BigFoot Java — Restaurant in Edmonds

I'm going to give BFJ Edmonds a five-star review for their night staff. I definitely will only recommend that you visit this location after 10pm or so (not sure when my regular night gal starts but I'll update next time I frequent). The graveyard staff are the best and they really know how to make drinks whether that be Espresso, Red Bull, Italian Soda, etc. Every time I've ever visited during the wee hours, I've tasted perfection (both hot and cold drinks)! I think they've been with Bigfoot Java for a long while and so they really understand how to make delicious drinks and she'll make great suggestions if you just tell them what you're craving. For example, I once asked for an Italian Soda with coconut vibes and she made me her own concoction which turned out so good. When I have visited during the day and this is at least 6-7 times, my drinks were made poorly and with a heap of attitude even when tipping 15-25%. When I mentioned this to the night crew, they did inform me that many of them are still in training, so they may not know how to make drinks the Bigfoot Java way yet. On two different occasions, they didn't put the lid on correctly on my hot drink which makes for a hot mess and can be a little annoying that they tend to not pay attention to the little details such as leaving out the whipped cream, adding enough flavored syrup...

Do yourself a favor: just take a quick scan through the reviews here. It quickly becomes obvious that the inconsistent customer experience is overwhelmingly caused by – wait for it – BAD MANAGEMENT and mistreatment of staff, which fosters low quality work. This experience is unfortunately not unlike most businesses these days; it has become the standard and expected practice.

As other reviewers have mentioned: If you're gonna tip ANYWHERE, but especially at CARD-ONLY establishments like this one, try to do it in cash (but bring exact change, because they dont have a cash til).

When it comes to service, I wouldn't mind if the baristas would LOOK AT ME and LISTEN TO ME WHILE I AM ORDERING! There are a couple baristas who intuitively understand how to do customer-facing work, but most clearly need some instruction. If I have to repeat or explain my extremely simple order because you can't prioritize 3 to 4 seconds to listening to it, and if you dont look up at my face even a single time while charging me out, these interactions will affect your tip. It almost blows my mind that I'm typing these words at all, desperately hoping that it might influence any change. Everything has potential to improve.

Anyway, I also have some questions: Who owns and manages this place, anyway? Chat, what is an employee-owned co-op? And what is a...

Just had an awesome, awesome experience with Dynae.

stopped by after giving family a ride late at night from the airport. Since it was so late, I was expecting a quiet order with an unknown outcome as I've only been to a Bigfoot Java once before and that was some time ago. Dynae was a wonderful surprise! She chatted away while we experimented with the flavor of a drink, she even did a taste test with me (because we are Chai nerds) to see how we liked it and made a change. I offered to pay for anything we made but she wanted it perfect! (Combo of Spice and SF Vanilla Chai's with one pump pumpkin is delicious btw) At the end, we added a special drink on the side for my husband. All the while she was so friendly (and awake at midnight?!).

She worked efficiently while helping other people. I wasn't in a rush so I asked her to help others who may be night-shift, in between my drinks. She made everyone feel like they had their own unique experience while working quickly. I paid for my drinks, left a tip and started my happy drive home.

I live about 18 min away but I will go out of my way to be...