Smile Cafe — Restaurant in Scotland

Appalling attitude from the ginger staff member at the till. I’ve been a regular at Smile Cafe for the past two years. It’s been a great pit stop for a coffee and a bite to eat, and the staff had always been friendly and provided a good service. Recently, however, my experience has been dampened by a young man with ginger hair who I’ve only recently noticed starting to work here.

As I waited for some indication that he was ready to take my order, after a moment of silence he sarcastically asked “…so are you getting anything or…?” with his eyebrows raised and a look of discontent. After placing my order, he read it back to me incorrectly so I specified that I asked for a croissant not a toastie, to which he rolled his eyes and scoffed “well yes that’s because it comes up as the same thing on the till”, as if I was meant to know how the till interface works and that I was wrong for correcting him (when asked!) on the food I was ordering. He then said he needed to know where I’m sitting, so I indicated at the only empty table right next to the fridge, which he rejected as he “needed the table number in order to tell the kitchen where the food is going to”. I went along to the empty table that I had shower to him and couldn’t see a table number, and when I asked where to find the table number he was very chippy in responding “there’s no table numbers on the tables I need you to sit down in your seat”. Very off-putting attitude compared to the usual friendly tone that I’ve enjoyed for the past 2 years of coming here. As I enjoyed my croissant, I continued to hear the same attitude directed towards other customers that came in after me, unwarranted and overly-pedantic.

It’s upsetting to feel like such an inconvenience in an establishment I once adored due to one member of staff. It’s a shame, as he’s noticeably letting down the previous glowing reputation that this cafe holds. If you have a preordained chip on your shoulder, you should not be interacting with well-intentioned patrons to the business. I’ve made all my contacts who used to love Smile just as much as me aware of this...

Another review mentioned the ginger member staff at the counter and I have the same complaint. They made my friend uncomfortable by acting as though he was stupid for not knowing they served different kinds of breads. This is appalling behaviour. The food is amazing and the rest of the staff is very friendly, but you cannot treat customers that way for no good reason. Very disappointed. I work in retail, I know how stressful customer service can be but if you cannot handle it, you should not be at the forefront of the business. It just makes it look bad, and people do not want to feel as though asking for a...

I recently visited Smile Cafe, and I was excited to make my sister try that cafe. However, our experience was ruined by the extremely rude behavior of one ginger staff member. From the moment we placed our order, he exuded tension and spoke to us horribly over no reason. It’s a shame because it has all the makings of a wonderful spot.

I couldn't understand how someone like that could be hired, given the importance of customer service in such places. Despite this unfortunate encounter, the cafe itself is lovely. Here's hoping they address staffing issues to ensure other visitors don't have similar experiences...