Poor service at ‘The Coffee House Atlantic Quay’!
I don’t normally enjoy writing a negative review of a visit or experience but on some occasions like earlier today, ones voice must be used. An avid coffee house fan, I’m forever frequenting the coffee houses in Derry as I shop and as I work. Whilst on holiday both at home and abroad I can always be found, scribbling or reading while sipping coffee in a bar or coffee house! One of my favourite cities to enjoy coffee must surely be Cardiff! It has such a wide variety of coffee houses and bars. However Derry is also a favourite haunt of mine as it’s just on my doorstep (from Muff) and it offers a huge variety of coffee shops/houses! And I do pop along to them all on occasion. So I was extremely disappointed when I got the reception I did this morning at The Coffee House Atlantic Quay in Derry!
Today, along with 8 other new athletes, I was embarking on my first official 5k run. We 9 were a little apprehensive and the nerves were kicking in on arrival at Derry’s quay this morning around 9am. The Derry City parkrun was setting off at 9.30am. We were leaving from outside The Coffee House and returning to The Coffee House. My group of 9 had planned to have coffee after our virgin run in The Coffee House. That plan soon changed!
Myself and two other ladies went into The Coffee House prior to the run and asked to use the toilets. The staff member said ‘no’ as the toilets are for customers only. We explained that we would be paying customers as soon as the run was over. But to no avail. We weren’t welcome. As we left the premises, a lady sitting outside called us aside. She had heard our encounter and said that a young mother and her child were turned away from the same premises recently when the child was needing the toilet. The mother said she would buy tea after using the facility but was asked to pay for it first. The mother left with the child.
We were horrified to hear this experience.
I completely respect a business’s decision to have only customers use the toilet facility on their premises. But surely there are always extenuating circumstances to every rule. Isn’t there? Apparently NOT at The Coffee House Atlantic Quay.
So after our run today we all met at Sainsbury’s Coffee Shop. Approximately £50 was spent from our group of 9 ladies. And we shall be returning there on our next visit to Derry City parkrun. There we were allowed to use the toilet before placing any order. There we were allowed to sit and converse about our virgin 5k. There we felt comfortable and non judged. There we shall return.
It doesn’t take a university education to instill manners and hospitality skills in a person. These skills cost nothing and are respected in every corner of the world. Not only were we turned away from using the facility earlier today, but there was no apology and absolutely no concern. Lesson learned, there’s coffee elsewhere! And a smile goes a very long way. Sainsbury’s coffee shop was filled with smiles….and coffee!
I agree staff have no people skills. I know it’s only minor but I asked for semi skimmed milk in my coffee & they put in full fat.
I always check to see my drinks are correct and asked she said it was full fat, I pointed out that I ordered semi skimmed. The woman simply sighed and looked at me as if it was my fault & she begrudged making me another coffee
They should understand the need for a notepad in a coffee shop to know what the orders are instead of shouting them at each other, especially considering how busy the place is.
Despicable that they refuse a child the toilet.
I hadn’t quite made my mind up yet whether to visit again, but now I have. I will not be back. They need to understand that decisions that they make have consequences. Derry is a small place & I am sure hundreds of people will read this.
The coffee shop, I sure you will see this post. Buck up your ideas & keep your customers, both current & potential happy…
I find myself extremely annoyed by the ‘review’ written by this non-paying customer. If I was to read a review of an establishment I’d expect to learn the reviewer’s opinion of how nice the coffee tasted, how reasonable or otherwise the costs were, was the service good and what was the general ambience within the place.
Instead all I learned from this ‘review’ is that the person visited a local establishment and attempted to use their toilet facilities without paying. They were obviously hurt and embarrassed by the refusal and rushed home to write an anonymous and vitriolic attack on ‘The Coffee House’ with the sole intention of putting other people off going there. Why go so out of your way to damage a local business?
I frequently stop at ‘The Coffee House’ when going for a walk or bike ride with my children. I have always found the staff to be friendly and helpful.
Let’s be honest visiting such any such establishment for a bun and coffee is an expensive treat compared with having coffee and a bun at home. However it’s nice to be able to sit and chill in a relaxed environment.
What would not be relaxing for me as a customer would be the doors continually opening and closing with a steady stream of nervous runners hurriedly using the toilets and then leaving. I for one am glad that I can continue to visit ‘The Coffee House’ and not have to experience this.
Does the ‘reviewer’ know how much water rates ‘The Coffee House’ pays? Do they know how much they pay their cleaning staff? Do they know how much they pay for toilet roll? Do they think any local business should provide toilet facilities free of charge to the general public and more importantly to the detriment of their paying customers?
As we say in Derry, MUFF_USERS, wind your neck in.
I asked the owner of a popular establishment in Moville last night what his policy was to people who come in and ask to go to the toilet. He said I say “Sure. Batter on”. He said it was ‘Good PR’. It makes it feel like a welcoming place rather than a place where customers are tolerated because of the money they spend.
Craicon, the Coffee House is a small cafe of maybe 500 sqft on an extremely busy quay frequented by cyclists, walkers and runners. There are many thousands of people passing by there every single day.
I don’t think anywhere in Moville would see the same passing trade and in any case there are many more pubs/ cafes/ ice cream parlours on the much shorter Moville main street to cater for fewer people wanting to use their facilites.
There should be public conveniences provided by Derry City Council but there do not appear to be any at present.
Its not up to a small cafe to step in and provide what the council can’t or won’t.
Derry Dad I appreciate your comment. However I have visited this coffee house on 2 prior occasions. And I could write about those too….the service was poor and both times my order was wrong. I DID NOT rush home on Saturday and write this review. The run organisers have had a very bad reception from this coffee house. The runners on Sat asked me to write this. I spent some time thinking about what to do. When I received a call later in the day from another local who had an experience, I decided to write it. Im not someone who just wanted to use the loo….I’ve paid good money there…this wasn’t a one off…I could do a follow up article on many more experiences there….the feedback has been unreal. For now, I’ll continue reading the said feedback and then decide what to do.
Can you condone not letting a child use a toilet? What if it was your children? I bet you would have a different outlook on this business then. You clearly seem to enjoy your trips to this coffee shop and that is your choice but i’m sure you can understand that everyone has a right to know what will face them when they walk into this coffee shop and judging by the response this article has clearly got on social media websites a lot of people feel the exact same. I personally will never be back here again after reading this and others reviews of how they were treated. This is without a doubt a business that shows customer service at its worst.. I also see that you have missed out the part were these runners were coming back into this coffee shop after their race, so to me I would call them customers and not non paying customers. As for the MUFF_USERS, wind your neck in statement. What has rattled your cage? Everyone is entitled to their opinion which i’m sure your aware of as you have clearly stated yours.
derry dad, as we say in derry – ‘you are a cock’ a ‘ball licking cock’ at that. People are writing their reviews based on their experiences. Just because every time you have went there it was a pleasant experience, doesn’t mean it is the same for everyone.
I own businesses in the town, i would never refuse a child the toilet. It is a show of decency & humanity.
So why don’t you jog on you prick!!
Muff_users, I’m sorry to suggest that you rushed home to write the review. It is clear however that your review was written totally without consideration for actual paying customers in ‘The Coffee House’ and without consideration for the owners of the business. I feel as a non-user that you are not entitled to write anything. You got the service you paid for. I would appreciate if you could take time to answer my questions.
Why do you feel such a sense of entitlement to use someone else’s facilities for free? You do realise they have metered water? You do realise they are not sponsored by Andrex and therefore don’t get free toilet roll? You do realise they are not sponsored by Proctor & Gamble and therefore don’t get free cleaning products? You do realise they don’t have volunteer workers? They have paid staff that they pay tax and national insurance for. You do realise that in spite of paying rates they still have to pay for all their rubbish collections?
Why do you and fellow members of your ‘free’ running club think you are so important that you can disturb paying customers trying to enjoy a Saturday morning coffee?
I get that you were all suffering from the ‘fight or flight’ reflex that required you to empty your bowels. If that’s the case meet somewhere that can cater for that. Don’t ruin the atmosphere of a small café.
Imagine yourself as the owners of the business, hoping to make enough out of it to pay a wage to support their family and pay a mortgage. Do you think providing free washroom services for a local running club was ever part of their business plan?
You also compared a rather tiny 500 sq ft café with the 70,000 sq ft Sainsburys complex. Sainsburys is 140 times larger. Don’t you think this is a little unfair? Several hundred runners could filter in to Sainsburys to use their toilets without anyone noticing. That’s just not the case with a small café.
Where do the profits from Sainsburys go? The profits from local businesses tend to stay in the local economy. Is having coffee in the canteen environment of Sainsburys really the best way to enjoy coffee? If your review works and the café goes out of business then you’ll have the choice of coffee in Sainsburys or the equally delightful surroundings of KFC.
There was an article on BBC on 1st July stating an opinion that more public toilets were needed in the town.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-foyle-west-28103517
Perhaps you could re-direct your anger and write to the council?
Do read the article again! No one was looking for FREE services. We were coming to socialise there and buy coffee and food within half an hour. At 40+ we really don’t expect free facilities. If a child is involved surely discretion can be used. I shall certainly be using this coffee house before this week is out…. I have paid good money here on other occasions, so I don’t consider myself a non paying customer. And as the other ladies pointed out there was no customers there on Sat morn. As for going out of business, that’s a tad extreme. If you would like me to publish a collection of comments and emails I’ve received, I shall. But I wrote the article in response to others concerns, and I think I have a right to my and their say. Just as you have yours. I look forward now to a return visit very soon! And I shall again review it!!!! Rest assured I don’t think anything is free in life….except an opinion!!! As a writer and local I support all local business and shall continue to do so!
Oh and as for the council, of course they should have better provisions in this area. It’s a disgrace that they don’t. No one is arguing this!
Derry dad is obviously the spokesman for The Coffee House,omg lol touchy touchy, reviews speak 4 themselves just check out tripadvisor as well and its a well known fact how rude and unwelcoming The Coffee House is !!!!