XOXO Coffee & Patisserie - Willesden Green — Restaurant in London

Hi there,

Unfortunately I have had to edit my once 5* review with a more recent experience and one which unfortunately has now tainted my experience of customer service XOXO in Willesden. FYI I communicated all my issues with staff, gave them a chance to rectify things, which unfortunately they felt they could not as it was orders from their manager, who was not present at the time to escalate the issue to. They are aware that I left disappointed so will not be surprised to see this review. I write this disclaimer just to clarify that this is my last option, and because I had such a great experience last time I truly believe I gave them a chance to ameliorate my concerns before I review critically; which is a last resort. I feel it is inaccurate to not update my old review in light of new staff and new experiences. I attended on Saturday 27th April 2024 with my 8 year old son for a cafe date treat. I ordered the pistachio hot chocolate and he ordered the Ferrero rocher milkshake after looking at the photos on the menu. He ordered extra whipped cream as per extra options available on the menu. When it arrived, it was not like the photo picture which I’ve attached. There were no sprinkled nuts, or Ferrero pieces. He instantly noticed and asked me where they were. I passed this on to the staff member at the time, young Asian lady wearing glasses. She said that unfortunately that would cost extra. No where on the menu were there option prices for toppings to add extra Ferrero pieces; so there was no way of telling if this was true, and if so how much it would cost.. and also she gave no price of how much it actually would cost.. all I wanted for my son was for him to get what was displayed on the picture as he expected. I asked if there’s no way she could just place one piece on his milkshake to match the image he was expecting; but she refused saying it’s instructions from her manager. I left it there and and we continued our drinks; but it left a bitter taste in my mouth. When we were leaving I made sure to explain that when I previously came I have had a great experience; and sadly it felt short this time. I also stated that for anyone; be it children or adults, expect to receive what they see in a photo and for them to at least match. I did say that I even would have paid extra for the toppings if that’s what it needed, however there was no indication of this at all on the menu nor any price. I left saying I was unhappy and all she said was regular customers haven’t complained and this is the first time it’s been bought to her attention and she’s under strict instructions by her manager regarding her role. I think it’s this rigidity that can really exemplify what makes good customer service from lack thereof. It’s a) false advertising to present photos of produce you have no intention of actually making for the customer, and b) even worse when a customer points this out to you and you make no attempt to ameliorate the situation. Working in customer service you weigh the pros and cons of situations and for now a piece of chocolate for a child you now have lost a customer who once wrote a gleaming review of your cafe. It would be dishonest of me to have kept it up, and as previously mentioned in the beginning of the review, I made them fully aware as politely as possible that I have not had a great experience and have left unhappy. Sorry xoxo, but service has dwindled and I will no longer be coming...

My husband and I have ordered from this cafe several times before (takeaway) and have also eaten in (but the last time we ate in was over a year ago). However, yesterday I decided to eat in with my 1 year old (who was in a pushchair) and my 2.5 year old.

First things first, this cafe is NOT pushchair friendly at all. The doorway is narrow but the biggest problem is, that there is a steep step as soon as you enter and none of the staff were helpful enough to try and hold the door open for me. A kind gentleman passing by, held the door open - even though he wasn’t going into the cafe.

The customer service skills displayed by the two staff members was abysmal. I asked for two spoons as the milkshake was far too thick to be drunk by a straw. The waiter (with longish hair) took a while to bring the spoons. We took our time to have our desserts and my kids were moving around as they are only 1 and 2.5 years old - so this is to be expected. I wouldn’t have thought it was an issue but it may have been to them - perhaps they’ve never dealt with young children before? To my surprise, I could see the waiter & waitress (short lady with dark hair tied up) watching me. How unprofessional. I felt so uncomfortable, it wasn’t a welcoming environment at all. When I was about to leave the cafe, yet again, neither of them came to open the door for me. My 2.5 year old daughter has better manners than them as she tried to keep the door open.

Regarding our order, the carrot cake is one of the best carrot cakes I have tried so that’s why I gave 2 stars instead of 1. However, the ferrero milkshake was below average, it didn’t taste of ferrero rocher. It tasted of plain ice cream with small pieces of nuts in it, it wasn’t very chocolatey or hazelnutty. It also had a slight salty taste too - which is not something I want out of a milkshake. I’ve had better ferrero rocher milkshakes before.

I think the menu would be better off with an update as there’s not a lot of variety - especially regarding cakes (maybe include some brownies, cookies and some different cake slices) and some savoury snacks e.g pasties,...

I had a very disappointing experience.

I ordered via Uber eat and I received only half of my order, it was a honest mistake I didn’t see it as a big deal. I called the shop straight away to let them know of their mistake and asked if they could send me the rest of the order, but the staff said I had to do it as a refund via Uber eat and re order the remaining items. I already paid for delivery charge and service charge the first time so I explained that if I do that I would have to pay for delivery and service charge again which I would rather not.

The staff kept insisting that there were not other way and if I wanted my items I had to re order again. I asked the staff if I could speak to the manager as I thought she might be more understanding and we could have come up with a better solution, and told me she wasn’t in the shop (she knew about the issue as she called her previously) so I said could you please give her my number so she can call me, she agreed.

I waited about 40min to an 1 hour then I called back the shop as no one called be but no answer, I called several times and still no answer.

The manager hasn’t call me until now. I ended up processing my refund for the missing items and I promised myself I will never order again from them.

It’s ok to make mistakes we are all human beings but it’s the way they dealt with me which disappoint me. They are the ones who messed up, I shouldn’t be paying the price for...