Scooter's Coffee — Restaurant in Cedar Rapids

I'm changing my review. Recently I gave this Scooter's a three star, mostly due to the feeling that the staff is often hiding in the back and it's hard to get their attention. That has improved significantly.

Many of the staff here know what I want when I walk in the door and have it ready for me before I even order. I always get a large flavored brewed coffee. I didn't know how much I appreciated that until today when I went to another Scooters and tried to explain what a "large flavored coffee" is and was handed what amounted to a cup of syrup.

UPDATE: Seems like I change my review of this place fairly often and the star-thingy goes up and down. I have complained in reviews in the past about the weird ever-fluctuating rules for getting a refill. Today the barista that waited on me, whom I don't recall ever seeing here before, told me that because I threw my cup away I had to pay full price for a refill instead of the refill price. I have never been told that before. The cups that Scooters use are so flimsy that often times if you use the same cup it ends up leaking. I told her that. She didn't care. I really don't mind paying full price for each cup. I'm irritated that after all these years of going to this and other Scooters, this is the first time I've been told that if I want a refill price, I have to use the same cup. It's the inconsistency that has always bugged me. There was a time when it seemed to depend on who was waiting on you. Sometimes you had to pay full price for a refill, sometimes a dollar, and sometimes it would be free. Either they need to come up with a set decision and stick with it, or make sure everyone is trained properly.

ADDING: I haven't been in since my update five months ago. I'm here today. My first cup of coffee was fine. I'm on my second cup. It's cold. I just got it a few minutes ago and it's already cold, which tells me it wasn't hot to start with. Not only that, it's not a medium roast, which I asked for. It's flavored. I will drink it. What really bothers me, though, is I know someone who is severely allergic to cinnamon and this definitely has cinnamon in it. Now, me, I'm merely disappointed and annoyed. Him? One sip of this and he'd be on his way to the hospital. I realize the baristas are currently, and have been all through my visit, extremely busy gossiping and the one that gave me this coffee probably didn't want to miss out on something juicy. As important as gossiping with coworkers is, sometimes taking care of the customer and listening closely to what they want is important as well.

This Scooters has become a dump. I like the one by Kirkwood okay. The one up on C Ave is nice. This one is the pits. Sad. It used to be a good one.

UPDATE AGAIN:

I mostly avoid this Scooters nowadays. As I said the last time I updated, it's a dump. I am adding a photo taken at 6pm today. Most of the trash in the photo was there when I came in around 2pm. Not one person came out to deal with it in four hours. They were not busy, either. I suspect if a health inspector were to come in and see a mess like that, they'd be shut down. It just seems they don't even...

TL;DR: Internet is slow af, overrun with loud teens, Coffeesmiths was better and New Brehemia needs to stay open until 9pm.

This is one of a few places that are open until about 9pm that serves coffee and can serve as a place to study, but there are issues that keep this place from being great.

I used to absolutely love this place when it was Coffeesmiths, but since being purchased and turned into this franchise, it's went downhill. The atmosphere used to be quiet, maybe medium level on a busy day, but it has now turned into the local hot spot for cackling teens who tell their parents they are going here to study and instead gossip so loudly that I feel like I need to tell young Brooke that Logan is lying to her about why he doesn't respond to her texts and save her the trouble of dating the kid for any longer than she really has... but I digress.

The Internet connection is open, but soooooo slow. I can't watch any videos for classes without it buffering 10-20 times during a 20 minute video.

Their food is ok, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Their drink selection is below par, Starbucks has a better selection; and their selection is basically just a bunch of sweet stuff that doesn't taste like coffee and are expensive for what you get.

Their employees are nice, but slow, and their barista skills leave something to be desired. They are typically understaffed, leaving you to wait for a long period of time for your order.

If you're looking for somewhere to study with a quiet atmosphere and decent Internet, you're better off going to the LADD library across the way, the downtown library, or even the other Scooter's...

Edit: Below is the original review I had left. The store owner had reached out and apologized for the events even though it was not their fault. Great customer service and very speedy replies.

I've had multiple u pleasant customer service experiences there but today was the worst. To preface, I'm dealing with some very serious things having to do with relatives in the hospital and it has weighed very heavily and made me fragile. I wanted some relief so I chose this location for a quick coffee. At the drive thru, I had a nice conversation with whichever worker on the other end trying to figure out if syrups can go in cold foam. I just wanted a cold brew with pumpkin cold foam. Once I got to the window I was handed a cold brew with pumpkin syrup in it but no cold foam. At first I nicely explained what it was supposed to be and the mas presenting person at the window had stated that wasn't written down on the order. I said I had a conversation with the person taking my order to make sure we got the specifics right. They then told me, "well next time have the person driving you order so we can hear you." They're tone was very bitter. I had trued to explain that we had agreed on the order and I thought it was understood but they rudley cut me off and said, "well do you want us to make that or just take what you have? I didn't hear any of what you said," every time I tried explaining they were uncooperative and rude. I ended up just taking the drink and giving it to my friend and went to Starbucks instead. The kirkwood location is so much kinder and I will never come back to...