WoodGrain Bagel & Deli — Restaurant in Boulder

They have good bagels and food in general, but the service is SO FRUSTRATING. Let me preface this by saying I worked in the service industry through college, and know it is a hard job. That said, I have never seen a staff that looks so busy, and gets so little accomplished. They are somehow less stoned AND less efficient than Snarfs (to put it in easily digestible terms for Boulderites). At least if they were all ripped out of their skulls, it would be understandable. Today I had 3 people in front of me in line, there were 4 workers hovering around two cash registers, and it took 20 minutes to place an order. They are very friendly once you get to the register, but it takes WAY too long EVERY TIME.

Also, why is it that every other time I come in to get a 1/2 dozen bagels, you are out? "Bagels" is in the name of your business. Its literally the ONE thing you should not be running out of. This has happened repeatedly and I am showing up during times of day that end in 'AM'. You are open until 5PM, so I imagine you routinely disappoint your afternoon customers as well. I mean seriously, you are charging out the nose for something that is made of flour, water, yeast, sugar and salt. I hope you are not going broke on those ingredients. Your profit margins on bagels should be astronomical. Make more of them. If you don't sell them all, donate them or sell them as day old. They are good, people will still buy them. Especially all of the broke students in the area. Of the four people I was in line with, two of use were not able to get what we came for (hint: it is a product that starts with 'B', ends with 'agel', and is not 'Bio-filler with Plasmagel'). This was before lunch. On a Sunday.

Long story short: the food is good, but there are some serious issues with efficiency and preparedness that make the customer experience...

I want to share a story about the employee who goes above and beyond. I go to the Anschutz Medical Campus Wood Grain location every time I have appointments there. You have already won me over on food service in atmosphere, but something happened this morning where one of your employees went above and beyond. My wife tripped on some of the concrete stairs out front. No one is really at fault. It was early in the morning about 7:40 AM so the light was bad. The stairs were tricky Nd short about 3””. Anyway she busted her face when she tripped. This was all outside your store. I got her to keep compression on the wound. (Later we found out it took 15 stitches) But I needed a compress or something to control the bleeding until I could get her to the emergency room. I went to one of your employees who was very busy. Yoir employee could have told me that it was a medical campus and call 911. He was a tall young blonde fellow about 6 feet tall and he was preoccupied with work , but as soon as I told him what the situation was, he dropped everything got a first aid kit and got me a sterile compress so I could control my wife’s wound and get her to the ER. The speed which I could do that was a huge relief to her. The only thing that she was really upset about is that we couldn’t get our breakfast at WoodGrain this morning. I wish I could’ve gotten his your employee’s, but right away a CU health employee came along and offered transportation to the ER ASAP. This shows me you have employees who care not only about bagels and coffee, but you have employers who just plain care and there is not enough of that today. I will be telling everybody I know about Wood Grain not because it is a great cafe, but also because you have employees who...

The bagels are definitely among the better... possibly the best... in Boulder. The sandwiches are quite sizable... maybe even a bit too big, at times. Obviously, appetites vary. Here are the problems, as I see them: I requested a toasted bagel. The bagel I received was not toasted at all. It was cool to the touch, and tough, as bagels often are when they haven't been warmed. I'd rather be commenting on how it wasn't toasted quite the way I like them... but it wasn't toasted, at all. I didn't return it only because I don't like to see food wasted. I expect restaurants to not take advantage of me, that way. The sandwich I ordered was a healthy portion, for sure. And it was presented open-face on a small wooden board. It was very much the ideal picture of a hell of a sandwich. Until I tried to eat it, that is. It's nice to see the capers on the top of the sandwich... but they don't tend to stay there when you try to pick it up. Presentation was awesome... but sandwiches are about the user experience... and the sandwich I received was unmanageable. I had to eat it with a fork and knife. The user experience, today, was less than ideal. One more thing: I ordered Vegan cream cheese because I have a dairy allergy. When someone does that, service etiquette requires that confidence in the accuracy of the order be conveyed throughout the process. Today, it was a bit questionable. In the past, I've had to question it. That shouldn't happen.

I'm going to assume these shortcomings are fixable... and I plan...