La Colombe Coffee Workshop — Restaurant in New York

To its credit: Awesome ambiance. So many varied and distinguished individuals come and go from here. That’s why it pains me to say I will be scratching this place off my list. Not to toot my horn, but I’m a well dressed guy, I buy and continue to buy if I’m there for awhile —don’t wanna hold up a productive seat—and I used to be here quite frequently. With that in mind: why deny to break a large bill when you have the means to do so? At first I was lied to about not having the change. Then, when they stumbled onto the change in a draw, I was told in a stuttering voice that it’ll be hard to change my bill because they get counterfeits “...all the time.” THEN I was asked to hold on (while the line rolls their eyes at me, because this is taking some time now) so they can get “the pen”—something you would think’ll be done prior to giving me the whole counterfeit spiel! Ultimately, I was so upset, I pulled out a wad of large bills and said ‘eenie meenie miney mo, take your pick’., just to highlight the inanity of the situation. Of course they still denied me service. At that point I refused to use my card.

Bottom line: a place like this encounters large bills all the time by patrons. The fact that you don’t have a counterfeit-checking-pen and that you tell me you experience counterfeits “...all the time.” let’s me know that your denying me goes beyond a standard policy but onto more of a judgement call. Upon looking at me, the ONLY factor in the case had to been my being black. The question had to stand: hm, why does this black guy have this large bill? What is he trying to pull?? Whereas if a similarly dressed, clean cut (which I always am) white guy had the bill, I believe it wouldn’t have went beyond simply seeing if the change was available. I experience this “all the time” and instead of taking it, I take my money. NYC is too abundant in chill spots for me to do anything otherwise....

Coffee is great and there are a few other locations but this particular location is a huge NO MORE for me. JUNE 19, 2024, I purchased a cereal milk late and walked around the block before having to use the ladies bathroom, returning to the store in under 5 minutes to use the bathroom and was told I needed to purchase a beverage in order to use the bathroom. When I informed the staff that I had just purchased a few moments ago I was questioned further and the staffer highlighted that he saw me come in without purchasing. I informed him to validate my purchase with the cashier and proceeded to the restroom. While in the restroom I overheard the staff interrogating my party (one of which was my young child), investigating if I had in fact purchased a coffee. When I completed using the bathroom I informed the staff that I would not only never visit again, I would inform my husband who introduced me to this location, and would never recommend them to anyone else. Customer service matters and so do paying customers, something so small should not have escalated to something of this magnitude. The user experience matters and will take my money to any...

I went in on a Saturday afternoon with the intention of ordering a total of four drinks. I feel as though that is a reasonable amount of drinks for a chain coffee shop. As soon as I walked in, I noticed the incredibly long line, but that is no problem. However the barista who decided to take orders on the line (not the counter) was more worried about the formation of the line than taking my order. Additionally she kept addressing my partner who did have the order and not making eye contact with me. She walked away after incorrectly taking two orders when there were four. Once we got to the register, it seemed like the barista there was supposed to take all of the orders instead. I ordered a ICED matcha latte, a cold brew with almond milk, a drip coffee, and a chai latte. They made my matcha latte incorrectly and expected me to know out of a counter of 8 drinks which ones were mine. I do think they are better equipped to manage one order at a time but for a coffee shop in downtown NYC, I am highly...