The Collective Caversham — Restaurant in Reading

Response; I'm not sure why you keep bringing that instance up and arguing that there is aside to a story I don't appear to be apart of. I've never been sat on a 4 seater table and asked to leave? I was there Wed 17th on the left hand side along the bench. Perhaps you are confusing me with another instance of you asking another customer to move on when overstaying their welcome. I have only been sat on a 4 seater a few weeks ago. There is no particular incident, but cumulative experiences. I would not base my review on 1 instance. I have given it months. For context, when seated on a 4 seater that would have been due to there being nowhere else to sit. I even said at the checkout if a seat becomes available on a smaller table I will move before if it frees up before my food arrives. In that instance I believe I actually shared the table with strangers that had politely asked and I agreed without issue. Instead you are using that as a means of discrediting my opinion based on months of experiences and as I say this was weeks ago and did not end in any confrontation. I stand by my words.

I sadly have to agree with the sentiment of many other reviews that the staff are often cold, rude and as a former regular, impersonal. The vibe of eat and get out has become unbearable for me. The initial attraction of decent food and coffee no longer outweighs the growing list of negatives that kept me as a regular. I'd prefer going somewhere I don't feel rushed out the door and unwelcome.

Response: Thank you for the response. You clearly don't have much of a professional acumen to see the importance of valuing custom over profit all the time, especially when you are trying to generate regular customers. I am not talking about setting up a laptop, but simply sitting for a moment to allow my food to go down, before moving on. I didn't mention an instance of me being seated on a table of 4 so it's unusual you would bring up such a specific instance especially as I had been speaking more widely about multiple different experiences across months of attending, which predominantly were located to your 2 seating arrangements. Nor have we met or introduced myself as far as I know? When you speak about 99% of your customers agree with this principle you are clearly living within that bubble of the current customer base you have. You are seemingly unaware of the opinion being generated outside of this base who chose not to attend becuase of the reasons I, and others have brought up, I can ring off a list of people that share this growing opinion. The fact that you are also showing a more confrontational defensive approach when responding to any type of criticism is another illustration of the unprofessionalism, choosing instead to blame customers than trying to find solutions.

As recommended I will be happy to go to a larger venue and not...

1-hour policy? I have visited here *many times since it opened, but overall, the service has been getting worse. The coffee quality is average, and the pastries are overpriced.

*Update 1 - Thank you for your reply. First of all, I wasn't working; I was using my laptop for web surfing. So your argument that I used your shop as a free workspace is false. Secondly, your policy should be consistent regardless of spending. I have been a regular customer and have spent more than you might think at your cafe. However, you have never asked me to leave, even though sometimes I stayed for more than 1 hour. You simply judged me based on a cappuccino and a laptop. Lastly, you were not that ‘very polite’. You asked me to pull off my power, and I did so without hesitation. Then, after half an hour, you came back and asked me to leave. And, sorry, but I was only there for 1.45 hours early in the morning, and all of this happened during that short visit.

Again, if my review insulted you, that's fine, because I also felt embarrassed when you asked me to leave. I adjusted my rating due to your aggressive feedback. Good luck with your business.

Update 2 - Thanks for your reply once again. I believe this response should have been your initial reply, explaining the reason behind the policy and seeking my understanding. Instead, you treated me as a customer who used your cafe as a free workspace with just a cappuccino, which is not true. It's hilarious that you modified your first review without acknowledging your mistaken accusation.

Again, I was not there for over 2 hours, and it wasn't during busy hours. Your inconsistent "generosity" (though I'm not sure if I can call it generous) left customers confused and uncomfortable. Your aggressive reply only served as evidence that, from a regular customer's perspective, your service is declining.

Of course, I understand the challenges of running an independent business, especially given the circumstances. I have supported shops in Caversham and developed good friendships with them. So no need for you to worry my...

I came here for the first time yesterday and was told that customers weren't allowed to use the sockets. My device had low battery so I just went elsewhere. I came back today because the place looked really good and thought I'd get in a few hours or work.

Nope. If you're reading this review, you might be aware of their policies regarding people using laptops or using it as an 'office space'. Unfortunately, I didn't look up the reviews beforehand so I was unaware.

One of the waitresses tried to take my plate which still had cake in it and I had to tell her that I wasn't done although that was fairly obvious. She then came back when I had eaten it, took it away, and told me (quite rudely) that she needed the table back for lunch as they get busy. I was a little taken aback as I'd never been spoken to like this at a cafe.

A few minutes go by and she comes round and takes my coffee cup (with coffee inside!) away. Message received.

Reading the responses to similar reviews it seems like the cafe has a certain attitude towards people who want to work in the cafe. Fair enough. But it might be a better approach to a) put up a sign to make people aware of this instead of essentially kicking people out of the door or b) encourage your staff to explain this politely to customers instead of being rude about it :)

update following response:

judging by your attitude you probably will be out of business in a week. I clearly said there's no issue with having these policies just be clearer/politer about it. I wasn't planning on being there for 'several hours' and if I was I definitely would have purchased lunch. as it happens I planned to leave around an hour after that anyway so apologies for attempting to bankrupt your business.

also, I'm not sure why you would want to imply that I'm a liar but they definitely...