Costa Coffee - Shropshire

Firstly, the staff are great! Friendly and caring and really do their best. Costa or should I say Coca Cola, you really need to do a lot better. You have 3 dedicated staff members working a busy Saturday lunch time with no help. It’s not fair on your staff and it’s not fair on your customers. The decor is old and tatty. The lighting is poor and gloomy. The whole place is dull and miserable. I came here for a coffee because it’s the only cafe in town that had empty seats that tells you all you need to know.

I visited a Costa location today on 22/10/21 and was very disappointed with the staff's attitude and the lack of cleaning and sanitizing of tables. Upon entering, we noticed a table with two sets of dirty cups on trays. A staff member said he would clear them, which he did promptly, but he did not return to clean and sanitize the table. Fortunately, I had sanitizing spray and cleaned it myself. While I was doing this, my husband went to order drinks. He asked for a mocha latte, which is no longer on the menu but is still made at many Costa locations if requested. The cashier did not mention that the drink was no longer available and accepted the payment. However, when the drinks were being made, my husband was informed that they could not make the drink. Additionally, he requested the drink to be served in a glass, but this request was ignored and he was told that a mocha is served in a cup. Eventually, he did receive his drink in a glass after some dispute. This is not the first time we have experienced poor service at this Costa, and we will not be returning. It seems that this establishment urgently needs training in customer care and Covid cleaning procedures.

We decided to drop in for a mid-morning break at around 10.00 a.m. The first thing we noticed was how busy the shop was. Consequently I had to queue for about 10 minutes. There were two baristas on duty. One was taking orders and the other was dispensing them. Just before my turn came two youngsters ordered some exotic chilled concoction and the barista apologised to me since she had to take time out in order to deal with that order. After receiving my order I sat down with my wife. The coffee was exquisite by the way. However, the next thing we noticed was that tables weren't being cleared. This had an obvious effect on some potential customers who entered the shop, looked around for somewhere to sit, observed the clutter and simply walked out. I cannot criticize the two members of staff since they were obviously rushed off their feet. The situation must be the result of company policy in utilising the minimum number of staff. Surely it is possible to monitor sales and employ the relevant numbers of staff required to maintain a pleasant customer experience? Not to mention the prospect of increased sales from customers who can actually find somewhere to sit!

Service was great but loads of tables with used crockery ect. No one clearing tables. Left a bad impression of not caring about the state of the coffee house. When we left no staff behind the counters or staff available to serve or clear tables.

I ordered oat milk but was given semi-skimmed milk instead. I asked for the correct milk but received ultimate milk and was disappointed.