Brisk Coffee Co Hanley — Restaurant in Stoke-on-Trent

I visited with my 2 young children , after finishing our shopping upon entering the shop my 4 year old daughter declared she was desperate for the loo ( when she says she needs to go , she needs to go ) so told my 8 year old son to run in the loo with her while I stood with bags where i could see them go in, I was stood looking at the menu while the children were in the loo , a few minutes later a male member of staff shouted across to me " these aren't public toilets " a little taken back by the comment I replied with" I know I am ordering as soon as they are done , she's desperate so has run loo first " his response been " there's no need to be rude " I did not mean to come across as rude nor did I feel this response was , as soon as the kids came out they sat at the table and I went to order us some drinks, I decided against food as I felt like a criminal and very on edge. the lady that served us was lovely, very friendly , we got our drinks and sat down , the lady did bring us over a cake for the kids and they did enjoy them so this made me feel alittle less on edge so thank you to her. I feel it is disgusting that i was a genuine customer and within minutes I was made to feel like I had done something wrong, if I had walked in let kids use loo and walked out then yes you would have every right to confront me however I did not I had every intention of using the shop. the impression I got was that you would rather see a young child stand in a que and have an accident than use the loo . I would not...

Very concerned at how staff treat their customers. Especially younger adults with disabilities. Unfortunately it appears the staff member in question was possibly the manager.

The world isn’t always kind and that’s a lesson to be learned but what isn’t expected is to visit this cafe and be harassed and shouted at by a staff member. Reducing young SEN adults to become mute and then be berated for being unable to speak in this highly stressful situation is a disgrace. One was wearing a disability lanyard. But no person should be spoken to and harassed by staff as this small group were. Calling security on them as some of the group felt unable to purchase a drink was highly inappropriate and security also agreed that the cafe staff member was being absurd. However, this is not a very nice experience for anyone. One of the group has never been able to go out without parental support so this has certainly disrupted the progress she was making.

The staff member in question needs to be retrained in how to interact with all customers. A bit of training on SEN and disabilities, would be extremely helpful to others that dare to enter the cafe.

I do hope the CEO of Esquire’s coffee shops takes notice in this matter. I will email directly and expect a public apology on this matter. Some things need to be addressed and used as a valuable lesson a customer facing company, that there are consequences for disability...

We have frequented this coffee house on a few occasions and are always very pleased with the service we receive. However on this occasion I absolutely disgusted with the way a member of the team spoke to an older member of the public.

The lady had come in to use the toilet and not purchased any items. I can understand that this is not appropriate and is a luxury for paying customers only. This was not approached in a respectful manner: "Hi, can I get you anything?" "I was just trying to use the toilet" "It's for customers only, it does say on the door outside if you read the notice, it is in English" This attitude and behaviour I find rude and assumptive. The lady may have not been able to read or may have additional needs. Which again, I appreciate that it is for paying customers. However the way in which the lady talked at was absolutely appalling. If it was a group of intimidating people or somebody who appeared to have dishonest intentions, this approach have been warranted. This was unnecessarily rude

This member of staff was loud and disruptive, no professionalism or courtesy for those around them.

We like to avoid big chains to keep the independent companies thriving and after this experience we will not be returning.

I find the irony of questioning an older ladies ability to read when someone is unable to spell...