOT place the blame on the customer.

#9: Post by **Philg** » October 21st, 2011, 8:52 am

I worked in grocery stores, maybe not a good comparison but I upset a more experienced worker by letting someone in early. Problem is that then they want service, and other people want to come in, and you're not ready - the register isn't set up and you have to watch these people.

Of course if you don't want people wandering in, you need to keep the door locked, but sometimes you can't (delivery), that said, if someone comes in your open door, it's your mistake, you need to be nice about it.

And she should have been nice, and as others say, just 4 minutes in a coffee shop "please have a seat, I'll be right with you" sounds best.

I just want to suggest that perhaps she was anxious, and that's why she came off as rude. So maybe give them another chance.

Glad you found a nice substitute for your morning.

#10: Post by **Boldjava** » October 21st, 2011, 8:55 am

erik996 wrote:...

I left and went to another nearby cafe and enjoyed their latte and scone. I don't know when I'll go back to the original cafe, but I'm still a bit miffed about it. . .

I would have done the same thing as you did. Both my feet and my money vote. I also follow up with an email to the owner, "Let me tell you of my experience..." Your post had an appropriate tone. Send it to her/him.

B|Java