Bean Smuggler — Restaurant in Melbourne

From the time I posted my previous review/feedback.

Bean Smugglers’ service has improved. Hoping that they will keep it up. I am hoping as well that the owner(s) would not be one sided and fair the side of their crew. Feedback or review is an opinion of the person utilising the service and such review should be a point of improvement not a point of being defensive. Anyway, I am changing the rating to 5 stars as they have proven that they can improve big time. Again, just hoping that they will not fall back.

Will still my previous review as reference and as stated below:

Ordered for dine-in just after 1:15Pm, not so busy now, coffee order was delivered fast and with that half an hour wait, we’ve finished it and food was not yet delivered . It was delivered an hour after we ordered. I guessed that there’s a first time for everything. Had been a loyal customer since day one for Bean Smuggler, been let down a few times but they were acceptable but this time around was abysmal service. Wait time for food half an hour, the people who arrived after us got there order first, had similar order (Sandwiches). Almost had to cancel my order. They we’re apologetic reasoning that they were so busy for a after peak hour time. They made up for a free small coffee for which I was willing to pay. Insure if I will be back again. The good old days for a great service from a well known food joint has gone haywire. Add on reply to your feedback: I paid for the meals I ordered, no one offered a refund and I did not get a refund as you are claiming and I can provide proof to counter against your claim. All I got as a compensation was that small flat white and as I mentioned before, I could have paid for it so to justify your claim that you refunded the payment for our orders. Get your facts straight and No need to get defensive and I was bot rude, was trying to convey a message that our order tool so long and the next customers who came after is got their order...

The food we ordered and coffee was tasty! Really tasty food, fairly priced and would come back again. The only thing I could think for improvements is for the wait staff to improve on attentiveness on how fast and efficiently they attend to customers, first in = first attended to etc.

During our visit it was a little difficult to get the wait staff's attention. We sat down and waited to receive our menus but didn't receive them after some time and had to try and catch the attention of the wait staff a couple of times before being attended to.

Another table of customers received their menus before us even though they sat down later. Just small details like that.

The wait staff were friendly and helpful once they served us though! The employee at the door was very prompt in attending to customers which was great!

The food was super tasty! I like the presentation as it is still simple but nice. I really liked the sides we ordered which included the mushrooms, beetroot hasbrown and pumpkin & edamame. The avocado didn't go brown at all which is a nice addition. The staff even added a bit of extra sides to make up for the toast I removed - thanks!

I also ordered an iced latte and enjoyed it.

The cafe also allows split payments which is a good touch!

Tasty, would come back again! Glad that your cafe isn't too far.

이 카페 음식이 진짜 맛있었어요. 꾹 다시 울거에요! 여기가 집에서 멀지 않았어요. 😆

Update: I still think the staff need some training of managing the flow of customers. Waited over 10 mins for a hot drink takeaway. I noticed the waiters don't even set the cutlery out for the dine in customers, they just handed the cutlery to them when they mentioned they were dining in. Not sure if this is a COVID thing or if it this is what happens when it is busy. Anyway I think it just looks messy when the food is good, but the customer service doesn't seem to match the...

I recently visited your cafe with high hopes of enjoying a pleasant dining experience. However, I left feeling incredibly disappointed and frustrated due to the abysmal customer service I encountered. What was even more shocking was the blatant refusal to address and rectify the issues at hand. Instead of taking responsibility and working to improve the customer experience, the staff seemed more interested in blaming the customers themselves. Even though your reply on customers reviews is very bad and unprofessional, you guys just blaming customers instead of fixing it.

I have never encountered such appalling customer service. It's clear that there are serious flaws in the management and training of staff at your cafe. Until these issues are properly addressed and resolved, I cannot in good conscience recommend this cafe to others.

Overall, my experience at Bean smuggler was marred by poor customer service and a lack of professionalism. It's truly unfortunate that such a beautiful space is tainted by such unacceptable behavior. I sincerely hope that the management takes this feedback seriously and implements the necessary changes to ensure that future patrons do not have to endure similar...