Z'otz Cafe — Restaurant in New Orleans

Whoever was working at Z’otz on Monday, June 30th around 9 p.m. completely turned me off to this place.

I walked in, greeted the barista, and let them know I’d be right back to the counter after finding a good spot to set up. I’m in the service industry myself, so I had every intention of buying something in exchange for the Wi-Fi. I asked for water, assuming they’d grab a bottled one I could pay for. Instead, they pointed to the free water canteen. That’s on me for not making it clear I wanted to buy something.

Since I wasn’t in the mood for coffee, I left to grab some cash with the plan to just tip instead. When I returned, I explained that and asked for the Wi-Fi code. The barista ignored the question and curtly asked, “Yeah, can I get you anything?” I replied, “No, I’m already a coffee and an energy drink in, but can I just tip you instead?”

At that point, they looked irritated and said I had to buy something. They pointed to the $1 Emergen-C packs. I agreed and said I’d take one. During the transaction, they barely made eye contact. When they finally did, they said, “Yeah… it’s just a dollar,” in this flat, condescending tone, as if I should have known there wasn’t tax. I handed over the dollar, chose my receipt, and again, silence.

I still had the cash I was planning to tip with in my hand. I asked, “And the Wi-Fi code?” They pointed down to the counter and said, “There. In bright red letters.” The snark was consistent throughout. I pocketed the tip.

I fully understand if it’s store policy to require a purchase. I work in service, and I respect that. But talking to a customer like they’re dense, or like they’re trying to scam you, probably isn’t policy. It came off like they assumed I was just trying to freeload, and funny enough, the Wi-Fi didn’t even work. I ended up using my own hotspot because it kept buffering.

What could have been a simple $10 tip turned into a $1 sale and a lost customer. Pushing someone to buy something wasteful instead of accepting a generous tip isn’t just bad customer service, it’s bad math.

I’ll take my business to places with better attitudes and just as good, if not better, coffee: Rook Cafe, Baldwin and Co, Bean Gallery, and...

I was walking down the street about to go in and grab coffee. It was later at night and looked pretty empty. As I was walking up on the shop there was a young blonde girl eating a sandwich and on her phone in front of the shop.

Suddenly, out of nowhere a thin white woman in her early thirties with brown, straight hair, that was pulled up, who was dressed like a hobo starts screaming at the blonde girl that she is a barista there and that the tables are for paying customers only (mind you the coffee places was basically completely empty and the girl was the only one at any of the tables). The lady keeps going on and on, being like how dare you eat food that isn't ours on our property. The blonde girl was really apologetic and moved her stuff away quickly and sat on the sidewalk. I felt terrible, she seemed really nice and introverted. The hobo lady continued to yell a bit more then walked down the street looking proud of herself.

At 1st I thought the incident was so bizarre and the lady looked so disheveled that I thought maybe she was a crazy homeless person who didn't actually work here. I went on yelp though and decided this was not the case as many people mention a barista with an attitude problem. I left right away after this. I will not give my money to a company that thinks it is okay to treat people this way! People don't ever deserve to be screamed at in an unhinged, berating fashion.

Anyhoo, at least I only wasted like a...

This place was great when it first opened. It seemed anyway. I would go everyday with my children I would give good tips five bucks every time. I appreciated the service. But overtime something happened. The service got worse the people were less compassionate. The coffee was not even worth the city water it was made in. But I'd still go to support our local businesses. Hoping the attitudes would change. A few years had passed since I've been there. I had just moved back to NOLA and I was homeless had nowhere to go and no money. But I had my computer. And so I thought I'd go to Zotz to get warm and use the WiFi to try and find work and a place to stay. After about twenty to thirty minutes the dark haired barrista came to the table I was sitting at and yelled at me. Saying I gave you enough time to come get something but since you didn't you gotta go. I looked at her. But she didn't remember me apparently. So the next day. I received my paycheck from down the bayou and went to The Rue de la course instead. Better service better coffee more coffee for the price. I'm a local artist. I believe in supporting small business. But community compassion plays a big part. If I'm gonna spend big bucks on coffee made with city water. Then at least I want good compassionate server who enjoys working the public to serve me that makes the experience a good one. As far as I'm concerned. Zotz iz on my lizt of places NOTZ to geaux to...