Blank Street Coffee — Restaurant in London

There is a reason why Starbucks is so successful worldwide despite being an international corporate chain. The customer service and customer care is top notch. Where I come from, anyone who has worked at Starbucks is highly employable in other customer service facing roles! Headhunters have approached me asking if I know of anyone working at Starbucks, as they are highly recruitable in other industries. Blank Street coffee has a lot to learn about customer service. The owner or manager (tall guy with spectacles) at this store seems unhappy and unapproachable, and that trickles down to the staff and their morale. It is always the top that affects the bottom/working level staff. I asked him (the owner or manager) what the WiFi password was, he mumbled something like "there is WiFi but you can't connect". Initially, I thought he meant I didn't need a password to connect, but later he clarified by just saying in a curt matter-of-fact tone of voice, "There is no WiFi here." No apologies whatsoever. At least say, "I'm sorry, but we don't provide WiFi here". As other customers have mentioned in the Reviews, offering WiFi is a standard these days at cafes.

I can understand that perhaps they do not want customers staying too long at the café and hogging seats, but they should at least provide a 30-min WiFi access especially for travellers passing by, needing a cup of coffee and to check their online messages, etc.

Ordered a large Pistachio Latte and it was lukewarm, and not super hot like other cups of coffee I observed from other customers holding their cups at this store. Mine, I could hold it without going ouch it's too hot!

I finally plucked up some courage to approach the staff (guy who wears his baseball cap reversed who also made the first round of coffee), and he was initially reluctant to make a do-over for my drink as he claimed that I had finished my drink. At Starbucks, there would have been no questions needed, if you are not happy with the drink, they make you another.

This is my first time at this location and my first time trying the hot Pistachio Latte, I thought that was how they made it.

I had a better experience at the SoHo location at Noel Street, though I had the Ice Pistachio Latte, and the coffee shots tasted much better and stronger than the ones at this location.

The staff finally decided to give me a complimentary small Pistachio Latte after much chagrin, for the large Pistachio Latte that was lukewarm. Despite having a large and small Pistachio Latte that morning, I still felt lethargic and no caffeine kick from the two cups.

I had to go to Starbucks at Sun Street for another Flat White for a real caffeine pick-me-up. There where I am also treated much better as a customer.

I also had the Pistachio Pain Au Chocolate with the large Pistachio Latte. While it tasted great, it could have been better if they could warm it up for me, like at Starbucks, they warm up the Almond Croissants really well.

Having lived in New York, Blank Street there takes pride in great customer service and great coffee. Why is the Finsbury location lacking in service and vibes?

I have also walked into the store at Shoreditch on Redchurch Street, and the staff there seems more approachable than this location. Is every location owned by a different franchise?

Blank Street UK needs to look into the overall customer experience for all the stores in the UK, so that it is aligned with the brand vision and mission of Blank Street USA.

That said, the cafe ambience at this location is quite pleasant and would likely return for this reason. Hopefully the customer service and the coffee can keep up with the standards of Blank Street in New York.

It is rather pointless and a waste of investment in interior decor when the ambience looks warm and inviting from the outside but cold, lukewarm and nonchalant in the service/hospitality and the coffee.

I also see mixed reviews with the coffee at this location, which goes to show that they are inconsistent with their QC and needs better audit on the service and...

''YOU 'GET THE SAME AMOUNT OF COFFEE WHETHER ITS FOR LARGE OR SMALL - WE JUST ADD MORE ICE''

First time ever in one of your stores and I am flabbergasted- I was in the Finsbury Square (Moorgate) Branch at 07:30 and I asked for two iced black coffees - didnt think anything of it, until the lady who made them gave them to me, and looking a bit smaller than expected , I asked if they did a larger size, to which I was told they did ; ok , my bad for not asking, but I had a 'pret head' on thinking you just did the one size, why on earth didnt the girl who took my order check what size I wanted? However, that is not my main gripe, I apologised then asked if I could have two large instead, to which the girl who made my coffee said to me, ''you'll get the same amount of coffee, we just add more ice'' -and then she mumbled something about bigger for syrups I said 'what?' and repeated what she said and asked if she was kidding, and she said it again, that i would get the same amount of coffee in either small or a large, but id be paying more for more ice . Can you confirm that is your policy? and if it is , why? and if it isnt , why are your two very unhelpful staff at 07:30 on Monday 29th July telling me that is the case. This was going to be a new destination stop for me as ive recently changed routes to work, but unless you do something to rectify such pricing nonsense i will never return and i will impart this...

I come to this Blank Street Coffee on Finsbury Pavement quite regularly and usually spend a few hours here on my laptop. The staff are always friendly and the space is very laptop friendly with plenty of sockets. The wifi can be a little questionable at times but never unusable.

One thing to keep in mind is that this shop gets very busy with the nearby office crowd, so it is worth being cautious with your belongings, especially if you have laptops, tablets or phones out on the table.

The coffee is decent, although I get the feeling they are more popular for their matcha drinks. I recently tried the Iced Salted Pistachio Matcha and really liked it. I used to find their drinks a bit too sweet for me, but now with their less-sweet option it feels much more balanced.

Their app is handy if you want to join their loyalty programme, though it is ten purchases before you get a free drink. Definitely a test of loyalty.

Overall, a good spot if you need a place to work for a few hours and a nice chain to drop into when you are...