dexter's coffee shop — Restaurant in Bath

Awful customer experience, left in tears ... extremely RUDE!

Never in the 7 years that I’ve lived in the beautiful city of Bath, have I left a shop bursting in tears as a result of being mistreated, verbally abused or made to feel so uncomfortable as I did when I visited Dexters.

Having worked in hospitality myself, I know the amount of pride most people take in making sure everyone feels welcome and the importance of this in this industry, however, this was not my experience at Dexters. I also understand how valuable and important reviews are, but also how damaging a bad review can be, so I don’t leave this review lightly. I am a supporter of small/local independent businesses myself, but I cannot in good conscience leave my experience at Dexters to myself.

Yesterday I went to Dexter’s cafe, I was so looking forward to finally trying it! I live very close to it, but Sadly this is where any and all pleasantries end. My mum, my son (a three-year-old) and myself stopped for a coffee after having been on a lovely walk. We sat at the window table, and in a matter of 5 minutes or so after having received our drinks, the owner Claire approached our table, taking my mum's teapot away and putting it on her tray despite my Mum not having finished. After that, my son spilt his drink (which wasn't much because he almost had finished it) 3-year-olds are prone to these things! The owner approached to our table and said to me: -”I think is time for you to go to the park”- (in a very abrasive tone) I was shocked! I replied asking if she wanted us to leave and she said no. We felt ushered out and rushed, made to feel totally unwelcome. She left us feeling so bad, that we left.

My first reaction is never to leave a bad review, but rather to quietly address this with staff directly, so I asked her, on my way out for a gentle word with her. I said that with all due respect, I had heard about this cafe and so desperately wanted to try it, but that my experience had not been pleasant (giving her the opportunity to explain and rectify the situation). I explained that she made me feel very uncomfortable, unwelcome and pressured to leave the premises. She replied: “With all due respect, your kid has been running around, he spilt a drink and I had to clean it up!.” "This is a coffee Shop" “I am a mother too and I would’ve handled my children differently and people are working and he is stopping them from concentrating.” I found this incredibly disrespectful, and more than that, untrue - being a mother of a 3-year-old, I would be the first to acknowledge if he had been running around, which he absolutely was not! (This can be corroborated on the CCTV footage).He was AT ALL TIMES next to us!! He was sitting on my mum's lap. Perhaps she is imagining things than the rest of us can't. Suggesting I should take him to the park, when he was on his best behaviour (the other customers even commented how sweet/well-behaved he was!), ushering us out and then commenting on my parenting left me with such a bad taste in my mouth, unnecessarily RUDE!

I felt I could not let this experience that left me in tears go by without sharing. As a hispanic woman, I have never felt my ethnicity has been a factor in being treated differently. This experience left me feeling like we were judged/profiled as soon as we walked in, and were made to feel like we weren’t welcome.

I wish I didn't have to leave this review. If the owner had apologised or even engaged in an open conversation with me afterwards without being so defensive/aggressive and condescending. Out of order her comments and her attitude. I wouldn’t have needed to, but unfortunately, I could not in good faith leave this experience to myself.

Dexters supposedly prides itself on being welcoming and family-friendly, but this was not my experience, and having read the other reviews, I can see I am NOT alone in this.

And people DO notice and speak up about the Owner Claire and her lack of empathy, rudeness and...

I came into what I thought would be a lovely cafe. I approached the counter with kindness and good intent. The young lady serving me seemed a bit off but I didn’t take it personally. I tried to ask her about the cakes but she didn’t really seem too interested in chatting to me. I ended up buying a lemon cake. My partner needed to use the restroom so I waited outside for him with a friend. On this particular day, my partner was feeling slightly ill and was taking a bit longer in the bathroom than usual (not a crazy amount, I would estimate 10 minutes maximum). The owner came outside and asked me if my partner was okay. On first instance, this came across as genuine concern. I told her he was okay and just feeling ill. She didn’t seem pleased with this answer and told me she had a customer waiting to use the restroom. I assured her he would be out soon and that I would text him to pick up the pace a bit. Because the owner seemed so concerned and frustrated, my friend I was waiting with didn’t want it to seem like he was doing anything illegal in the bathroom so he told her with good intent that he was doing a number 2. Her demeanor changed instantly and I almost thought she was joking when she said: oh no, I don’t like that at all. She got extremely angry and upset and started to tell me to get my partner out of the bathroom and that I should ensure it was clean for her next customer. She urged me to clean the bathroom and make sure it was ready for the lady that was waiting. There were two people in the cafe that were sitting down when we came in so the cafe wasn’t particularly “busy” at this time. It seemed like the two people had also been there for at least 10 minutes before us and could have kindly waited patiently as my partner was feeling ill. She said there were public restrooms down a direction we had already come from and did not spot any. To appease her, I said that I had purchased a cake so we were paying customers in which she responded: please, a £3.40 cake? In my experience, I have never paid more than probably £10 in a cafe so I’m not exactly sure why she emphasized that point. I unfortunately cannot control my partner’s bowel movements so I called him to tell him to make it quick, he then came out of the bathroom. After the way the owner spoke to me, I would have thought she would have said something, literally anything, to my partner but she only stared at him as he walked out of the cafe. I’m pondering if this is because he is a tall, white, male, and me, a brown female. I have never had someone in customer service speak to me this way, and honestly I became quite scared. I think if my friend wasn’t waiting with me, I may have started crying. I tried to get my ill partner out of the bathroom as soon as possible and out of the cafe which soon became what felt like an unsafe space. The owner seemed to be speaking from her emotions which makes me wonder if this is a common occurrence. I understand how some businesses may feel like a public restroom, and while I believe restrooms should be open to paying customers, I think the way in which the owner spoke to me was appalling. I wish the owner could have raised the issue she had with us with kindness and respect. Additionally, we walked in ready to enjoy the treats they had to offer and unfortunately we were not welcomed in return. I honestly wish the owner and this business well, but felt I must...

Posting reviews is not a habit for me but, just occasionally, it seems necessary. I have just seen a negative comment about Dexter's here, which deserves to be highlighted because it is really so wrong. Dexter's is a fine coffee shop, with a dedicated owner, loyal staff, and many regular and satisfied customers like me. The negative comment is really destructive. The writer, shining her London coffee credentials in truly pompous fashion, weighs in on the owner, the quality of the coffee, the uniqueness of her terrible experience compared to the normal welcome she experiences elsewhere, and ends by telling us all to avoid at all costs. So, first to correct the narrative. Dexter's, in five years of trading in this part of Bath, has brought a community to life. It is a meeting point and a place for conversation, a place where good things in life are celebrated, and not so good things are comforted. The coffee is sourced from a reputable local roastery, Extract and the owner knows precisely what her clientele need, which is really good coffee and light snacks, delivered consistently in a great atmosphere. But she is balancing a complex community; the shop is welcoming to owners and dogs, walkers and cyclists, people working and meeting. To keep all of us happy, and her business running, she has to be a manager and a diplomat. She does it brilliantly. Sometimes, people do push things a bit. Cyclists, like me, might lay a bike across the window; or someone may bring their lunch from somewhere else and spread it out for an hour whilst working and drinking one coffee. All without asking. Luckily such things are rare, and nearly always no offence was ever intended, but it is necessary to point out a problem, put it right and carry on. But of course there is always a reviewer out there who, if crossed, feels the power to write a review which slams not one thing, but everything about an establishment. And in doing so, the reviewer shows herself to be a righteously indignant huffer and puffer. Dexter's is great, so is the coffee and the company. Do not avoid. Unless that is, you are one of those negative reviewers who delights in trying to destroy small and valuable businesses. By all means please, you, stay away. See you at Dexter's...