Better Buzz Coffee Hillcrest — Restaurant in San Diego

Hi [Owner)

I wanted to share some honest feedback about a frustrating experience I had at your location today.

I came in intending to do some light work on my laptop, as I often do, but the environment was unfortunately anything but welcoming. There were several individuals occupying space without making purchases and behaving in a disruptive manner. One individual appeared to be unhoused and was using the charging station without engaging with the business. Another was holding a loud, extended speakerphone conversation upstairs for over 45 minutes. Neither of them made any purchases during that time.

Out of respect for the space and fellow customers, I brought this to the attention of two staff members—both of whom appeared indifferent and unwilling to address the situation. One even shrugged and walked away. As a result, another couple nearby left, and I was tempted to do the same.

As a small business owner myself, I understand the importance of maintaining a space that respects both paying customers and the integrity of the environment. I personally spend around $60 a week here, and it’s disappointing to feel that consistent patrons are being overlooked in favor of non-paying individuals who treat the café as a lounge or office space.

This incident gave the impression that certain behaviors are being tolerated depending on who the customer is. That perception is troubling, and while I hope that’s not the intention, it felt like there was a lack of accountability or consistency in how your policies are enforced.

Regretfully, this experience has prompted me to take my business elsewhere. I’ve also decided to invest in a home espresso setup, which will ultimately save me time and money—but I genuinely wish it hadn’t come to this.

I hope this feedback is helpful and encourages a discussion with your team. Patrons like myself support your business regularly, and I believe we deserve an atmosphere that’s both respectful and inclusive—for everyone who chooses to contribute...

I was a regular at this location,sometimes twice a day for a few months… I went to this location instead of the closer one to me in coronado because I just moved back from Japan and used to live in hillcrest and visited this location frequently. I didn’t run into too many problems until the last few weeks of my visits with a few of the baristas. As someone who worked as a barista for 6 years and was a prior assist manager, the way I was treated left a bad taste in my mouth and I’ve stopped going to better buzz at all. I have a pretty basic order of a large matcha with no vanilla powder and a total of three scoops of matcha. I personally think the price for their drink that is already 50 percent ice is a little steep but I had love for better buzz and didn’t mind paying it plus an extra $1 for a milk alt bc of a milk allergy plus another $1 for extra matcha. But then I ran into a caucasian girl (they don’t wear name tags so don’t know her name) who wanted to argue with me that she needs to charge me an additional $2 for the matcha. If a drink standard comes with 1.5 and i’m subbing out and saving them the vanilla powder,plus already paying $1 for extra matcha then why are you charging me $10 for a drink? As someone who worked food service I always like to tip $2 every drink order and sometimes even $10 if we had it but if you’re going to argue with a regular customer to gain $1…you’re going to lose business. I know this review won’t really affect a chain and people will continue going, but the taller dark haired guy with all the buttons on his apron and the girl who looks like her name could be sarah or katie and wears her hair in a low ponytail need an attitude check and maybe a basics of customer service review. There is a difference between someone doing their job and someone who is just trying to pick a fight for...

The decor is aesthetically pleasing and the ambiance is nice. It’s almost always busy and seating is nearly impossible to come by, but I lucked out and was able to snag a table.

The building has a large floor plan for a coffee shop. The food is good and the coffee is better than some of the big brands but nothing to write home about.

My biggest issue is the lack of outlets. A lot of people go to cafe’s/coffee shops to do some sort of work. My work requires a more powerful computer that isn’t intended to run on battery for long periods of time so I’m somewhat reliant on a power supply.

I came to the coffee shop to do some work in a different environment and was shocked to find that the lower lever has ZERO outlets. You can’t plug into a power source anywhere. The mezzanine level which literally never has any seating available has a total of two. So I was directed outside where I could find more outlets.

To my surprise all of the seating was available (likely because there is very limited shade and the sun was beating down). There was also an abundance of outlets so I found a table in the shade only to find out that none of the outlets outside work. I was then informed by another employee that, apparently, the neighboring ramen business has control of the outlets and they’re turned off when they’re not open. They open around 5pm which gives you about 4 hours in the evening before better buzz closes to utilize basically any outlet.

I thought WiFi and power were pretty standard at most coffee places seeing as though the majority of people who spend their time in cafes are doing exactly what I am, but this overpriced cafe doesn’t seem to have some...