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Original poster

Why is the service in every M&S cafe so slow

89 replies

Hepzibar · 21/08/2023 16:21

Without exception.

OP posts:
Cakeandslippers · 21/08/2023 16:39

Ha, it is! Also Costa

MichaelAndEagle · 21/08/2023 16:40

It is!! Its the weird set up somehow slows things down. I don't get it either.

Mammyofonlyone · 21/08/2023 16:41

My friend and I were discussing this only the other day. Consistently slow and frustrating!! It's a shame because it's a handy place to go

noisemwa · 21/08/2023 16:41

My parents always comment on this too!! Is it staff shortages or are they trying to be an a la carte restauran?

Mysleepisbroken · 21/08/2023 16:42

Haha, I'd assumed it was just a problem with my local cafe.

Letterposter · 21/08/2023 16:43

In the least crappiest way, we have a lot of older women employed there and they take an age. I assumed it was bcos of that

loveulotslikejellytots · 21/08/2023 16:44

My mum went into our local one the other day. Queued for 15 mins with a sandwich, wanted a cup of tea to go with it. Got to the counter and they asked if she had a table. Mum said no, I'm on my own but once I've paid I'm sure someone will be going or won't mind me sharing while I have my tea and sandwich. The lady refused to serve her if she didn't have a table waiting 🙄

Mum told her not to worry. Went and got a sandwich from the food hall downstairs, a cuppa from Starbucks and sat on a bench. But it was really strange.

SpamFrittersYouSay · 21/08/2023 16:45

Wish I knew.

There's an MandS and a Costa barely one hundred metres from each other nearby and both have queues that snake into the shopping area.

Costa is the worst. All that banging, wiping, tapping, steam releasing, more banging, more tapping, levering, more wiping.... Jeez!

loveulotslikejellytots · 21/08/2023 16:45

It was a cold sandwich btw, not a toastie or anything!

GlobetrottingPercy · 21/08/2023 16:46

Ha. I went last week and waited 9 minutes to be served (I was the first one in the queue). There were two women on coffee machine and one man on the register, he went to get some ice for the machine and they waited to make coffees (from which orders I don’t know as we were all waiting to order and pay). They told me they couldn’t serve me as they were “coffee machine only” and they couldn’t get ice for the same reason. We all just had to wait for him to return while they stood and looked at the floor.

GingerIsBest · 21/08/2023 16:47

Costa seems to vary massively from store to store and I will never understand it.

M&S - YES. Why is it? Staff are uniformly lovely and friendly. Also extraordinarily inefficient. They run it like it's their kitchen at home and they're pottering around chatting to friends while they make the tea.

Bonbon21 · 21/08/2023 16:49

It is utterly dire in every m and s cafe I have ever been in... regardless of the age of the staff. So much standing around, looking at each other while customers are waiting in the queue.
Awful!

mondaytosunday · 21/08/2023 16:49

My friend used to work in one. They have cut back and cut back. Instead of having one person on tils, one on hot, one on cold and maybe one doing coffees, they have one person doubling up and also clearing tables/delivering the food.
Complain - they'll only increase the staff if they think they absolutely need to and customer is king (or queen, in most cases).

AtomicBlondeRose · 21/08/2023 16:51

There are so many cafes like this. They go at a glacial pace (I mean, I can SEE them, so it’s not like they’re involved in something complex behind the scenes or anything). I watched in bemusement as a young man very, very slowly made two drinks and then very, very slowly put them on the counter, and then when I reminded him he’d forgotten my cake, he moved at the speed of treacle to get a plate and put an already cut slice on it. Meanwhile a huge queue had formed! Wouldn’t you see the queue and think, better speed up just a tad? In a lot of places they sort of blink at you when you order like they’re trying to work out exactly what “coffee” is and how they might go about making one.

When you go in a cafe with an efficient set up I feel like applauding them!

LinMortisanass · 21/08/2023 16:51

It's not slow in my local M&S. Sorry to be annoying! It's very good. There is a lovely young man with Down syndrome in mine, and he is friendly and very quick at service. He doesn't really stop to chat for long, so that may be why. I love to go in there for tea and cake.

Bonbon21 · 21/08/2023 16:53

Well I was in one at the weekend and it wasnt particularly busy.. two on drinks/till.. one wandering about ..no idea what he was doing.. one clearing tables at an impressively slow speed.. there were lots of empty tables with dishes waiting to be cleared...
I now only go in if I really cant find any place else due to the crap service.

Heavensalongwayaway · 21/08/2023 16:54

Oh my word yes ! I thought it was just the 2 local towns by me. And don’t even talk to me about the tills (self service or manned) in the food hall - they are as bad.

PuttingDownRoots · 21/08/2023 16:56

The one near my DMs house is very efficient. The only thing that takes a bit of time is the Colin Caterpillar Frappe my younger DD likes! They give you the free kids meal to take away as well (if you have children with you).

AffIt · 21/08/2023 16:57

A PP mentioned the endless bloody banging and hissing and whooshing etc in every bloody café you go into these days.

There's a part of me wonders if there's a market out there for 'quiet cafes', like old-school American diners, where there's a jug of filter coffee available and that's your lot...

reddotorangedot · 21/08/2023 16:59

Letterposter · 21/08/2023 16:43

In the least crappiest way, we have a lot of older women employed there and they take an age. I assumed it was bcos of that

It's the same in my local one. Also, they'll chat with their backs to the counter at the drinks machine, only one is making a drink but the other will chat in between serving the next customer. And it's usually an audible grumble about management.

Smurf123 · 21/08/2023 17:00

And why have they always sold out of chips ... at 1215 in the afternoon

YYURYYUCICYYUR4ME · 21/08/2023 17:00

Not slow, just being asked to do too many things, with a system that causes delays. So, taking money, orders, running the sandwich to the kitchen to be toasted, making a coffee, dealing with an enquiry. M&S are not especially slow, just badly managed and need a different system in some stores. At least they are friendly and too many establishments now have service with a snarl and a sneer that looks like they are doing the customer a favour!

Rockbird · 21/08/2023 17:01

No problem with any of the three we frequent. My dds love an M&S toastie so we've sampled a few! Service is always fine.

Linnet · 21/08/2023 17:03

My local M&S cafe isn’t slow. The people know us and we’re predictably boring and always get the same thing so they know what to start making when we get to the front of the queue. They’re all very friendly and helpful too.

Akiddleetivy2woodenchu · 21/08/2023 17:03

The Oxford Circus branch is particularly bad as well. There are always two people doing nothing, either wandering round with a cloth or standing by the machines chatting.

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