Farley's East — Restaurant in Oakland

Farley's taught me a valuable lesson.

I've worked in the coffee industry for years, coming up 5+, from local to specialty shops, but the other day. They taught me a valuable lesson.

As a barista, especially as an employee that wants the business to thrive and to not lose profit, I have always said the same thing as I was treated. After I received my coffee, I asked for a little bit of sweetener. I was given a pause, then a look of "are you dumb" and was told "yes, normally it cost extra, but we will give it to you today." Getting multiple baristas to explain to me, "why it's not appropriate" Which is fine. I tipped, and had bought two drinks.

In the past, I have always said the same thing to my customers when they've asked for extra things, but for the first time, as a customer, I had felt so much shame for asking.

What I learned that day was that, it's okay to be kind, and to lose a few cents of profit, to keep a healthy, and good relationship to build a loyal clientele.

I've always loved Farleys and was a regular at Potrero Hill, but it was my first time attending Farleys East. Although their coffee was just as amazing. I will not be going to this location further. Still I want the business to thrive and succeed thus...

An excellent, brightly lit, and now (post expansion) spacious coffee shop. The main floor is mostly for conversations--laptops are actually banned from several seating areas--but for those who want caffeine and a thirdspace, the upper mezzanine is basically a cat perch for laptop tapping. Anyway, onto coffee and atmosphere. Coffe is quite good, never had a burnt espresso here, and the pastries are rather nice as well. There's a selection of savory lunch-type things but I have not been here at lunch (despite many visits) so I can't speak to them. Service tends to be good to excellent; I've never experienced rudeness or sloth here, although when they get busy there can be a coffee backlog for espresso-based drinks. Atmosphere is airy but not cold, it always seems a bit busy and a bit buzzy as a result, and I find that energy can be enlivening. In a world where coffee shops are more common than fast food outlets, Farley's stands out as a really well balanced,...

Just spent close to $9 on a double espresso and a cookie. Accidently spilled my drink while adding cream and sugar to it. Decided to ask the barista for a towel, so I could clean my spill, he comes out and has the audacity to tell me, with an attitude, not to do that next time, repeating to me that cream costs money, and that it makes a mess, that I need to just order a latté, making me feel pretty much like I'm stealing, because I added cream to my coffee... As I expressed my concerns to Chris, one of the owners who happened to be going by, he proceeded to completely brush off the situation with a smirk on his face, and made sure to tell me that his employee is right in his doing, and I'm at wrong for not ordering a latté...he did ask me if I wanted another drink, to which I said "no". Very poor customer service skills! And the Owner obvioulsly...