Nowhere Coffee Co. - West End — Restaurant in South Whitehall Township

UPDATED REVIEW - 2: Is there a way to downgrade this review further? You should be ashamed. You just lied to save face on a public forum. My entire exchange with your employee was respectful. I asked the question once. He responded kindly and affirmatively. I left to grab food and return. When I returned, he was apologetic, but indicated that the decision was out of his hands. How shameful of you to narrate a different interaction. I was respectful. He was respectful. YOU are disgraceful. How strange to be gaslit by the owner of an establishment! Even worst, an establishment I respected...

Refunding my drink will not rectify this horrible exchange I just had with you. Respectfully, no thanks.

UPDATED REVIEW - 1: I'm downgrading my review to 1-star because of management's poor response to my original review. Their response completely misses the point (i.e., I did not come in with the expectation that I could eat outside food there; I explicitly asked, given Nowhere was out of substantive food items, and received confirmation that I could). Their response lacked empathy, thoughtfulness, and a true desire to understand/support their customer base. It appears I was correct (see my original post) in my assumption that management's practices are degrading their customer service.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: I’m a frequent customer at Nowhere Coffee, and normally have great experiences, which is why I was so surprised by the experience I had during my last visit.

I often walk 2 miles from my home to Nowhere Coffee to work, and did so during my last visit. When I arrived, I began to order an Egg Experience sandwich and an espresso drink. They were out of the sandwich (which is fine!), so I asked if I could walk to the plaza across the road, get food there, and then bring it back and order my drink when I returned. I was told that would be “totally fine,“ and proceeded to walk to the plaza.

When I returned 15+ minutes later, the same employee told me that he made a mistake, and that I couldn’t eat there. It was, in fact, an innocent mistake, and I felt he was reasonably apologetic. But then I asked if I could quickly eat there this one time, given the fact that he made that mistake (mind you: it’s nearly 1 PM, and I hadn’t eaten all day). He reinforced that he couldn’t let me eat there (he seemed to suggest that the decision was out of his hands) and encouraged me to get my drink to go. So I ordered my drink and left, and had to eat my food outside (there’s no outside seating or benches; and remember I walked there, so couldn’t eat in a car).

In that moment, I wish the employee felt like he had more agency to make what would’ve been the clear customer-centered call to make a one-time exception given that I was provided inaccurate information. Instead of requiring me to leave…especially after I was given direct permission to go and come back.

As a frequent customer, I was flustered by the whole ordeal. It felt like poor customer service that could have easily been avoided if the employee felt empowered to make the right judgement call. At the very least, the employee could have comped my drink or something to account for the fact that I took actions based on...

I want to start off with the positives about Nowhere Coffee. They have amazing coffee, teas and honestly everything on their menu, I’ve tried has been great! I am choosing to leave them a two star review because I have now had two bad experiences that I want to briefly explain. My first negative experience, I ordered my regular drink and a bagel with cream cheese. I first received my drink, great. Second, I was handed my bagel by the barista and during the hand off the bagel slipped out of the top and fell on the ground. This happened in-front of the barista who handed me my bagel and a man who appeared to be the manager or owner. I could be wrong about that, not certain. I then picked up the bagel and turned to this man and asked if my bagel could be replaced. He had clearly seen what happened in the hand off. It was a complete accident that could have been chalked up to both my fault and the baristas. Accidents happen. He proceeded to look me in my eyes and told me I could buy a new one and that they would not give me a new bagel for free with no remorse. Mind you this is a $3 or $4 bagel and I spend money here 3-4 times per week consistently for about a year now. I did not buy a new bagel because I expected to be compensated for this accident since I am a regular who spends a lot of money at this small business. Despite my disappointment from this poor response, I continued to give Nowhere coffee another chance because their drinks are so well crafted. My second bad experience happened when I order my normal iced drink. Once I saw them making my drink I realized they had filled my 20oz. Cup to the brim with ice. I kindly asked if I could have less ice ( a normal amount of ice). The barista kindly responded and said it would be an extra charge. I understand this concept because the customer would then receive more consents of their beverage than what is allotted for a 20oz beverage if the cup had anything less than half a cup of ice but I told her I’m okay if it isn’t completely filled I just don’t need a full cup of ice. She told me it would still be a charge. I find both of these instances completely unjustified and I do not feel valued as a loyal customer. I am a small business owner in this immediate area of West Allentown and highly support small businesses. Putting myself in the shoes of Nowhere coffees owners point of view, I have respect for an establishment enforcing its policies to set/hold a standard but I also believe that some instances deserve understanding and flexibility to show customers you value their continual business in choosing your services. If I am met with a “clap back” response from the owner I will no longer support this small business because that would clearly mean my business as a loyal customer does not mean that...

I am writing to express my disappointment regarding my recent experience at your establishment. As a frequent customer, I was taken aback by the disrespectful and discriminatory treatment I received from the manager today. When I inquired about the status of my tea, which was supposed to be made in 4 minutes, the manager asked the staff if my tea was being made, and they said she hadn't started it yet. I simply asked how long it would take because I had to return to work, and if it wasn't going to be ready soon, could I cancel it and grab something else instead? That’s when the manager snapped and told me she needed to talk to me outside. She actually escorted me outside to talk when I should have been getting my tea. I felt humiliated and accused of being rude, which was not my intention at all. To make matters worse, someone who ordered tea after me received theirs before I did, and I ended up being late to work because of it. Additionally, I was told to order online if I’m always in a hurry, which I found shocking. As a Black woman, I couldn't help but feel that the treatment I received was racially motivated. This situation has left me feeling uncomfortable and unwelcome, and I have decided that I will not be returning. I hope you take this feedback seriously to improve the experience for future customers. Update the owner comes to my job like 20 min after I wrote this review and harasses me in front of my coworkers because I wrote my experience. The owner knows where I work surprisingly and she shows up at my retail job . She attempts to talk to me and demands to speak to my manager . I told her I do not feel comfortable talking to her about something that happened on my own free time. I stated again this is really unprofessional and again racial profiling. I told her if she wasn’t making a purchase she needs to leave or I will have security escort her out. She did not make a purchase at my establishment she simply came to harass a black woman at her job . Absolutely mortifying and disgusting. The owner is so...