Costa Coffee and Caffe Nero - grubby?

[JoanThursday1972]

Does anyone else think this? I just don't feel clean in these places. Stained seats and a scruffy feeling.

Always grubby. I assume it’s a staffing thing.

also they sometimes have rustic wooden tabletops which are probably hard to keep spotless.

I like Costa coffee. The one closest to me is in a supermarket. It is always clean with pleasant, hardworking staff. It has more of a feel of an independent coffee shop.
The 2 Caffè Nero’s are ok too, although they are both a bit cramped.
I don’t mind Starbucks generally, but the local one is dire. It is not clean and the staff emit an aura of not giving a damn. They are so slow the queues from the drive through frequently cause traffic jams on the main road, and they are run out of quite normal items.
Of course I also like to try independent coffee shops, but coffee is expensive and I know Costa and Nero coffee consistently suit my taste.

98% yes. Our local Costa has been renovated recently and is very nice and clean, but some are disgusting.

The air inside Cafe Nero is always really steamy and hot like they have zero ventilation, and the branches I've been to recently have been really dark and narrow too. And their drinks are extremely hot - I got one recently when I was early for an appointment and it took me ages to be able to drink it.

I usually go to a Pret near work and it's spacious, airy and bright.

Me too!! It also makes me feel really thirsty as well? I’d actually rather get a soft drink there than a coffee because it’s so bad. Ideally, I’d not go inside in the first place tbh.

It’s hospitality, so underpaid, overworked staff. Multi million pound chains paying their staff minimum wage and expecting them to do the workload of 2 or 3 people. They’re probably knackered but I agree every Costa I’ve been in has been filthy.

Yeah they are both grim. Starbucks is usually a bit fresher inside but their coffee tastes like burnt soil unless it has about 15 different syrups in to mask it. Nero does the best coffee of the big chains but the inside is dingy and tired.

My Nero is in a large shopping centre so you’d expect it to be like a flagship and better kept but it’s not.
It’s so tired, same big wall hangings they’ve had for years and very sticky tables. I reported a fly infestation there which their social media got back to me about quite quickly. I think the issue was initially resolved but when I went back, I noticed the flies again. Really surprised it hadn’t been dealt with before I reported it.

I am always put off going in there by the dark atmosphere, always feels like you are going into a den. I use the Costa machine in a big sainsburys with my own cup. Good coffee and with the app you get points towards a free coffee. They do a meal deal there as well, a sandwich/snack/coffee for 3.5 which seems like a good deal.

I think it just depends on the particular shop. My city's Nero is one of my favourite places to go for a coffee. Friendly staff, cosy atmosphere, always smells nice and feels clean. I've been to others that do feel grubby, sticky and untidy. Varies between locations, I think.

Haha that's actually my favourite part about Costas and Neros - the dark and cosy atmosphere! As long as it also feels clean and fresh 😄

Horrible, I avoid both.

Independent cafes are normally so much better.

As is the Costa "Instant" granules, in a can; tried once - never again!)
Anyone else had that experience?

No never. I do drink Costa instant.

@HaggisBurger Highgate?

I haven't set foot in a Costa that wasn't absolutely filthy since the 90s when going out for a coffee was considered a real treat. @Bananalanacake yep Gail's in Blackheath used to be Blockbuster back in the day. I avoid as it's always so crowded and full of grumpy middle class parents (I say this as a grumpy middle class parent myself) and it is just expensive and generally bad vibes all round, and I feel like if I want to spend that much money on coffee and a cake i actually want to enjoy myself

I've stopped gping to the local Costa after they started roping off areas and hoovering an hour and a half before closing and saying no to hot food as they close soon?!
This was on 3 occasions I met up with someone after work so it was obviously their routine.
Also the cakes never seem fresh and they are £££.

I don't think I've ever had a coffee shop hot chocolate anywhere near properly hot so I'd love to know where some of you are going.

Depends on a location a lot. In a retail park, yes.

The toilets are grim in ours. Likewise Starbucks

Hmm, must just have been me... 😖

Is their sexuality relevant?

There are few independents around me. In our village we have Costa, Nero, Starbucks, Gail's and a small chain Capital. There are only 2 independents and one is vegan so no cow milk. The other is just not great at coffee. It's a travesty!

Tbf that's not Costa's fault and I'm pretty sure he would be equally disgusting in any establishment

My dss used to work in Nero. £7.50 an hour.

The staff are meant to clean after the shift but they just don't have time. It's filthy. Had to pay for food for lunch

He's moved to Pret. £11.50 an hour. He also gets free food for lunch

The staff at pret also get a weekly bonus i think it's £100 if they pass their mystery shopper test.

By the sounds of it pret have much higher standards and they treat their staff well. Guess where dss works harder?!? !

No idea whether Costa is grubby - the coffee is cold, slimy & undrinkable so I try to avoid. But independent coffee shops are almost always going to be better than chains.