Einstein Bros. Bagels — Restaurant in Castroville

I’m writing to express my disappointment with the service I received here on June 28th at approximately 11:35 AM. The young female employee at the register wearing an orange shirt and a hat, with brown hair in a messy ponytail—was extremely rude and unprofessional during both of my recent visits.

The first time I encountered her, she mistakenly charged my card twice for the same order. I gave her the benefit of the doubt. However, today's experience was unacceptable.

I had come back for a bagel that I paid for the day prior, which I never received because after charging me, I was told the bagel was unavailable. The manager at that time (Margarita) apologized and invited me to return today to receive the bagel as a courtesy.

When I explained this to the employee at the register and gave her the manager’s name, she attempted to charge me again. I had to repeat myself to clarify the situation. Then, unprompted, she told me, “Just so you know, we close at 2:00 PM but start locking our doors at 1:50 PM.” I asked why she was telling me that, and she stated I shouldn’t come after 1:50 PM and should give them time to make food.

I never mentioned what time I had come in the day before, so this felt personal and unwelcoming. I also don't see why I'm being blamed when I paid for something and was told they didn't have it after the fact. I told her that I had actually called ahead yesterday and was invited in at 1:53 PM by the manager, Margarita. I even double-checked at the door if it was too late because I could come back another day and was told it wasn’t a problem.

Margarita invited me in and had me pay for the bagel, then sent a male employee to tell me it wasn’t available. I had overheard her being told they were out of something before my transaction, so it was clear she knew in advance. I asked why she would charge my card knowing that she didn't have what I wanted and she offered only a flat “My apologies.” I told her I would've really appreciated honesty before paying for nothing and she said "Oh okay." Margarita then offered a refund and I said I would like to just come back tomorrow and get the bagel I paid for. She said that was fine and I was leaving then she offered a refund and told me she'd take care of the bagel. I said I was okay and she insisted anyway.

So why was I treated with hostility and told not to come in past 1:50 PM? I’ve seen others welcomed at that time or later, so this felt discriminatory. When I asked for the employee’s name, she said she didn’t have to provide it. I then asked to speak to the manager.

I explained everything to a young female manager, but I did not feel that the concern was taken seriously. She did acknowledge that her employee telling me not to come in seems unwelcoming then asked if I wanted “more free stuff,” which felt both dismissive and spiteful. I had paid for my bagel and only returned to claim what I was owed. The suggestion that I was seeking free things was offensive and inappropriate.

I declined the offer and simply stated that the employee’s behavior needed to be addressed and I did not want her handling my food. It was unacceptable for her to speak to me that way or make me feel unwelcome in a business I patronized. If you plan to stop serving customers after 1:50 PM, your posted hours should reflect that. Don't make people's lives miserable because you want to go home 10 minutes earlier than your closing time and get upset when someone walks in.

This entire experience left me feeling disrespected and singled out. I strongly believe that the employee at the register is not suited for a customer service role and she needs to learn to treat everyone equally. I hope this is taken seriously and addressed appropriately. I'm truly in...

I was so excited when Einstein Bros. opened in my neighborhood. My husband and I stopped by on Sunday, Jan. 12th at 9 AM. The store was busy. I was surprised at how small the store is. There are approximately 6 tables and no where for people to wait for their order so customers are waiting all over the place and customers walking in the door don’t know where to go or where the line begins. We ordered two bagels toasted with cream cheese, two small coffees and two doggie bagels. I was advised that when I pick up my order, I should check to make sure that I was given the doggie bagels, if not let the cashier know and she will get them for me. The coffee was hot and tasted good. I observed that several customers had to come up and tell the employees that they didn’t get their doggie bagels. We received our bagels and I didn’t receive my doggie bagels as well. I had to ask for them. My bagel wasn’t cut properly, wasn’t really toasted and didn’t have very much cream cheese. I had to get a knife and scrape the cream cheese to try and get the taste of cream cheese in each bite. My husband’s bagel was perfectly toasted, cut properly and had the perfect amount of cream cheese. The only other concern I had was how dirty the floor was. It was 9 AM and not raining or wet outside but the floor was dirty. It looked like a dirty mop was used to “clean” the floor. You could see the streaks of dirty water that was dried on the floor. The floor definitely needs to be mopped with clean water after the store...

We stopped by a few mornings and decided it wouldn’t be worth the wait since inside was madness (totally expected for a new place). Decided to order on the app after our 3rd attempt so we could just go in and grab our order. Employee told me they didn’t have everything I ordered, so I asked if the rest had been refunded. She said they aren’t able to refund anything ordered on the app, so I had to fill out a request to be refunded for the out of stock items. Over a week and a half later, I just was notified a credit was added to my app, not refunded to my card.

Kind of frustrating, and not great customer service. Won’t return until the staff has plenty of time to work out the kinks of being a new store, and the wait times reduce. No longer a fan of the app...