Bakers & Baristas in St Albans

I am sitting in Bakers and Baristas as we speak. The staff are completely disengaged. Unhelpful and dismissive. I asked for a wedge of lemon. Was told no very bluntly. The smoked salmon bagel was hard and the end of the packet had been used. I had to go back up to the counter twice for forgotten items and was completely ignored until I spoke up in exasperation. We chose to come here for much over somewhere else close by. Sadly not the right decision and won’t be back. It’s a rainy bank holiday Monday here and it it’s not very busy in here. No big surprise. I think this outlet needs urgent attention from management.

This establishment should get 5 stars but I cannot as you read on. I live and work in St Albans. The city has a wide range of coffee shops, but I regularly visit Bakers + Baristas (B+B) on my lunch break during the working week. I do also drop in sometimes at the weekend. I enjoy the variety of food and drink, the service, the cleanliness of the coffee shop - the staff try their best in a strained environment (I will explain further below) - and the warm, friendly service of the staff. I say 'sometimes' ad will explain why in a while. But first, a review of the offerings and the ambience. The coffee shop is pleasantly decorated, it's light and airy and diesnit havethat generic look typical of the high street chains. The cakes are freshly baked and delicious, the baguettes and hot sandwiches are prepared instore and are enjoyable. The variety and quality of coffee is good and when I have gone in with my 12yo son, I am assured that the cold latte drinks are excellent. As I am the Head of Human Resources for a local company, I am naturally drawn to observing the dynamics of how teams work together. The staff are hard-working and diligent and customer service remains high. They work well with each other and the teamwork is evident. But there are frequent occasions I notice the.morale f the staff is adversely affected. Usually this happens when their manager is in the shop, too. It is blatantly clear that the manager does not motivate his team because he lacks empathy for his staff and also lacks basic courtesy and is lazy. He does not request his staff to do things but demands/orders them. He never says 'please' nor 'thank you' and worse still, when the server is dealing with a customer, he will interrupt the server. I have experienced this myself a few times. It seems that he manages by being draconian and fails to lead by example and can only lead as a dictator. In the challenging service/hospitality sector, an establishment will only succeed through excellent customer service, a motivated and valued staff and an empathetic management that see staff as an asset and not as a resource nor overhead to be exploited. It is these small things that make a difference to improving the bottom line, not just cost control and sweating an asset. It is also clearly obvious that the manager is unwilling to do the 'unpleasant ' tasks and will delegate to others, even when they are already busy and he does so when he himself is standing around doing nothing. Maybe he alone is an overhead ? B+B does its best despite its manager. Imagine how much better it would be with a much more motivating manager. If the manager concentrates more on kindness to hus team this could become 5 stars.

After queuing for ages for coffees when we got back to the table our cappuccinos were cold. I went back to the counter to be greeted by one of the monosyllabic staff. I explained the issue, there was no conversation with me and definitely no apology. She got the girl who was making them to remake, again not one word was spoken or apology. I was not acknowledged, I had to stand for ages again while 2 other orders were done and then given the coffees. What I would've expected in this situation was an apology, a go sit down and we will bring them over to you and maybe an offer or gesture of goodwill as I had to wait twice! I am disgusted by the lack of staff engagement here, customer service or any apology. The staff seem young, inexperienced and completely out of their depth on a Saturday morning and it wasn't even full. I would avoid if your expectation is staff speak, acknowledge you or apologise for a mistake. You are a coffee shop, how can you mess that up and not be bothered? Avoid if visiting St Albans.

Really dirty.... Ordered a sausage roll and found a piece of chicken from another meal stuck to the bottom of it. Tables aren't cleaned after customers leave. Sat here for two hours and saw no body come from behind the counter to clean anything.

Door still broken doesn't shut and it's minus degrees . Toilet at 10am sink full of metal bits and no toilet roll in a right mess coffee ok but had to ask for the rest of my order as not give over all unhappy

Good selection is good but the place is filthy - food all over the seats, tables and floors and trays don’t look clean either. Staff pleasant enough but maybe not enough - why do coffee shops think that tables and seats don’t need wiping down after every customer? Will not be coming here again

This café is located in the main shopping precinct called The Maltings. We had already experienced difficulties in the town finding a place for breakfast so we were very pleased to find this café. The interior was warm and clean with plenty of space between tables. The staff were pleasant and efficient. We enjoyed fresh pastries and good quality coffee.

We called in for coffee on a Saturday and it was not a good experience. There was rubbish and food on the floor, the door did not close automatically and although there was a sign on the door to 'please close' most people left it wide open, it was noisy and although quite a few staff many did not seem particularly interested in being there. Not a good atmosphere. We will not be having coffee there again.

Great coffee with bites and options for kids meals, great rewards systems which were simple and reliable (didn’t require an app), great customer service and good vibes overall

The staff here are great, I go here a few times a day and the staff are always friendly, and a good laugh! Always remember my coffee order and never have any issues, Evie and the other staff are fantastic!

Lovely cafe, recently changed hands and it’s a big improvement! Friendly staff, tasty coffee and cake (I had latte and apple and cinnamon muffin), plenty of nice comfy seating, big high backed armchairs, stylish decor. Only downside, bit noisy and echoey. I have earphones on but if you prefer it quiet probably not ideal.

If you want great tea & coffee with delicious pastries then this is the place to go! This is my number 1 go too place. Exceptional customer service and always a friendly smile! Don't take my word for it, go yourself.

Went in for the first time today 26.01.23 with my friend for a coffee, absolutely lovely place with an amazing selection of beautiful home baked cakes. There was a nice relaxing atmosphere and the staff were extremely friendly, big shout out to Rishi who served us today, excellent customer service. By far the best coffee in St Albans🤩

Very welcoming style, nice friendly staff and the coffee was tasty and the cake ummy! I had a problem with a missing item but the staff here helped me out so much that they found what I was looking for.