Junction Queens — Restaurant in Belfast

I spend an average of £10 per day here, between purchasing coffees, drinks, snacks and lunch throughout my working day at QUB.

3 consecutive mornings this week, there has been a process / sysem issue where the queuing system of coffees ordered and coffees made is messed up. Ie. A 15 minutes wait for a latte while watching others who’ve come behind you get their hot chocolates with marshmallows first. Minor, perhaps.. but 15 minutes, first thing in the morning, is enough reason to choose somewhere else for that first coffee. (There goes the sole purpose of having this take-away establishment located in the law building - convenience).

The reason for the for the 1 star however is the staff. It took me until the third morning in a row of it happening to point it out to staff; let’s just say my patience levels were wearing thin when I had to watch them find a bag of marshmallows then find a scissors to open the bag.. all for the hot chocolate of the woman who was 5 people behind me in the queue. All the while - my lonely, empty latte-labelled cup was sitting on top of the coffee machine, going unnoticed. I was abruptly told “ok you’ll get yours next” when I sheepishly inquired, and when I did finally get it, the staff member setting it on the counter said very angrily “you don’t seem to understand how queues work, it’s not like we’re standing round here doing nothing looking at you!”.

Wow. Well, that’s fine, Belfast customer service for a loyal and repeat customer, eh?!

This is not a difficult problem to fix. Some ordering systems in place (other than setting cups on top he machine and hoping for the best that the maker will lift them “in order”). Also, either train your staff in customer service, or hire some with people skills / without anger issues. And when something does go wrong, a simple acknowledgement of it, rather than angry defensiveness, works wonders.

NB: I am, unfortunately for your staff, very well aware of how queues are supposed to operate.. hence...

Some of the best and least expensive food I’ve had at a university. The proportions for lunch and breakfast items are great and the choices are usually pretty healthy. There are almost always vegetarian options as well. Filter coffee here is less expensive than on other parts of campus, but the cups are smaller. It’s perfect if you need just a bit of a pick me up. Breakfast stops being served at 11:00am...

I love Junction! They have great sandwiches (especially the toasties) in a build your own style. I also enjoy their baked goods and hot drinks. The atrium they are located in is great for studying and just hanging out. Wish they did iced beverages but other than that Junction is a great...