Hello again my little
caramel macchiatos! I hope that you all are keeping well!
Throughout the weeks I have been getting questions regarding WHY I would take one
coffee experience and create an entire brand perception right of the bat. My answer to this question is simple:
The
coffee industry is very, VERY competitive these days. I swear there are millions (not a fact, maybe just a sprinkle of exaggeration to set the mood) of different
coffee companies trying to make it in this very competitive industry and just cannot make it out alive. Through my own experiences, I have learned that every time someone walks into a location; to any sort of retail establishments they are looking for the whole package. Customers want a clear balance between price, quality and experience, but are being manipulated by marketing ploys to believe that a certain
coffee brand is better without giving the other shops a fair chance. Many of the now popular
coffee establishments "pride" themselves for wanting to provide an amazing customer experience, so in turn are able to jack up their prices and say that they are not only paying for the
coffee, but also for the
coffee-drinking experience. Now, my job as a
coffee-blogger (and
coffee lover) is to sort out those who really are not providing the "
coffee-drinking experience" as they promised. I hate to be lied too, and I would hate for anyone to be taken advantage of. That is why this blog is a "movement"; my goal is to provide customers the knowledge they need to be able to distinguish which
coffee franchises are worth their money, and who is not worth their money. Now, I am not saying in any way that even though I had a great experience in one place, it means everyone will have that same experience (and vice versa), I just want to bring awareness to the fact that everyone should get a fair chance in proving themselves to their customers and that every experience counts. You only get one shot at a good first impression.
Now onto the good stuff,
This week I took a trip over to
LavAzza and man, oh man do I have a story for
you! Buckle up!
Now as many of you already know from past blog posts, I am Italian and have been to Italy. I have also had the pleasure of having a real Italian
coffee-drinking experience.
LavAzza is an extremely popular Italian
coffee brand, so when I went to their location I was expecting to see the typical Italian coffee-drinking experience I had in Italy. I was sadly mistaken.
I walked into the shop (by using their wooden, broken-down stairs) and saw the lady working at cash which on the phone with one of her friends. Not only was she on the phone with her friend, but she was also watching a work out video on the giant flat screen tv the
LavAzza location had. When the lady saw that I was ready to order I asked if she could serve me a
medium double double, she told me that they didn't have that on the menu, but the "caffè macchiato was just like it". I ordered the caffè macchiato, she then says "do you want this size or this size" (while holding two cups that look to me like they were the same size) I answered "whichever is suppose to be the medium". The lady then turns to her large
coffee machine and starts pressing buttons and pauses. She then turns to me and says "oh, I forgot. It's a slow day, so I am cleaning the big espresso machine, but this one right here is just as good." Without a second for me to answer she started up her Keurig machine and presses all the buttons necessary. I then look at her and ask if the Keurig
coffee pods she was using her at least
LavAzza, she said yes. I looked on the Keurig website, and they do make
LavAzza coffee pods (thankfully).
(0 Bean Points)
The store was all painted in a royal blue (when I say all, I mean
all. The outer bricks were also royal blue to match the inside). The inside of the store was modest, with broken mirrors on the walls;
coffee machines and
coffee beans were on shelves along the back of the store (still in their Canada Post boxes). There were muffins sitting on a plate on the cash desk that were not covered. The tables and chairs were black. Honestly, it was disgusting. The only thing that was new-looking was the menu.
(0 Bean Points)
The flavour, oh man. It was awful. I couldn't even describe it to you, it was just so bad.
(0 Bean Points)
This price for my Keurig "
LavAzza"
coffee was ridiculously high. $3.95 for a cup of
coffee that I could have made at home with my own machine.
(0 Bean Points)
The
LavAzza location had no drive thru options and
zero parking, so I had to park in an apartment building's parking garage.
(0 Bean Points)
Now it's time for the run-down:
Flavour: 0 bean point
Price: 0 bean point
Ambiance: 0 bean point
Drive-Thru: 0 bean point
Customer Service: 0 bean point
Total Score: 0/5 total bean points!
LavAzza, what happened? I was so looking forward to our encounter, but you have failed me. Please take my words of criticism and allow yourselves room for improvement. When you guys are great, I
will be back.
What do you think? Have you ever had a taste of
LavAzza? Let me know! I want to hear from you!
Next week's location........ Timothy's! See you next week!
Reminder:
McCafé's score: 5/5 Bean Points
Aroma Espresso Bar's score: 5/5 Bean Points
Faema Caffè's score: 3.5 Bean Points
Second Cup's score: 1/5 Bean Points
Illy Caffè's score: 4.5/5 Bean Points
Starbucks' score: 3/5 Bean Points
Tim Hortons' score: 2.5/5 Bean Points
Until next week! xoxo
Stay Caffeinated.
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