Costa should make it clear that cream or marshmallows cost extra

[Learc]

when buying hot chocolate.

Very droll.

Yes I agree they should add that it costs extra. I bet they catch a lot of people out

I afford it because going to Costa about four or five times a year is, to my household budget, a completely trivial expense. I’m not there multiple times a day!

Yeah I could make a flask, but when I want to meet a friend somewhere or take my kid out to have a little treat (and learn how to behave in cafes, how to order, how to not be upsold marshmallows at the counter…) going to Costa provides me with a drink but also with a place to sit for an hour or two with my friend/kid, in a nice chair, with an available toilet, in a building that’s heated or cooled and has staff who’ll make it for me and wash everything up afterwards.

A flask on a park bench, with none of those facilities, is not the same thing. Often still good, but not always what I want.

I struggle with the boards and the noise in Costa too. So I downloaded the app and plan what I'm having before I go in and I can see how much it costs. Yes I use small local coffee shops too but Costa does lovely toast 😋

How you ask the question is pyschologically interesting.

"Would you like marshmallows or cream with that?"

It's the kind of question where there is no obvious "No" answer. A bit like "Are you doing your homework now or after tea" - when you want your DC to do something so you offer a choice rather than a question where "No" is an obvious answer.

A better way for customers would be:

"Would you like any extras with that?"
If the person says yes, then offer them marshmallows or cream.

It's relying on people knowing that marshmallows or cream are chargeable extras.

Same for going abroad and they ask you if you want bread on the table. Sometimes it's free and sometimes you pay for it. Charges are always obvious on a menu

Yabu to go into Costa it’s shit, dirty, grimy and sad.

People leave their responsibility and ability to think for themselves at the door anywhere there's 'staff'.
If a customer makes a mistake, misinterprets something, gets it wrong I'll bend over backwards to rectify it - unless they've decided that because they're a customer and I'm the 'staff' it must be my fault regardless of what actually happens and start expecting me to grovel to them and boost their ego by taking the blame as well. Not happening.
I'm there to provide a service, not be blamed for everyone else's mistakes.

Or just make it at home

You can nearly buy a kettle for the cost of a coffee at one of these places.

How much of the economy is coffee shops?

Surely you’d have common sense to know it’s extra. It’s their job to upsell.

It doesn't seem at all unreasonable to me that Costa (or anywhere) would charge extra for cream or marshmallows. If they were included, they would have to put the price up and those who just wanted a basic hot chocolate would be paying over the odds.

I don't buy hot drinks but when I buy an ice cream, I expect to pay more if I have a flake, (and even more if I have a dollop of clotted cream too, as I often do when in Cornwall).

That’s on you because it is on there, or you could ask how much they are when they offer them?

Is it the same at Starbucks? We dont have Costa where I am. They always ask me if I want cream, I always say no as I dont like it, no idea they charged extra

Relying om customer inertia.

This is an interesting article on upselling.
Most people will read it and it goes well with the thread. But the link expires in 30 minutes....

Upselling Psychology: A Peek into your Customers’ Minds

I don't think it's very clear either. I ordered their maple syrup hazelnut latte yesterday, every picture on the board and posters showed it with cream and the server asked 'is that with cream?', no mention of the extra cost but it went from £3.50 to £4.35.

Yeah, that is cheeky.

I tend to get the Tesco meal deal that includes a coffee from the machine, and get a bean on the app.

Once I've got 10 beans, I'll get a "real" Costa drink for free from the Costa café. This includes cream and marshmallows, at no extra cost. Win!

Common sense as my mum used to say, is a most uncommon commodity , how right she was

So why complain about £1?

🤣

Well or course he'd be charged for both, he said he's to both according to the staff member. It's not their fault your son misheard.

That one is odd

My costa app shows a maple latte. £4.65 for medium. Under extras is extra charge for marshmallows but if I select cream it stays £4.65. Which suggests that this drink includes cream as standard (but you can have it without cream if you wanted)

Well ours is very clean, popular, bright and cheerful. Lovely staff, and love the hot chocolate with cream.

This

i only did it the once…i am not big into coffee, i like a latte which is basically coffee flavoured milk so i didn’t notice any difference

(i think costa is a coffee shop for people who don’t like coffee 😀)

@Fairyliz I'm not the one complaining.

What annoys me with Costa is when they ask if you want cream and you say yes, then they give you that vegan crap. Last time I complained and they swapped it for real cream and told me it was because of the calories on the menu.