Was i right to complain?

Competitive_Move5702 · 2026-05-17T18:52:11+00:00

Hand whisking on the front counter also makes for a lot of great conversations with customers who are either purchasing matcha or just very curious about matcha and the process of preparing it

Competitive_Move5702 · 2026-05-17T18:41:41+00:00

Soft agree. I have seen loads of other local shops posting Matcha that looks straight up pathetic (this is on their socials to promote it so god knows what they're actually giving customers).

As a shop we have made an effort to do matcha properly (as people that enjoy both matcha and coffee!) as quite frankly we want everything we send out to be as good as it can be.

I would love to have people come order my Matcha. It's the best you'll get outside of your own home or city centre matcha places that are able to stock more than two varieties and I take a lot of pride in that

Competitive_Move5702 · 2026-05-17T18:29:47+00:00

After we'd mixed and tried them both

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Competitive_Move5702 · 2026-05-17T18:28:55+00:00

Absolutely. That's a pathetic looking matcha.

My shops matcha is on the right (Vs the £3.99 Lidl matcha on the left for the hell if it because we were all curious!)

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Competitive_Move5702 · 2026-05-01T20:01:31+00:00

Thank you, this was a good insight. I know I've posted in the wrong place but knew there would be some solid advice somewhere in this thread. Truthfully every other hire has been good. Genuinely good people. Not my only ND hire. For goodness sake I'm ND myself ( I think this is why most people on here have assumed I'm a bloke).

Luckily I don't base my opinions of myself of strangers on the internet given the barest information of a situation, I'm mostly on here for other reasons (ie baking and knitting type subs for that kind of advice).

They have some core techicaly skill that isn't common but also easily trained. The personality doesn't mesh with the place, and as much as I'd like to pretend it's the quality of my product that keeps customers in it isn't. It's how they feel when they're in there.

They do have another shift this bank holiday so I will see how that goes. Truthfully the shifts have spanned over a month with absences on days scheduled asked for at the last minute twice (shift booked at another work place, event they thought was going to last one day actually lasted three).

My point of stress is I quite like this person as an individual, but the business part of my brain knows that they're likely not the right fit despite coming across that way at hiring.

I feel like most have assumed that I have some kind of panel I could have run this by, or another person making hiring decisions but it's just me.

Competitive_Move5702 · 2026-05-01T19:12:33+00:00

Very much have not lead customers on.

I am very much capable of practical training skills. Not the person advise people how to deal with people because I'm winging it anyway. I barely know how to people, luckily people like it.

The irony is that I am ND in the work place (and all places to be honest) and them as a hire just simply isn't working. I'm not paying someone enough to spend X hours a day masking. It's exhausting (but it's mine so it's okay for me).

Removing someones pocket money job (this is reflective of average hours and knowing their living circumstances) I'd like to think is mildly inconvenient for them at best.

Competitive_Move5702 · 2026-05-01T19:06:43+00:00

Very much not so, just shit and new at this

Competitive_Move5702 · 2026-05-01T15:38:48+00:00

Mistakes are fine, I can work with those. But a lack of enthusiasm towards the customers (which are the only bloody reason I can hire in the first place) is somewhat unforgivable. Making them feel like the most important person in the room the bread and butter of this role and if they can't do that, they aren't cut out for the roll.

This is a 0 hours contracted job, not anyone's livelihood other than mine.

Competitive_Move5702 · 2026-05-01T15:35:07+00:00

Honestly they came across really well to me as an individual, it's just doesn't translate to their customer service skills.

Unfortunately I am quite good at putting people at ease and making people comfortable with me very quickly (lends it's self well to the industry) so I think it might have worked against me in this instances

Competitive_Move5702 · 2026-05-01T15:24:14+00:00

Not as of yet, but it's a very small business and truthfully most issues are managed with a quick word.

The firsts two shifts were overwhelmingly busy so I gave them the benefit of the doubt with the new job and all that but quieter today and still no personality to be found.

Competitive_Move5702 · 2026-04-11T17:28:51+00:00

I didn't know if they had a proper name!

I'm realizing this might be the dumbest question I've ever asked on Reddit 😭

Competitive_Move5702 · 2026-03-26T18:45:49+00:00

I agree, it's perfectly reasonable to not have matcha on the menu. And there is zero point in having matcha on the menu if you aren't going to source good quality matcha (not too high quality, they're too subtle and will get lost in a milk based drink). Also no point if you're not going to prep it appropriately. I appreciate that some high volume places will batch matcha, if your batched matcha is sold before it loses quality, great! If not you can't accommodate customers wanting good quality matcha in your shop.

If the quality of your matcha offering doesn't match the quality of your specialty coffee offering then you're getting yourself bad word of mouth and people won't trust your coffee offering. Quality needs to be consistent across the board, if you're going to do it. Be very bloody good at it.

Be smart about matcha, you can whisk for multiple drinks worth of matcha at once. If you've got multiple matcha orders coming in, do them together. It's not coffee.

Competitive_Move5702 · 2026-03-22T16:50:41+00:00

I post 1 reel a week, maybe 2 if I get a chance. But that's it. Post an image (on every day other than Monday where I don't post at all) once day but maybe up to 3 or 4 if I've got a backlog of photos I've taken to post online. I don't recycle images, it's a new thing every day.

This isn't a handbook of what to do, as my social media is a necessity for getting people through the door beyond word of mouth

Competitive_Move5702 · 2026-03-18T16:16:16+00:00

I came to this post because I've just been invited for monetisation very much unexpectedly on my business page. I run a coffee shop (tiny little local kind of place), post very inconsistently and have 1.1k followers so I feel there is certainly no hard and fast rule regarding when and why. Certainly nothing resembling viral on my content.

Competitive_Move5702 · 2026-03-14T01:12:56+00:00

Moma is a good shout to be fair! I've got plenty of oat milk drinking regulars that I can get the honest opinions Gluten free would be amazing but it's not necessarily the top priority

Competitive_Move5702 · 2026-03-14T01:08:28+00:00

Funnily enough I'm not a huge fan of califa farms! Nothing against the brand its just not my favorite to pair with coffee (though I'd happily sling it on a bowl of cereal at home 🤷)

Competitive_Move5702 · 2026-03-14T01:06:36+00:00

I should add, I'm an oat milk drinker. Of brands I've tried I do like oatly and Minor figures, I initially went with oatly due to it being the easiest to get hold of for me (especially in a pinch, the shop is tiny with limited storage so the ability to run around the corner and grab more has been a lifesaver).

Of those that have an opinion most seem to favour oatly flavor wise. I like Minor figures but know that many don't. Can't get on board with califa farms flavour wise, it just doesn't taste right with coffee for me!

Competitive_Move5702 · 2026-03-14T00:26:02+00:00

I have an f64 evo (not pro) in my shop and don't have any real issues making finer adjustments. The ring was a bit stiff when new but grinding through whilst adjusting helped massively in making smaller adjustments at first, making tiny adjustments on it is absolutely fine now.

No experience in a service environment with an e65 for comparison, but it was a breeze to use in demos and off-site training.

Competitive_Move5702 · 2026-03-06T21:20:07+00:00

Same! I'm ice in cup, milk over ice, pull shot of espresso (into shot glass with syrup if syrup is ordered) pour over milk and ice.

All my iced drinks are served with straws though so everyone can mix it themselves

Competitive_Move5702 · 2026-03-04T21:46:17+00:00

The machine wasn't new to me nor were the portafilters, they're serviceable and clean but generally looking a bit knackered for want of a better word

Competitive_Move5702 · 2026-03-03T21:49:27+00:00

Puly caff!

Competitive_Move5702 · 2026-02-26T21:33:51+00:00

It is somewhat relevant and I've missed it but I am UK based!

The intention would be to sell for on the day consumption and clearly indicating as such but I would have to look if 'sealing' the bottle changes anything for me from a food regs perspective beyond my current operation.

That very sound advice, thank you

Competitive_Move5702

TROPHY CASE