So, here’s the scenario: a customer gets less-than-stellar service, including a condescending lecture about why they don’t serve iced espresso at a local coffee establishment. Said customer writes a scathing blog entry about it, replete with a photo of the obscenity-laced tip he left behind. Coffee establishment responds with a blog entry of its own, but instead of rising above the customer’s lapse in judgment sinks to his level. (And for a local business that’s seen its share of bad press this year thanks to a tax problem in D.C., that was certainly not a smart move.)
The whole ordeal makes the rounds on MetaFilter and Boing Boing; I expect that it’ll make either Consumerist, Not Always Right or both in due time.
My feelings toward the shop in general were always rather tepid, but seeing three sides to this exchange made them — well — murky.
The point is that the barista missed two opportunities here. First, to properly educate the customer on why they wouldn’t serve him an iced espresso; saying something like “that’s not okay” is the wrong response. So is saying “it’s store policy” without further explanation. The other opportunity? To offer an alternative that would be just as satisfactory.
