Stumptown Coffee Roasters — Restaurant in New York

I'm not one to write reviews about companies unless I have extraordinarily good service, or in this case, extraordinarily bad service.

If you've lived/been in NYC for even a day you know this is a city of endless movement, people constantly on the go -- taking advantage of every minute -- the constant mentality of "how can I knock off two birds with one stone" type thinking. So, this afternoon, when I walked into Stumptown Coffee off W 8th, that's exactly where my mind was at. Yoga bag on one arm, laptop and work papers on the other. With only a half an hour to complete an hour plus worth of work I sat down, threw up my laptop and quickly rushed over to the counter to order my coffee. Per usual, you order your coffee first then get the password to the wifi -- this wasn't my first time at Stumptown, I knew the drill.

However, this time was different. I grabbed my coffee rushed back to my computer only to realize the internet wasn't working. Okay, plan of action -- reset my computer, maybe it was on my end? Nope. Same issue. Look to the guy next to me -- dealing with the same thing. So, I get up walk to the front and ask one of the baristas if he could help me. "Sorry, for some reason your internet doesn't seem to be working. I've tried restarting my computer but it is not helping. The guy next to me is experiencing the same thing." Response: "Okay, we'll restart our router, happens often."

Awesome. Go sit down and wait .... and wait ... and wait. Clock ticking down and deadline for when I need to be out the door running to my meeting is winding down. Fifteen minutes pass and you can start to see everyone in there, many of the customers college students, looking at each other. So, again I get up and walk to the front to talk to the same guy. "Hi sir, sorry but for some reason it is still not working. Were you able to restart the router?"

It wasn't just his response that threw me off guard but his tone and complete disregard for the strength and power of customer service. "No, sorry, guess not. I think someone went back to check on it but I'm not sure. Either way, this is a luxury not a required service we provide so I guess you're just going to have to deal with or go somewhere else."

I was stunned -- was that response needed? I'm a customer sharing with you that a service you normally provide, luxury or not, was not working properly. You REQUIRE customers to purchase coffee and/or food to receive this "luxury service" (unlike competing coffee companies like Starbucks) -- did you really just encourage me to take my business somewhere else just because you didn't want to go five seconds out of your way to see if something was or was not working properly?

I didn't say a word - grabbed my stuff, packed up and walked out, leaving my coffee on the table. There is no worse feeling than the feeling that your money was spent on an undeserving and unappreciative individual or business. Regardless of the amount spent it still feels like you were robbed and taken advantage of.

So, moving forward, I will do exactly what the employee suggested I do, take my business some where else. Hopefully, after a handful of loyal long standing customers such as myself do so they'll realize that you can't treat your customers like nobodies -- and that 80% of business is repeat business. Stumptown Coffee, you've lost my business and my respect. Hope you clean up your act before your once crowded coffee shop turns into a ghost town due to disrespectful employees and unappreciative...

The instant I walked in here I felt unwelcome. The person at the counter did not greet us, just stared as I smiled and said hello. Okay...I'll order now I guess..I thought. I asked for an americano in a very small cup. This person did not appreciate my wording apparently and I was corrected to just say small americano. They murmur something to their coworker, share a little laugh. I caught this person's eyes again while just checking out the shop, so I give a short, polite smile and nod, too which I am actually scoffed at. All I've done at this point is walked in and ordered a coffee. Within one minute of being in a Stumptown I am scoffed at and presumably ridiculed by the staff. I'm not terribly lost as to why this person is upset that I'm there, but I'd rather just have my coffee and move on with my day. Turns out the americano is no good, undrinkable. Okay, no problem, I go back inside and just order a new drink, I don't complain about the americano, things happen, no big deal. This person is visibly irritated and confused that I'm back. Again, no greeting, just this stare like I'm an intrusion. From the door I take a broad photo of the shop, you know, similar to the ones posted publicly on popular sites like these. Just another ubiquitous, anonymous photo of a cafe, no close-ups of anyone, nothing obnoxious. With an abrupt snap I'm instructed by this person to "delete the photo no one asked me to take". No one's face is visible, it won't be posted, I offer a few assurances like this to which I'm further instructed to "not be weird about it." So I open my phone and delete them; I'm no saint, I'm a little dramatic in this action to ridicule the hostility and the obvious fact that I'm being singled out. I left with an over-aerated, lukewarm latte and the reassurance that I'll never again make the mistake of visiting a Stumptown. This was beyond unremarkable or even boring service, it was aggressive. And a note to the young people I'm reviewing here-- I've been in service as a line cook, bar tender, server and barista for 15 years. I even served Stumptown in a cafe in Chicago. I know what this industry is like, more so than you. And I've left one other online review in my whole life, one, and it was for a dentist who nearly killed me with a botched root canal, your attitude...

Stumptown Cofee, located just a couple blocks from Washington Square Park, has been one of the most consistency delightful coffee experiences I have ever had. Between the daily coffee tastings at 2pm, the deliciously refreshing nitro cold brew, and the splendid espresso drinks, there is nothing more I could want. Even the basic latte is wonderful without fail. I have yet to anything to their lattes, both hot and iced, as they are perfect without sugar or sweetener of any kind.

The staff is extremely knowledgeable, something you can immediately appreciate during the daily 2pm coffee tastings. While at times the knowledgeable atmosphere may come across as pretentious, it's really a result of people who are not simply paid to offer a product, but who enjoy the product themselves.

Seating is a bit limited, which is a given with any coffee shop, especially in Manhattan, but overall the place does not feel cramped or excessively cozy. The decorations are mostly functional, in the sense that coffee-brewing apparatuses and coffee products make up the bulk of what you see around the place.

Overall, Stumptown is a wonderful experience, both in terms of product...