Caffé Etc — Restaurant in Los Angeles

I work from home and am always looking for new cafes to work from so I can break up my routine. When I wandered into Caffe Etc the other day I thought I had found the holy grail: a coffee shop with a casual ambiance, that wasn't busy and had great food/drinks.

Turns out there's a reason they're not busy: because the owner is incredibly rude and runs off customers.

This morning I went in because I was going to have a Spanish lesson with a woman who teaches lessons there (it's advertised on the register) and was immediately approached by the owner. She told me that when I'd been there two days ago, I had stayed too long. She also begun complaining about my friend/co-worker who had put her feet up on the low table near the couches at one point.

Now, here's the thing. I understand that a) it's her cafe and if someone is doing something she doesn't like she can address it (and she did ask my friend to take her feet off the table at the time) and b) cafe owners have to make money and people sitting there for long times CAN be a drag on that. I worked at busy coffee shops in the past and have heard owners discuss the financial implications of not enough turnover. However, this cafe has never been busy on any of the occasions I have been in there. If she had come to me the day we were there for too long and said that she needed the table we were taking for some reason, I would have happily moved or left. After all, this is Hollywood and some cafes do allow people to work there indefinitely, so I could see how she might get frustrated with people assuming her's is one of those cafes. But there is no signage anywhere that makes it clear there's a time limit, and additionally the cafe has NEVER been busy enough that our staying long will make it hard for her to turn over tables fast enough. I don't think I've ever seen it completely filled up, and I've been there at all different times of the day, on several different days of the week.

What frustrated me the most was the way she treated me, though. A quiet "could I chat with you a moment" off to the side, or approaching me after I ordered would have been fine. She approached me at the register and started saying all of this to me at the register in front of the customers and employees. When I confronted her and told her she could have been more diplomatic about it, she just kept ranting about my friend's feet on the table, when my friend wasn't even there with me today.

I was really looking forward to my Spanish lesson this morning, but thanks to the owner's attitude, I left because I didn't feel comfortable being there anymore. I will not be returning, and would advise others to avoid it unless you feel like being treated as an...

It is one thing to have bad service and bad food, even good service and bad food. But it is a DAMN SHAME to have horrible service and great food/coffee. I ordered delivery from here yesterday. It took 15 minutes. Great! The coffee was amazing. The food was great. So I ordered pickup today, with future plans to come in on my days off and chill for a bit. Today I have work, so I wanted to get something quick that was nearby, as I live 5 minutes away. I placed my order at 12:33. I went into the cafe at 12:45. Pickup time was 12:49. They tell me the order isnt ready. Cool. It happens, and it's usually only a few minutes. Two coffees and a PB sandwich, cant be too long, right? It takes a lot for me to realize that I've been waiting around a while. I dont know if these women just didnt like me, or if the guy in the kitchen was just VERY bad at time management. I work in kitchens and I can push 5 tickets in under 10 minutes. They werent exactly overflowing with customers. I noticed at around 1, nearly 30 minutes after they allegedly were working on my order, that something wasnt right. I had gotten my coffees, great! But my food? I stood there waiting until 1:15. 40 minutes. It took OVER 40 minutes to produce a damn PB sandwich. I dont know what was going on there, but like I said, it is a damn shame because the coffee is great. Of course I was upset. And if the food and coffee were anything less than great, i wouldnt want to come back. Guess I'll just order delivery...

Their motto: "the customer is always wrong." I made the mistake of eating some sweet fries from outside while I waited for my friend to meet me for a coffee and a snack. The manager, Vivian, and a man in a hat, perhaps the owner, proceeded to harass me, verbally assault me and kick me out for bringing in outside food without letting me explain. Congrats, Caffe Etc., you lost two customers today and I hope many more. I didn't get a chance to try your coffee and grub but I assume it's just as bitter as you are. UPDATE: I called to try to clear things up and I spoke to a lovely cashier who was very understanding. She then handed the phone to the same manager, Vivian, who proceeded to lecture me about how horrible I was. My friend who also went there told me that the same woman, Vivian, told him he was a "disgrace" because he was promoting a Mexican event and doesn't speak Spanish. It's great to see that the Soup Nazi has competition in LA. I assume the "etc." stands for...