The worst coffee place

A while ago we started with this style of blogging. Finding a review on tripadvisor and offering solutions on how to tackle them. 

Here is one from some unfortunate visitors to a coffee shop/restaurant.

The review

We were doing the Buckingham Palace tour and it was pouring with rain so needed to shelter before we queued for the palace so decided to have two coffees in this place.

We ordered at the counter and sat down two other people came in and were told very rudely to wait at the counter and not to sit down! The coffees were made, hubby had Americano I had cappuccino.

The milk frother nozzle was not wiped after use. These cost us £6 with service charge in disposable cups. There was a plant bracket on a wall with cobwebs on it! A dead fly dropped onto the table. The toilets were a disgrace not very clean.

Many people came in and were also told to wait at the counter and we saw many deciding to leave before ordering.  It was a tired dated and dirty place and it now makes sense why it was so empty. I wouldn’t call it a restaurant at all more like a dirty greasy spoon.

​Wish I could have given it zero rating but there was no option.Just avoid this place it’s awful

The response of the restaurant

There was no respons by the restaurant. You must know that this place has over one hundred 1 star reviews. 

Why are these people not taking their business serious? Running a hospitality business is making sure that you check all boxes. It's not only what happens within the 4 walls of your establishment but also online. Even having an influence on word of mouth can work miracles.

TIP: always respond to bad reviews, do not hide and choose your words carefully so you don't blame or offend your customers.

Our suggestions and solutions

so decided to have two coffees in this place.
Customers are attracted by something from the outside. A sign, a nice picture, maybe even a food sample they tasted. Whenever they enter the establishment the inside should always reflect the outside. Even better, it should surpass the expectations.

were told very rudely
The use of language is the most undervalued tool in the hospitality industry. The business is hard from time to time: rude customers, a lot guests at the same time, breakdowns of machinery, anything that might give extra stress.

However, it is our duty to always stay polite:

- don't always think your customers knows how your business is operated. Maybe they come in the very first time and don't know about the no-smoking policy...

- if you need customers to do something, like queue, then explain in a friendly manner why. You could say something like: "in order to serve everyone as quickly as possible and have them enjoy our coffees, may we ask you to queue over here?... thank you so much"

- try to avoid blaming the customer in any way

- use positive words like "very good, delicious, fabulous, etc..."

- humour always works

cost us £6
​Your price should always reflect value! When a product is served to the guest they should never feel that they didn't get enough value. This could be an extra cookie, a napkin or maybe some hot milk served in a jug instead of cold milk in a plastic cup.

cobwebs & toilets were a disgrace
An eye for detail is imperative for every restaurant owner. You should have a fixed daily routine to avoid this.

we saw many deciding to leave
Never underestimate the power of a group. Even when customers don't know each other, they will quickly follow what other people are doing. The best solution is to act immediately and get hold of the situation.

You can find more tips in our restaurant training course