The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf — Restaurant in Los Angeles

I am writing to express my extreme dissatisfaction with the service I received at one of your Coffee Bean locations. The incident occurred earlier today and involved an employee named Stella.

Upon entering the store, I greeted Stella, who unfortunately did not acknowledge me in any way. I proceeded to place an order for coffees and a croissant. After waiting for approximately 15 minutes, my name was finally called. However, I was only given the coffees. Another 10 minutes passed, and becoming increasingly frustrated, I requested to speak with the manager. Regrettably, this individual also demonstrated a lack of professionalism.

At this point, I decided to leave. I placed my check on the counter, as I was not informed of the total amount. Later, upon checking my bank statement, I noticed a charge of $17.19. To my dismay, I discovered that a tip had been automatically added to my bill without my authorization. When I inquired about a refund, the tip amount was not included.

I find the practice of automatically adding a tip without customer consent to be highly unethical and unacceptable. Furthermore, the lack of attentive and professional service I experienced from both the initial employee and the manager is deeply concerning.

I request a full refund for my order, including the unauthorized tip. I also urge you to address the issues raised in this email with the employees involved to ensure that other customers do not experience similar problems...

I don’t buy coffee out all the time, but if I do, it is at Coffee Bean. I love that they have fresh teas for a decent price. Only about $3 for a large. I always get the Swedish berries tea and add 2 stivia bc it is pretty tart otherwise, but I buy 2 so I can have 1 the next day haha. They are so refreshing. They have a larger selection of sandwiches than Starbucks too. I love their pumpkin varieties. I wish they didn’t get rid of the option to make any drink Ultimate. That would add chocolate covered coffee beans blended up into any drink. It was my fave in the Carmel Ice Blended drink. But no more 😩

Update 061924 They are quick and the employees are typically super friendly minus 1 employee. I used to get the Swedish Berries tea all the time last summer and it was less than $3 and it is now $5!!! For a tea! Crazy. I was surprised to see the price dif and mention the change to the employee. She was super sweet and gave me $2 off without me asking. I still go here 1-2 per week and always get an iced coffee and ask for easy ice. It never fails that they continue to ignore that request and fill the whole cup with ice. If I want to buy a small coffee I would have to I’m so tired of these places trying to sell small drinks in a large cup by filling the whole thing with ice first. I always tell ask for them to remove the added ice bc it’s approx 8oz of drink...

I decided to get coffee this morning and as I stood in line waiting, I watched the manager argue with another ten member. They didn’t even acknowledge my existence. There were 3 employees standing by the register and no one even looked up to speak to me. I started waving to get there attention. Then I said hi very loudly. The girl arguing with the manager speaks to me and ask me what I would like to order. Before I could respond she turns back to finish her argument with the manager. That was the most unprofessional experience I’ve ever had at any coffee shop. You are literally arguing about work schedules in front of customers. When I snapped and said well I guess I’m not getting anything because your conversation is so important, you both get quiet and start doing your job. You didn’t even apologize. So thank you for wasting my time and I hope your work schedule issues are...