New Smiling Faces, Same Great Place
As noted in a previous blog, Sidney’s Coffee Shop recently changed hands. Matt and Heidi are at the helm now, and while we’ll certainly miss Trish, we’re stoked to support the passionate new owners. Whether you’ve experienced it firsthand or read about it here, Sidney’s has some of the most exceptional service in all of Boulder’s coffee houses. We also thoroughly enjoy their coffee (Conscious Coffee) and applaud their dedication, care and pursuit of consistently excellent coffee. And their food options, which I’ve just begun to sample, is top notch. Split pea curry soup (vegan and gluten free) is phenomenal. Whether you’re a regular or not, it’s time to check out one of Boulder’s longest running coffee houses and give a nod to two great new owners.
Coffee: 9
Food: 8
Good Coffee and a Overdose of Attitude
Had a pretty darn good americano at Trident. And for good reason. This shop has been around forever, has a well trained barista staff (in coffee making, at least), and as a result, a dedicated following. But it would be hard for the service to be much worse. ”Hi”? ”Good morning”? Friendly exchange? Nope. Just a snappy “what do you want?”. Well, for starters, a barista that actually likes interacting with people, and second, a decent cup of coffee. I guess 1 for 2 isn’t bad, considering many shops are a big goose egg.
Panera Bread – Fenton, MI
Mountain Town Coffee
Looking for a flycatcher or thirty
Part of service is keeping your joint clean and user-friendly. Part of keeping it user-friendly is making sure the patron isn’t swarmed harder than Joba Chaimberlain 
during his choke job against the Tribe. So every coffee shop in Boulder that I’ve been to recently needs to learn from Amante: get a friggin’ bug killer! Boulder has seen it’s share of fly hatches lately. That doesn’t mean they need to swarm your shop, even if you want to keep the windows open! I’m getting tired of this sh%$!!
Let’s not forget about convenience
Today NYTimes columnist Stanley Fish decries the diminished convenience of the modern coffeeshop. Primarily, waiting in lines for neophytes making complicated orders and dancing around the drink prep station with other patrons. Read it here.
Fish addresses issues that were confronted and accepted by nearly every coffee-goer on the planet five years ago, and in general discloses an alarming mediocrity on the NYTimes columnist bench (“Maureen Dowd and Thomas L. Friedman are off today”).
However, I must applaud Fish for making a valid critique leveled primarily at Starbuck’s (“wood or concrete floors, lots of earth tones, soft, high-style lighting, open barrels of coffee beans, folk-rock and indie music, photographs of urban landscapes” where else could this be?), but also applies to many of the local shops we frequently praise in these pages.
In one of my favorite shops I recently waited five minutes for half-and-half while a fellow patron searched for his favorite section in the newspaper bin, conveniently located under the drink prep counter. Poor user design is really the only culprit and we can do better.
We should not allow this sudden hipness and ambience to obscure a basic decline in convenience. Good design must work well, as well as please the senses. A few suggestions:
> Multiple drink prep “stations” so that 2-3 folks can doctor their drinks without dancing around each other
> Create well placed stand-and-wait areas for people waiting for drinks that allow them to stay out of everyone else’s way and provide a spot for taking a bite from a pastry and, for extra credit, quick entertainment like newspapers, games, video/web news, etc.
Fish presents the old time diner-style coffee shop as the pinnacle in convenience. The population of this style of shop has been in permanent decline since about 1985, a fact that shows Fish is a decade or three behind the times. Also, it reveals too narrow an appraisal, surely we can all appreciate the elevation in standards for most important metrics: e.g., coffee quality, ambience, workability, healthy food choices, musical diversity, fair-trade/sustainable products, architecture.
Lastly, Mr. Fish, if you really do pine for a diner coffee shop, complete with vinyl stools and raspy-voiced wait-staff, you should start one. We’ll even commend you if you include some modern conveniences like espresso and free wireless.
customer service again
The tip jar is full, the joint is packed and people keep streaming in, so what’s with the bad attitude. Are you on a caffeine downswing? Is it that big of a deal to fill up the water pitcher? Okay, you don’t have to smile, but be gracious and acknowledge that I’m trying to help you out by bringing back my dishes and saving you the trip for the water refill.
Look at Saxy’s. The place is packed not only because it’s the “new cool thing”, but because the staff is great and EVERY time I go in there I get a smile and a warm hello (even as a newbie).
What are non-people-persons doing working at a coffee shop? There are many more aspects of being a barista than pulling an espresso shot. Look at Amante, the staff is outgoing, generous, upbeat and super competent with all aspects of coffee preparation. And while I’m not a huge fan of the occasional euro-scene, I really like the environment.
Yeah, I know, the barista isn’t actually flirting with me, but shoot, developing some sort of rapport does wonders for my work attitude – not to mention their tips. Enjoy what you do, and even if you don’t, do your best to fake it.
How a review for one shop becomes a review for another….
See people, it’s called customer service for crisssakes! During a break in a little conference across the street I showed up at Peaberry Coffee (NW corner of Arapahoe and 28th) with the intention of getting some food and writing a review. But instead I waited in line. And waited. And waited. No, the line wasn’t long. In fact, I was next in line the entire time I was there. But even with three people working behind the counter they still couldn’t even acknowledge my presence in five minutes. And since I get a little grumpy when I’m really hungry, five minutes was about all I could stand, so I left. So, Peaberry coffee? Not sure. Food? No idea. Work environment? Looked ok, but I guess I wouldn’t really know. For some people, taking care of the customer just comes naturally. I mean, it is common sense, isn’t it? If you’re in the business of serving people then you maybe should make serving them your top priority?
So I strolled on around the corner to Brewing Market (attached to McGuckins on Folsom between Arapahoe and Canyon) and got served immediately. The coffee is decent. I purposefully ordered a very dry cap to be able to assess the espresso. Started out medium and slightly bitter, got slightly more bitter as time went on but mellowed with the incorporation of the milk. Chocolate croissant was the standard boring chocolate croissant that must be made in some huge manufacturing facility (compare with the Kitchen’s). Work environment is a little weird because of the nature of the shop which is to sell beans and coffee-related chatchtke and kitsch just as much as fresh coffee and pastries, but usable. I’d say Brewing Market is an acceptable substitute to Folsom St when the latter fills up.
Speaking of customer service, we’re hearing some pretty bad grumblings about The Cup, and one of the people offended twice actually has a login to this blog but hasn’t aired his/her complaints yet. So let this be a gentle reminder: if you’re a grumpy person by nature, stay off the cash register and away from the serving line. Hire somebody with a winning smile to take your place. Don’t piss off your customers because you’re in a bad mood. It’s not good for business. Just ask Vic’s.
customer service
i’m not going to name the place, because I like it. but memo to coffee shop owners, part I: give your patron a free remake when that patron ruins her coffee by accidentally pouring too much something in it, especially when that something is in an unlabeled shaker jar with huge holes on top. sure, it’s the dumb patron’s fault (i.e. my bad). but that’s not the point. there are lots of coffee shops to hit in this town. you win repeats by being generous.
memo II: when your patron fills up their 10-drinks-1-free card when buying three drinks, don’t use the one free on the cheapest order, use it on the most expensive or at least the one in the middle. for instance, i buy a large mocha, large cap and a small cup of drip. my drink card is full so i get a free one. you give me the small drip for free. that’s not cool. if you don’t want to have the 10 drink card then don’t have it, but if you’re gonna have it you better be generous with it.
