Bubble CiTea Guildford — Restaurant in Guildford

The service at this bubble tea shop is honestly excellent. The staff are friendly, polite, and very efficient — my drink was ready quickly and everything went smoothly. The bubble tea itself was also pretty good.

That said, I felt like I was being asked a lot of questions just to order a drink. It made me realize why self-service is becoming more popular — sometimes people just want a quick, straightforward experience. I understand that these questions probably come from upper management or some internal policy, not the staff themselves.

On top of that, I was also encouraged to buy a keychain and asked to leave a Google review to join a lucky draw. I couldn’t help but wonder — does the management know that requiring a positive review in exchange for a prize might actually be against Google’s policies?

To be clear, the staff did not pressure me or say I had to leave a 5-star review to participate — that’s why I’m willing to write this. I’m giving five stars because the employees are doing a fantastic job under what seems like a heavy load from the backend team. Whoever is in charge of designing these customer interaction scripts, maybe rethink how much you’re asking your staff (and customers) to do.

Great effort from the front-line team...

Decided to order my usual drink. There were 4 staff members, 1 sat on the floor chatting and laughing with the other 3 stood around. No other customers trying to order. I had to stand and wait for them to finish their conversation before I could order. Despite being the only drink being made it took a while to be made while they carried on with their conversations (of the 4, there was 1 taking orders and making the drink) and when tasted, it was watery and had no taste besides that of the popping bubbles. I’ve always had this exact drink made at the Guildford location and this is the first time experiencing this low level of customer service and the quality of the drink...

Mixed emotions as sometimes the drinks are great and delicious but sometimes they lack sugar so they taste like water (I've never picked less sugar so this is just a lack of proper training). The drinks aren't consistent and the staff often seem overworked and overwhelmed. I feel very sorry for them because they tend to be quite helpful (of which they definitely aren't paid enough for). Management for the Guildford branch are terrible. T4 is a much better and consistent...