I will focus on the following points regarding the quality of service in my comparison:
- Cleanliness of the place.
- How friendly, prompt and professional the waiters are.
- Quality of food and drinks.
- Speed of service.
- Quality & usability of the take away utensils.
- Their working hours.
- Environment.
- Cost
Let us take the above points one by one:
- Cleanliness of the place.
- I think all are very good in that regards.
- How friendly, prompt and professional the waiters are.
- Cilantro would rate the highest in this regards. They are always smiling and friendly and they execute your special requests promptly. What is more important also is that they listen! They let you finish what you are saying and then comment if any.
- After Cilantro comes Starbucks, they are not friendly at all. Most of the time you can not figure out what they are saying, they never smile and they would not care if they spilled your drink, they will give you the mug dripping!! (it happened to me). They also do not listen. Once I asked them to heat my cheese croissant an extra amount of time than they usually do. After he did heat it, I asked: “did you heat it extra?” I got a weird answer, “It is ready”, the waiter said!!… This meant only one thing to me; it is as if he told me “shut-up”. But they are fast. They will not make you wait forever for your order.
- The last is Costa, most of the time waiters are not concentrating, they are very slow and they forget what you ordered sometimes. In many cases you have to check on your order several times until you get it. Once I asked for a hot egg sandwich, I got it cold! So I told the waiter it is cold. The first answer was, “no it is heated” ….frustrating!!
- Quality of food and drinks
- Starbucks is the best when it comes to quality of drinks. I have not tried their food though so I can not judge (except for the cheese croissant and it is delicious). In Cappuccino for example, Starbucks is the only one who gets right. The right amount and flavor of coffee with the right amount of milk. I never get it too strong and never too much milk.
- Costa comes second in the quality of drinks (but food wise Cilantro is better).
- Cilantro comes third in the quality of drinks (but in food Quality rates higher than Costa). Cilantro’s coffee is too strong; maybe they are rare on milk. I do not know but I never drink coffee at Cilantro. But they have nice varieties of food, whether desserts or breakfast and lunch foods. And they do something very annoying if you ask for a delivery; they only fill half the cup!! But you pay for a full cup.
- Speed of service.
(I am not comparing in peak times. The comparison is based on the time when they have a reasonable amount of customers)- Starbucks. When I go there whether to stay or take away I do not feel that I waited at all for my order. I just order, pay, pick-up and go.
- Cilantro. Here I feel that I waited sometime especially if I am staying. Not an annoying interval of time but I feel it.
- Costa. I can take a nap until I get what I ordered!!
- Quality & usability of the take away utensils
- When I order take away drinks from Starbucks I know I am safe. The cup is holding itself well. It is not easily twisted; its lid is well closed. I know I will not spill on myself if I am in a moving car or walking on foot. They also provide the hard-cardboard cover to protect your hands from the hot drink automatically without you having to ask for it.
- Cilantro rates second. The quality of the cup is less than Starbucks’s (it is not as hard) and the lid is not as tight. But they did something new and nice, you can lock and un-lock the lid. I do not think they have the hard-cardboard cover. Actually I do not know as they never gave it to me.
- Costa is a disaster in this respect. The cups get twisted and squeezed very easily and lid flies away and you suddenly find the very hot drink all over your clothes. And again they do not give you the hard-cardboard.
- Working hours.
- Starbucks is the smartest; they open 6:00a.m. So they get most of the customers who need an early breakfast before they go to work.
- Costa opens early as well but they provide only one waiter who is trying to wake up most of the time so the service is very slow.
- Cilantro is not intelligent in that matter. They do not open before 8:30a.m. or 9:00 sometimes (Abbas el Akkad branch). So they miss all the possible customers who could pass by before going to work.
- Environment:
- Starbucks again is the best because it is a smoke-free place. Smoking is completely prohibited in Starbucks which shows that they care for your health as their customer. It is also wise because it will make you able to stay longer to finish some work or chat with your friends and in either case you might order more than once.
- Cilantro and Costa are the same in that matter, it is very difficult to sit and enjoy your drink. Although there is a section for smokers and a section for non-smokers, but the two sections are right beside each other and you will suffer from the smoke and want to leave quickly.
- Cost:
- Costa and Cilantro are nearly close in that matter and relatively ok (could be cheaper of course)
- Starbucks is very expensive.
Very small issues matter when it comes to customer service. Here in Egypt we are very weak in that matter. I am sure chains like Starbucks and Costa outside Egypt will never serve the way they do here because they will have strong management watching their backs. We need the firm manager who would not settle for less than perfect when comes to serving customers. Especially when you have lots of competitors, you have to excel to attract more customers.
How about you give me your opinion? Answer the survey below to compare the three coffee shops. I will give the survey one week and then I will publish the result to see how most of us rate those coffee shops.
