Here is the email I just wrote to Village Coffee on the corner of 27th and State:
I had a very strange experience at your shop this morning. "Strange" because it was undesirable. Almost every day, and sometimes twice a day, I come through the drive through and order the same thing. Today it was handed out the window to me, wrong. It didn't have cream in it. The girl dumped some coffee out (ack!) and added so much cream that it hardly even looked like coffee anymore. When she came back with it, she said "Does it look okay?" I said "It's a little light but whatever." and decided to taste it to make sure she had remembered the Splenda. She had, but oh my goodness... Between being overloaded with cream, and not being made with espresso, and having so much sweetener in it (if I had ordered an iced coffee it would have only had three splendas), It tasted like sweet cream with a bit of coffee flavor. Nearly undrinkable.
I asked her "How many shots are in this?"
She replied "Standard is four shots, but we're using iced coffee in our iced americanos now, it's a new thing we're doing."
Me: "so... There are no shots?"
Her: "We're using iced coffee for our iced americanos now, I promise, it's a new thing we're doing."
Me: "But the definition of an americano is espresso and water. If I wanted and iced coffee I would have ordered an iced coffee."
Her: "I know, it's a new thing we're doing. We're using iced coffee for our iced americanos now."
Me: "But if it's iced coffee it's not an iced americano."
Her: "It's a new thing we're doing, we're using iced coffee in our iced americanos now"
Me: "So you've gone from having the best iced americano in this city to serving me iced coffee when I order an americano."
Her: "It's a new thing we're doing, I promise, we're using iced coffee for our iced americanos now."
Me: "Well then I promise I won't be a daily visitor anymore." and I drove away.
I'm not sure if this is true, or if it is a training issue, or if baristas have turned into robots who can only repeat one specific phrase over and over again. Either way, after singing your shop's praises on the internet and to all of my friends and coworkers, today's experience was disheartening.
Hopefully the girl "Promised" wrong and this will all be just like a bad dream and tomorrow the world will be right again, and an americano will be an americano and iced coffee will be iced coffee... If not, the $20 I just reloaded my gift/loyalty card with better not expire any time soon because it won't be used for the rest of the summer.
Please respond and let me know if I should bother supporting a local business or if I should just head on over to the giant on the corner up the street.
***EDIT***
This is the email I got in response. This is for sure the way to run a business!
This is the email I got in response. This is for sure the way to run a business!
Aimee, My employee advised me of the situation. I asssure you that she used "cold brew" which is cold ESPRESSO shots. It is not "Coffee". She also explained to me that she offered to make you a new one and that you refused, screamed at her and left! She did everything she could to try and satisfy you. She is a new employee, she tried to make you happy. Everyone makes mistakes and when someone tries to repair the situation they should not be screamed at and made to cry. My goodness... you would not give her a chance. She felt horrible all day and almost quit. Please come get a refund of what is left on your card.
17 comments:
Is it wrong that I laughed out loud at how unbelievably stupid the robot conversation (that's the shit Twilight Zone is made of), though that is understandably infuriating and annoying. MEH.
:( bummer.. i know how much you liked that place!
Retail robots are the worst.. the most recent for me was at Target where the cashier just repeatedly told me "it don't scan i don't take it" in regards to a printed coupon.
I got it the first time, I didn't ask for clarification because i didn't understand your misuse of the english language. I asked for clarification because what you said was stupid and contrary to your companies coupon policy.
ergh!
p.s. the comment above-above was deleted because of my misuse of the english language. Because I am awesome.
Pants - I left out at least three repetitions of the "It's a new thing we're doing..."/"But the definition of an Americano is ESPRESSO and water"/"It's a new thing we're doing..." bit because I was getting tired of typing.
Suzanne - Target just types in the amount of the coupon when it comes up that the item wasn't purchased. I have at least one a week that doesn't want to work. You got a Target Lame-Bot :(
Hopefully the owner (who usually helps me) will get the email, know who I am, and want to fix the problem.
Give them another chance. Even Starbucks down the street has stupid employees. Remember that retarded ginger kid that worked there?
Next time you go maybe go inside and express how unhappy you were with the last trip.
because you totally scream at people... I've known you for almost 26 years now and I've never once seen you scream at some one no matter how completely stupid they are being. And there's been some reallllly stupid ones!
add another one to the list that doesn't deserve your money.
One oddly funny part of this is that I've never met you and yet even I know you didn't scream at anyone and make her cry.
It's always bewildering to me when local merchants/small business owners make the Evil Ones (e.g., Starbucks, Borders, Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, Walmart, Target) SO DAMN ENTICING.
On a strange but happy note, there's a raccoon on my roof right now. No one knows why.
I think that once you've worked in service/retail you've experienced enough crazies, and even if you have a short temper, you don't scream at people who serve you.
Being condescending and slightly passive-aggressive is way more my style.
Even if I was a screamer, the girl didn't do anything scream-worthy so there would be no reason to scream at her.
Becky what's the raccoon up to? And how did it get up there? And can 'coons cause destruction?
You will go back, addiction is addiction. I've probably had a hundred awful ice coffess from DDs but I still can not drive by one with getting one!
ps- Many times Christy and I have been like DAMN IT, they gave me a cream-sicle! The problem with those is that the over dose of tryptophan from the cream counter-acts the caffeine from the coffee, what a piss off!
Did you hear back from the nameless "manager" after the second email?
Shogun: Dunk's is a chain... This place is just one place. I won't be back, my addiction can be fueled elsewhere. On a side note, when i typed "Shogun" I saw 80s girls in my head shouting "SHO'NUF" from your movie that you always watched.
Pants: No, I haven't heard back from them. straaange...
Oh my hell... Not even sure what to say about that... The stupid employee is one thing, but the email response from the manager is the topper... Seriously!!! Forget the employee, he should be fired!!!
Fancy pants: Seriously. All I can think is "That can't have been written by the actual manager or owner. Who would run a business that way?" I did respond to their email, and haven't heard back. Weirdest thing maybe ever.
The managers response was ridiculous! They must be having an affair and he's afraid to fire her for sexual harrisment because they've been doing it in the back room during store hours and he knows that at the trial she'll "promise" that it wasn't consenual.
They should be happy it wasn't me, with a response email like that I'd have the manager crying on my return visit.
Customer Service is officially dead as we know it because of the "me" generation and instant gratification.
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