Einstein Bros. Bagels — Restaurant in Charlotte

I had one of the most uncomfortable and infuriating experiences at Einstein Bros Bagels today. My family and I (we’re Hispanic women) walked in around 12:31 PM, and from the moment we entered, we were met with a cold, almost hostile attitude from the host, Tara.

While she was chatting with a white customer ahead of us, she was friendly, warm, and accommodating—smiling, polite, the kind of service you’d expect. But the moment it was our turn, her entire demeanor changed. She looked annoyed, like we were a burden. No smile, no greeting—just attitude. She huffed and puffed through our order like it physically pained her to serve us.

When my mom started laughing (lightheartedly) because every bagel she asked for was out of stock, Tara didn’t smile or try to lighten the mood—she snapped at us, saying “laugh it up like it’s funny,” while pacing and glaring. It was unprofessional, bitter, and completely unnecessary. We weren’t being difficult—we were literally just trying to place an order.

And what makes it even worse? After treating us like we were some kind of nuisance, we watched Tara turn right back around and start laughing and chatting it up with other (white) customers, asking them if they were doing alright and giving them warm, respectful attention. Meanwhile, she ignored us entirely—no acknowledgment, no kindness, just blatant disrespect. And then she was laughing on the phone while on the clock like everything was perfectly fine.

I don’t like jumping to conclusions, but the contrast in how we were treated versus everyone else in that store was impossible to ignore. It felt discriminatory. It felt intentional. It felt like we weren’t welcome there.

Einstein Bros needs to take a serious look at how some of their staff treat people. Nobody deserves to be made to feel unwelcome or “less than” because of how they look or where they come from. We left feeling disrespected, upset, and like we didn’t belong—and that’s not something I’ll...

I went in today and I normally receive pretty good service when Ms Margaret, Christian and Juana is there. I do not know the other male staff name but he wears glasses and he is the one that normally prepare my bagel for me. Today was a whole different experience. I ordered as usual but the one that took my order she will give you your food, a young lady. Anyways, I notice new staff preparing as well as taking the money. I ordered a toasted blueberry with honey almond cream cheese. When I went to pay I was immediately given a small cup for my coffee, but I was suppose to have a medium cup. I asked the cashier wasn't I suppose to have a medium cup and she turned around and looked up at the menu and gave me a medium cup, not even making contact or apologizing for her error, so I can only imagine how many other customers she had handed the incorrect size cup for the special on the board. Bagel and medium coffee $3.99. She proceeded to turn around and started talking to a gentleman preparing his coffee, apparently she knew him. I received my bag and left he store. Once I arrived at work, My bagel I ordered was in my bag, but it was slathered and greasy with butter, it was not cut as I had asked. I called the store and Sibby I believe her name was answered the phone and she listened to me and then put me on hold for 3 minutes. I have a timer on my phone. She came back and I mentioned again what the problem was and she said apparently you will get a free bagel, but you have to speak with my manager Paula. She put me on hold again, and I was on hold for 10 mins. I hung the phone up because I was at work. Will I go back there, maybe, but then maybe not and I was a regular customer. Maragaret, Juana and Christian were very friendly. The ones there this morning was just well let's say they left me with mixed emotions as far as me coming...

Ordered two breakfast bagels a while ago through Postmates and upon the delivery while unwrapping the bagels my girlfriend pulled hers apart and found a long thick hair in the middle of it which was very upsetting as we’ve really enjoyed the food many times before. I immediately called the store and asked to speak with a manager, the employee answering the phone asked what the issue was and I explained what had happened, she proceeded to put me on hold to pass the phone to the manager, after which I repeated the situation and voiced my concern with what happened. After asking for a new bagel the manager said they would accommodate to that, yet offered no apologies or had any sympathy towards us. I drove over to pick up the bagel and after entering the store I spoke with the cashier in front and told him what occurred that day, he also didn’t apologize or say anything and simply handed me the bag with the bagel. I was very upset with the way I was treated and have not gone back since. I have worked in the food industry for 5 years now and have never witnessed such negligence towards a customer. The lack of ownership that was exhibited was infuriating and appalling. Yes, anything can happen. Yes, everybody is human. However, considering that, a human should give a damn if you purposefully or accidentally provided a poor quality experience with whatever it is, this was completely unacceptable and doesn’t even seem like an accident anymore considering the poor reviews this location has gotten over the past 5 months. Customer retention is not rocket science, it’s a standard of hospitality that every business should strive for if it wants to succeed. Clearly, this...