Equator Coffees — Restaurant in San Francisco

Equator has lost a customer today. This morning was the first morning in years I have reached for my phone to order, remembered my experience this past weekend, and ended up deleting the app.

I loved Equator. I really did - in terms of their coffee. It was distinct and delicious. But the blatant, "We don't care about our customer" vibe leads so I just really can't support them anymore.

The wait for a simple coffee is atrocious if you walk up. Expect to wait 10-20 minutes minimum even if there is no one else in sight. Mobile orders take precedence.

The staff is so busy making coffee they really could careless about the customers. If you walk up to the window to pick up your online order (with no one around, mind you) and call out "Thanks!" They never respond. Like ever. So weird. I have tested it 11 times now and only once did someone mumble a, "yeah".

This weekend I ordered a coffee around 9 am. Usually, the app tells you when the coffee will be ready prior to ordering if it is going to be longer than the 10 min standard. It didn't and when I submitted it - it said it would be a 30 minute wait. I didn't have any time for that. So I called. I let the woman know I wouldn't be picking up my coffee or if they could make one exception this time (I order all the time) and make it a bit earlier. She said no. They couldn't make one coffee in order to save a daily customer.

Whatever. Good luck at Alcatraz Landing making coffees that take 10-30 minutes when people have timed ferries to catch. This is going to be...

Tourist and foreigners beware!!!

Great coffee but morally dubious staff. I've come back to the city after a few months and stopped by to grab two coffees priced $5.50 each. I got charged $22 and as always I left a tip thinking to myself that the prices in the city have really got steep. Then I looked at the price board and realized my coffee was still 5.50 just like last year. I inquired about my order and was refunded and reassured "Thanks for catching that out" (by the way still no refund on my account). I just find it hard to believe that the person taking my order and repeating it to me for confirmation wasn't aware of what they were doing - they charging me twice as much ASSUMING I WAS EITHER A TOURIST OR A FOREIGNER.

I know you want your business to thrive and probably have no personal financial benefit from what you were trying to do, but, for a business and employees who try to pronounce and embrace such customer-friendly and human-friendly values, you should really be embarrassed at your hypocrisy.

It saddens me to write this because I have been a loyal and tipping customer, but I want others, especially tourist, to be cautious and alert since they get such a raw deal in the city being vulnerable to so much street crime targeting them in particular. And, now, they have to be vigilant even in a popular...

I haven't loved my time in San Francisco, as in my first evening here I saw a homeless guy fight a security guard in a Walgreens and witnessed more than a few junkies shooting up on the sidewalk with no regard for human life lol.

But I've had such a negative view point since that first night, I decided today to walk as much as the city as I can with an open mind. I always find walking through a city gives you the best feel for it, boots on the ground let's pound the pavement. Legs feed the wolf.

All this to say I'm at Equator Coffee right now, outside in these red metal chairs with my bomb cold brew and delicious butter croissant, getting off my feet for a sec to recharge for the rest of the journey. I love this area of SF tho... that's what locals call it yeah? SF? I hope y'all don't call it "San Fran" that just sounds wrong aahahaha.

But, yeah. I love how much nature is over here. I love breathing this clean, crispy air it's good for the soul I swear to god ahahaha. It reminds me a lot of Vancouver, and I think Vancouver is the most underrated city in the world but that's a convo no one wants to have.

SF is growing on me. I'll keep y'all updated on the rest of this walk, about to get these legs working again. Thank you Equator Coffee for fueling this 2nd half of my journey.

Ig...