Be Caffeinated — Restaurant in Chattanooga

Cringey and disjointed space management. Owners/management lack soft skills and discernment when it comes to basic tenets of customer service. Exceedingly amateur.

For a small business focused on branding and growth, they succeed perhaps best in volume at the expense of everything else. The product, service, and setting are worth overlooking, given the saturation of cafés in the local market.

If you want a tactless and industrial approach to the café experience, look no further; BeCaf lacks a considered human element to a counter service environment. There's an unsubtle irony to this, given that a front of house without wait staff is probably one of the easiest sorts of service spaces to manage.

The only thing worse than a café trying to do corporate-style business is such an environment which simultaneously lacks in the knowledge of the basics of hospitality. With scores of books available on this very subject, one has to assume owners/management do not value their customers at all, that they are not trying.

I am a frequenter of cafés, an ex café worker, and ex manager, eager and able to forgive much in my enthusiasm for a new experience or a potential regular hang. Seriously. I want to have every reason to love a coffee shop, and to bring people I know to one.

Be Caf is quite possibly the worst service experience of my life. Strike that. The worst. Really. I am amazed. I have been to any number of places around the country which, while rough, understood the basics well enough to not alienate their customers.

I'm not sure how one screws up an operation quite this badly. If I could award negative stars for exceptional failure, Be Caf would get all of those stars.

'Meeting or exceeding expectations' and 'making it right' are not in...

BeCaffeinated is one of my favorite coffee shops in Chattanooga. I have always had the most pleasant and welcoming experiences at any of their locations (I have been to each one.. multiple times). As much as I love their coffee and enjoying the outdoor seating at the Northshore location, what I love most about BeCaff. is their involvement with the community. Each month the shop hosts giveback days, which I think is totally incredible. Not only that, they offer their space to be used by other community partners and are always involved in something within the community. I know some argue that local coffee shops charge too much, but I will stand by my decisions to support BeCaff because it is evident they are investing in the community, not just a chain trying to make a profit. BeCaffeinated feels like something larger than a local coffee shop, they truly are an incredible member of the community! You guys are one of the things that makes me love Chattanooga! Also, I love that I can bring my dog and hang out on the patio, or pick up a coffee before we walk...

The parking situation was confusing. I had been informed that it was free to park on the first floor of the parking garage, and the coffee shop would validate the parking. What I wasn't told until after the fact was you have to take your information to the cashier in the coffee shop and NOT pay at the kiosk (there are numerous signs in the garage saying you have to pay for parking at the kiosk). Most establishments I've been to validate the parking after you check out at the kiosk. But if you choose to stop here, you have to skip the kiosk despite the signage and go directly to the cashier with your license plate number.

Besides being charged for parking, the total for the drink came out to way more than expected. Everything was about $1 extra from plant-based milk alternatives to flavors. The cashier gave a long list of offers, suggestions, and options but never informed its additional costs. It ultimately cost about $10 for what tasted like a basic iced coffee when originally I thought it...