Most of the time my experience at Crema is spot on even with the occassional wait in line. However, I feel I just got nickled and dimed for a half cup of coffee from the self service station. On occassion after spending the typical $5 - $7 on an espresso drink and pastry or quiche I grabbed a quick squirt of coffee in an espresso cup. I do realize a coffee refill runs $0.50 which is fair if you're refilling your mug, especially if all you purchased was a cup of coffee in the first place. I was told by a server what the policy is and that the owner would get them in trouble for allowing me to do this. If that's truly the case then I think the owner should take a course in customer retention 101. For what essentially costs maybe $0.20 per half cup of coffee I would be more than willing to give that away to make a 3-year, 3+ a week customer happy. In a recession customer retention is king and with a social media savvy audience which frequents this establishment I would suggest you give your servers a little flexibility in making a good business decision on the floor.
more