Michael Thomas Coffee Roasters — Restaurant in Albuquerque

No more. I have been a frequent customer of the original Michael Thomas for decades – meetings, morning coffee, bulk beans, etc. Since moving my office to Nob Hill, I have been splitting my time, reluctantly, between both locations, as the Silver Street location is very convenient. From the beginning, I noticed a drastic difference in customer service between the two, which has come to a head today.

I was there with my friend, who has also been a loyal customer for decades. We were there for a cup of coffee and breakfast, and he also wanted to exchange some beans that were obviously a bad batch – they made he and his wife sick the few times they brewed it. My friend is a chef and knows coffee – if he says the beans are off, they are off. The staff hassled him in line, especially the manager who I later discovered is the owner’s daughter. He said – “you guys discuss this, we’re going to go drink our coffee”, and we sat.

The owner’s daughter later came to our table with a fresh bag of beans to exchange, but proceeded to condescend him in front of other customers. “Just so you know, we’re not responsible for your tummy.” At this point, even I was frustrated. My friend explained that if he were given a bad food or drink product anywhere else, it would simply be exchanged, no questions asked, but the owner’s daughter continued to push it.

Typically, and this is the case with the Nob Hill Michael Thomas, people who are really good at their craft – roasters, brewers, chefs, etc. – are given a bit of leeway because of the quality of product they produce. I will never visit this location of Michael Thomas again. My friend was treated very rudely and embarrassed in front of other customers. It shouldn’t matter, but combined, we spend thousands of dollars at Michael Thomas each year.

Bottom line: If a customer purchased a product that they are not satisfied with, replace it. I’m not saying the customer is always right, which is an adage I don’t believe, but why argue with somebody who is trying to give you their money? Do you want to lose the single product to the garbage, or lose the customer who buys the same thing every week?

Per Michael Thomas’ website, their goal is to provide a quality product and quality service. Doing both at the same time is not always possible, but if you fail at one, make sure you...

Small coffee shop not far from the bustle of the Kirkland Air Force Base nukes and new weapons in space fame. MT place with the Source garden spaces allows you to walk the peaceful grounds while sipping some prime ethically sourced coffee or tea from places under threat of world domination just from around the corner. Contemplate world peace then get active after the caffeen or antioxidants kick in.

If you brought a piece of cardboard and finished your coffee or tea, outside listen here for the birds, look at the soil and its bounty, then make a sign of some outrage that because of billions spent for space weapons we cannot have.....x,y or z or just lovely garden spaces for sharing. Decide to be human.

Bearing witness at the Kirtland gate you just might see a man in shorts, still protesting for years on Fridays, join you looking like Mr. Natural sans robe (he might be at Sandia gate). Doing his part in the play is Don. Don is worried about bad plays when its closing in to midnight. To sit through a bad play to the end one needs a MT strong dark roast or ginger chai to get a heated core.

Maybe today your radiation will change a mind going into the gate. Maybe that worker going in will stop hating other life forms cause of being told to. That worker might turn around and with new found humanity come join you. Just because you stopped by for a cup at Michael Thomas by The Source. Strong defense those two together....

I've been going to Michael Thomas for a number of years. It has a nice vibe and the staff are friendly. I typically buy their whole bean coffee, which has been solid in the past. However, the bag of Burundi beans I got this past Saturday was bad. Really bad, actually - like worse than the $8 bags of generic stuff you'd find at the grocery store (and 3x the price). Their storage system is somewhat unique in that they don't prepackage their beans; they're all in clear plastic bins along the wall. I'd never thought much of it in the past, but that constant exposure to light and oxygen may be the reason that this batch was extremely oxidized and smelled very old (and the taste was no better). I reached out via their website but haven't received any response or explanation, so I don't know if they monitor the input they receive there. I hope that my experience was a fluke rather than the beginning of an unfortunate new trend. I'm not sure it's worth it to me to find out which of those it is, as there are plenty of other good roasters in town who have yet to...