To ask for a refund for cold coffee

[Poorqualityequalsfewercustomers]

Disclaimer: I love my coffee hot to the point where if it’s not burning my mouth, I don’t like it. This means I only go to a few coffee shops that I know will give me what I want.

My local coffee shop is clearly struggling. They have raised prices and shrunk the size of the takeaway cups. Six years ago it was £3.00 for a cappuccino now it’s £4.20, which is expensive but it’s a local business so I have tried to keep supporting.

However, they have also started switching their coffee machine on later in the morning which means it’s not fully heated when they open their doors.

I arrive at doors opening at 8 and then take DC to school and walk the dogs before I log on to work. I can’t go after the dog walk/drop off. Several times recently my coffee has been less than hot (to me), but probably still drinkable to most people. But I haven’t enjoyed it and have mentioned it wasn’t very hot, which is how I know about them not switching the machine on until later as they told me that was likely why and they would switch it on earlier again. However yesterday my coffee was cold. And I do mean cold - the milk was fridge temperature - not just not warm. I grimaced but bared with it. But the same thing happened today, so I asked for a new one. I was served a new one right away with lots of apologies. But the new one was also cold so I asked for a refund.

I’ve already told myself I won’t go back as £4.20 is far too much for a cold coffee which I think is mostly down to their turning the machine on later. I also won’t be going at weekends with DC anymore as I’m unwilling to spend so much for something I don’t enjoy
.

But I’m just wondering what others would have done in my place. They seemed really upset I wasn’t happy and even more so when I asked for a refund and I know they are really struggling. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re gone within the year as every time they have raised prices they seem to have lost the morning ‘regulars.’ But I don’t think it’s unreasonable when you’re paying for something to expect to be given what you want (and more importantly, what you have always had).

Just wondering if others would have done the same? WIBU to ask for a second cup and then a refund? At what point would others stop supporting a local business to try and help it stay open?

why not?

as a business owner if a regular decided to push off and not give me their money every day, i'd wonder if my business needed some tweaks.

ETA: especially if, as OP said, they have lost a lot of regular early customers due to this change.

The coffee machine will heat the water in a few minutes. They will set the temp of the water for the coffee (usually around 95 degrees) and the element in the water tank will heat it in a few minutes. If the water isn't up to temperature the brewing process won't work at all and the coffee won't taste like coffee. As to the milk not being hot - they can't have steamed it for long enough presumably?

Either way, there are obviously some issues but I can't see how the issue is when they turned the machine on unless you literally charged through the door as they flicked the switch and demanded a coffee (in this case I would expect them to say "I'm sorry, the machine is not up to temperature yet, you'll need to wait a few minutes")

Because the price increase is a result of inflation and that they can’t make the coffee any hotter, if it’s an automated machine it reaches temp then pours espresso, their hands are tied over temp.

Agreed - I have a proper espresso machine too. it takes a couple of mins to get the water in the tank up to temp them you are good to go.

How would the op know the reason customers are not going there?

But that's not what OP complained about. She stated she accepts her preferred temp is too hot for a coffee shop to serve so is happy enough to accept (almost) hot coffee. But twice! her coffee was actually cold 🥶 as in fridge cold, and that's not acceptable.
You were right to request a refund, they had an opportunity to fix it and they didn't.

but OP had been having perfectly satisfactorily hot coffee previously, and the price increase didn't make her stop going.

So i would be looking at what has changed that leads to the cold coffee. (I would have taken a sugar thermometer after the first time)

I have a bean to cup and i have it set at the max temperature, i don't really see how switching the machine on later has any bearing on the temperature.

But. If i were the business owner, i would have been looking at when i make my most sales. Presumably now a lot of the early regulars have jumped ship, they are making their money at a different time of day.

I ask for my coffees extra hot, the temperature for the espresso remains the same as it should be to get the best extraction from the ground beans but they steam the milk for longer. When I make it at home, I do the same but heat the milk in a jug in the microwave until it just starts to rise.

Always a hot coffee. That said, I would either give them a last chance asking for extra hot milk, or not buy from them again.

@Poorqualityequalsfewercustomers FOR goodness sake, save yourself some money!! make your own coffee!! nearly £90 a month for coffee???

Their machine is likely faulty or the staff have not heated the milk adequately. I don't think it's due to what time they switch it on as modern machines heat the water very quickly. But otherwise YANBU!

I wouldn't go back. You've mentioned it a couple of times and it hasn't improved so that means the shop doesn't meet your needs any more.
It's a complete waste of money anyway, even if it is hot. You aren't even sitting in a nice cafe environment to drink it, you're just taking it away so make it at home instead.

@BertieBotts , Eh? How is that physically possible? Surely steam is steam.
Steam varies in temperature.

Can you ask for extra hot when ordering?

They’re a local business not a charity. You’ve mentioned the issue a few times, they’re not responding so time to take your custom elsewhere.

I think it was fair enough to ask for a refund. But only because you specifically said the coffee was cold, not because it wasn’t piping hot, which you might like but it isn’t the normal way to serve coffee. The shop isn’t obliged to cater for personal preferences and whims, even though it might be a good way to keep customers. Also, I’m failing to understand how switching the machine on earlier would make a button of difference. If the coffee is cold, the machine isn’t working properly.

If possible buy your own coffee machine. Get a decent milk frother. Microwave the main bulk of the milk then add the coffee & frothed milk.
Lovely hot fresh coffee before you leave the house.

Sorry to derail but I once called down at a hotel to complain my coffee was cold.. to be told to stop talking and drink it🤣🤣

I get it @Poorqualityequalsfewercustomers I can't drink luke warm coffee, it really makes me want to vomit. It has to be hot, very hot. I make a lovely hot coffee at home, with a "non professional " machine. The odd time I get coffee out, I ask for it to be very hot. Some baristas understand the brief, others no. Even when I say make the milk boil that seems to be open to interpretation.

I've never burned milk making it hot. It's really not hard. The coffee can't get burned as, as noted above, the machine prepares espresso at a set temperature. You're just adding hot milk to alredy made coffee.

My machine is a 10yo version of this - makes a bloody good coffee and you can get it nice and hot. www.delonghi.com/en-au/p/dedica-metallics-manual-espresso-makers-dedica-arte-manual-coffee-machine-ec885.m/EC885.M.html?pid=0132106277

This, why not just make your own coffee?

Steam varies in temperature but (in almost all circumstances) it will be at or above 100C. More than hot enough to heat milk.

I do the (ahem) finger test. If I can dunk my finger in a coffee I have just been served for five seconds it’s not hot enough.

I went to a cafe / restaurant the other day and had to order and pay via a QR code. So they had my email address and sent a survey afterwards. I mentioned the coffee was lukewarm and I drank it in about 5 seconds before it got colder. They sent me a voucher for £20 and their sincerest apologies. Glad I mentioned it.

@Chemenger , it can be below 100'C.
If you are in a cold room and have a cuppa in front of you, you can see the steam rising from it.

I am quite confused by all this. I have a Sage coffee machine and I can make an amazing coffee in just a few minutes. It doesn’t need to be on for ages to heat up.

invest in a proper coffee machine OP - it’s life changing!

You’re right. I used to own a coffee shop and you can’t even get the milk wand hot enough (sometimes won’t even come on until it reaches 123• ). I wouldn’t dream of serving coffee from a not fully warmed machine tho. It tastes horrible. Ignoring the times it just wasn’t hot enough for your personal liking, I don’t think they respect the coffee enough if they’re serving it at lukewarm warm or cold temps so yeah, they’ll be closed down soon

Kinda different to proper commercial coffee machine.