consistently annoying

askthecoffeeguy

Ok... so I've been going to this same local cafe in Elwood for years, right? We won't name names, but its the big amphibious one on the corner.

And usually, usually, they get my coffee right.

They went through a bit of a downward trend for a while, not so long back, when the food you ordered (which has generally been good) would arrive very shortly after you ordered it, but the coffee would take 40 mins to arrive!

Now, you know what, I may be alone in this, but I would rather wait 40 mins for a good coffee, than 5 mins for a crap one, but don't always have the time for such luxuries.

Anyway, then the coffee got good again, there soon after you ordered it, and just how you like it.

Now, just today, change of staff, and I watched the guy make it - NO back-flushing of the group head between extractions, and NO wiping out the portafilter before use!

The result?

Three bucks for something undrinkable, that I could make better at home for myself!

What do you do?

Speak to the owners and say that the coffee is crap?

Take it up with the barista in question? (who has been around, and should know better)

Or just not go back?

Personally, I'm for the later option.

Life is to short for regrets, and, if I can avoid it, I may be disappointed once, but I will seldom be disappointed twice, especially when I know I can make better for myself at home (in fact, I just did!).

But the fact remains that good coffee is something that you often go out for, it's about the camaraderie and the companionship, the sense of occasion, and the sense of place, and, well, it's about just being out of your house or your work or whatever, and being taken care of by someone else for once!

These are not hard things to get right, but all too often we get them wrong!

Why is this, and should I just stay at home in my own secular world and cry into my cappuccino?

What do you think?

ACG

sketchy

Hi ACG As a cafe owner i would rather someone came and told me or one of my staff that there was a problem so that we could make them another coffee or work with them to see if we could make it the way they like it. I think most people in the industry would agree with that. LE

askthecoffeeguy

I agree, I am a cafe owner as well... but this is not the first time I have had a few words with the venue in question. Ask me again tomorrow and I may have called and spoken to someone about it by then. I figure I need at least a day to cool my heels! ACG

tommy

it can go either way really, if you politely have a chat to the manager/owner/barista you might see some good results but there is always the chance that you are going to offend. but hey thats what customers do! hehe but yeh i mean if the barista knows that he/she should be doing those things then yeah, but i guess the flipside is that they may not know to do these things so you can't really expect to be out training every barista in every cafe u get served an average coffee. I guess i would probs not go back and just stick to the cafes that are passionate about making good coffee. Its in those places that you can quietly say to the barista there is something wrong with the coffee because you two both know better, end result happy customer = happy barista/owner.

gregbyday

I vote with my feet and word of mouth to friends. I,ve given up complaining because of A few negative expiriences in doing so.

One-a-day

Yeah it's a bit of a "how you are feeling at the time" thing i spose, one day you feel like changing the world and others you don't.

Lovey

ACG, put yourself in that cafe owner's shoes for a sec. I know that you own a cafe 🙂 Would you rather know about a problem and fix it, or have people 'voting with their feet' and possibly giving them some bad press, either via word of mouth or on a chat room as well? You said that you've spoken to someone there before, was it the owner or just the PBTC, who probably couldn't give an obese rodents rear end, as evidenced by his attitude to the liquid gold. I know if I was the owner and I had a clown like this working for me, I would want to know about so I could fix it and not lose any more customers. Just my opinion.

[deleted]

I think you should stay at home permanently in your "secular" world (whatever the heck that's supposed to mean!!) and cry into your cappucino...obviously from your many previous posts, no one comes close to your coffee making skills (don't forget you pay yourself $50.00 and hour but you're worth it) so why even bother. I swear if you were a lollypop, you'd lick yourself. Baristas from other cafes who don't live up to your standards are not the only thing on this forum who are consistently annoying...I could name something else, but leave it to you to figure that one out. L2L :-X :-X :-X

tommy

snap! :o

Bon

A mate of mine tried subtly telling the owner of a cafe that we were a regular at that we didn't like the beans they were using and they could do better... thought it might be worthwhile since our opinion was asked on a new barista's coffee.. anyway, they didn't seem to care so we've walked and gone elsewhere.

sketchy

Ask me again tomorrow and I may have called and spoken to someone about it by then. I figure I need at least a day to cool my heels! ACG

How did you go today. Did you speak to them and if so what was the response. Remember though that not everyone is perfect :o and they may have been having a bad day. LE

askthecoffeeguy

[quote]

askthecoffeeguy

A mate of mine tried subtly telling the owner of a cafe that we were a regular at that we didn't like the beans they were using and they could do better... thought it might be worthwhile since our opinion was asked on a new barista's coffee.. anyway, they didn't seem to care so we've walked and gone elsewhere.

Interestingly, I used to use a commercial brand of coffee, one which I was very happy with, from a company which provided great customer service, but I changed to a more 'boutique' brand, on the basis of feedback from customers. Contrary to popular belief, I am not adverse to feedback / criticism, and I actually encourage it as way to consistently fine tune and to hone my product. And, as yet, I have not contacted the cafe in question, but mainly because I have been working 12 hrs a day (not that I complain - just stating a fact) Thanks to all who have replied / read this topic (saga to be continued) ACG

[deleted]

When you say 'didn't backflush machine between shots' do you mean using the blind portafiller to actually backflush the grouphead for afew seconds or do you mean flushing some water through the grouphead without any grouphandle attached?

askthecoffeeguy

I meant flushing some water through the group head between extractions. And for the record, I just spoke to one of the owners of the cafe and highlighted my concerns, and he took it very well and in his stride, and was grateful for my feedback. He also mentioned that he would be having a 'quiet word' with his baristi, as he believed that they all knew how to make good coffee - a comment I am in agreement with. I also mentioned that I believed that my experience was probably not isolated, and that, as a cafe owner myself, I would appreciate if one of my own customers mentioned something under similar circumstances. Also for the record, a large part of our (my business) product development is based upon feedback from customers - both positive and negative, and I have made substantial changes to my menu as a result to include many wheat and dairy free items. I also changed my coffee over to FairTrade, based upon repeated requests for same from dedicated regulars, so I am not adverse to criticism. Additionally, i would like to note, that for those of you who may be familiar with the cafe I mentioned, I also some time ago wrote a very positive review for it in the cafe ratings section of the crema website, and I still stand by those comments that I made. Cheers for the beers, ACG

john_2

Hi ACG Planning a trip to Melb over the next month, would be good to come and check out your cafe. Can you tell us where you are located. John

askthecoffeeguy

sure will drop you a private line ACG

coffee_head

I went to a place that shall remain unnamed and ordered a coffee. Within handing the $3's over, bang the cup came out onto the counter, 30mls of espresso already drawn and the foamed milk right into the cup. I had a coffee in 30 seconds. A record in my books. I will let you imagine hat the coffee tasted like.

askthecoffeeguy

and what did you decide to do about it? ACG

tommy

not go to McCafe again? hehehe