BeanThru — Restaurant in Bellevue

Circumstance has it that I now pass Bean Thru coming and going from home to and from my daughter's volleyball club a dozen times a week or more. I drive thru Bean Thru as often as I can, and I sing their praises to everyone at the Club. I love supporting the "little guy", so I gravitate to places like Bean Thru, where I can develop a relationship with those serving me and express my values by putting my money where my mouth is, literally. Of course, it helps that the products they serve are all excellent and fairly priced, and the employees are all friendly and efficient. That is why it disturbs me to have to say that my experience today really put a pin in my Bean Thru happy bubble. After getting my coffee, I asked the girl serving me to double punch my coffee card because I had forgotten to use it last time thru. She informed me that Bean Thru doesn't "back punch" their cards. In a nice way I told her that I was very disappointed by that, and that I thought that was completely out of sync with the whole spirit of a place like Bean Thru. I mentioned something about a disappointing lack of trust, asked her to communicate my feelings to the owner, told her to have a nice day, and pulled away. The 30 minute ride home gave me time to think, and I came away thinking that surely the owner hadn't thought this short-sighted practice through. I'm sure I'm the kind of customer Bean Thru seeks, and would like to keep - a repeat/regular who sings their praises. Do you not realize that my using your coffee card is a way of saying that I value our relationship, and that asking for a back punch on my coffee card is like asking you to trust me? It's such a small thing to ask, and by you saying no you are saying that you don't trust me. Is it really worth alienating a regular customer? I mean, I have to get the card punched 24 times before I get a free cup anyway! If I'm in your shoes, I show appreciation by punching that card twice. No kidding. GetGo gives me a free cup after like 6 or 8 punches. Think about it. Really. If you know anything about business, which you obviously do, you know that acquiring customers is tough, is expensive, and is goal number one. Turning them into repeat customers who sing your praises is the ultimate goal. Forget about me, anyone who uses your coffee cards is a repeat customer and should be treated like GOLD. They are, I am, your lifeblood! It's Marketing 101. Im going to this length in explaining this to you not because I'm a nut who likes to hear himself talk (that may be true but irrelevant here) but because I care about your business and the "relationship" we've developed. I'd like to see it continue. Maybe you will reconsider what I think is a short-sighted and offensive business practice. I'll be seeing you soon. Much love.

UPDATE: WOW! Just modified to 5 Stars and it's well deserved. Owner responded with care & concern 5 minutes after my review. I understand now why the policy is in place. Some people are SO pathetic, trying to rip off a small business owner by manipulation of a repeat customer card. Get a life people! Still something to think about though, acquiring those repeat customers/coffee card holders are the Holy Grail, and most who are offended just go away ( I almost did) and don't post a novel of a review that you can respond to and make a save. Anyway, thank you for responding so quickly and with understanding. This is exactly why I like doing business with the "little guy". See...

Drove by many times, but today I can say I "beenthru" it. There's a good menu on the side where you pull up to read through your choices. If bosses are reading this, understand that the girl inside won me over immediately. A car had pulled in on the other side before me. So I parked and waited and she immediately opened her window and told me she would be right with me. That is proper service. She was very pleasant and quick also. The place has food. The place has a nu-go bar if you want protein. The food selection is coffee stuff, like bagel and bread based items. The espressos are described so in case you don't know your difference between a latte and an au lait, there you have--it no nonsense. I got a bag of chocolate covered espresso beans. Very generous portion. I wanted to like the coffee. I loved it! I like black coffee. At 3 p.m. Sunday after the main rush this tells me that they clean their machines. Fresh delicious smooth black coffee like you would get in a bone china cup and saucer at a five-star restaurant downtown...

I was curious about this place because every time I drive by, they're packed. Today I thought, why not try them out. Well I now will only go to this drive thru as my quick coffee pickup. I'm honestly annoyed at myself for not doing this earlier. I'm so tired of giving money to megacorps like dunkin' and Starbucks.

This coffee is really solid and they have a wide selection. The prices are cheaper than Starbucks and the quality is the same, if not better. I will be a regular customer for sure!

I now want them to open up a ton more locations throughout the city. I feel like the business plan is amazing, you have a small lot with low infrastructure costs and minimal staff. They were quite ingenious on the placement, making use of the roads turning lane to provide 2 different drive thru directions. No megacorp coffee place has something like this. I just hope that the workers get paid a fair wage and that the business stays profitable, it's hard to compete against coffee giants and I wish...