John Smith Cafe

I received the perfect text message from my girlfriend during the weekend for a brunch catch up and she said she'll come my way. After reading a few reviews of John Smith Specialty Coffee at 1 John Street, Waterloo, it was time for me (I mean us) to go try it out.

Weekend street parking is pretty easy so it's great to know that you don't have to keep driving around in circles trying to find a spot. The cafe is located by many of the clothing factory outlets - perfect location for me! 

We arrived to a lovely waiter (very cute I must say) chalking our name to the side of the wall as their next in line for a seat. We were initially told that it would be a 20-25 mins wait for a seat, however in the space of ordering a coffee while we wait and walking back outside and an offer of water, we were seated within 5 minutes. BOOM! Loved it already!

Walking through the cafe, you walk pass a display cabinet that is smack bang in the middle and completely filled with cronuts! OH.EMMM.GEEE. I've just died and gone to sugar pastry heaven! I think I had salivated all the way to our table. 

Our real ice coffee arrived the moment we sat down in funky mason jars and it was a refreshing welcome from the heat outside. Hands down this would have to be one of the best ice coffee I've had around town and I love my coffee. Just a simple serve of real coffee, milk and ice - no nasties in there! 

Best ice coffee in Sydney!

We both ordered the same brunch item (due to my friend's food envy of seeing mine). Can't remember exactly what it was called but it consisted of two perfectly poached eggs sitting on top of a perfectly square of polenta, zucchini, sweet potato rosti with goats cheese, capers and peperonata salsa verde, and a side of trout! 

Very tasty, I must say! It could have been a little warmer but the flavours, especially the cheese and capers, all danced together and was the perfect amount of saltiness without adding more salt. The portion was decent as well so you don't walk out feeling hungry but I wish I did have room for the cronuts....oh, the cronuts! I guess this means that I'll have to go back. 

Apart from the great coffee options available (and there is plenty to cater for all, even avid tea drinkers) and the out of the box creative menu their customer service was impeccable. This is something that personally rates high for me because even if the coffee or food isn't so great (not the case for JS) I'd go back to somewhere purely because of the service. 

The staff at John Smith went out of their way to ensure what we were OK and comfortable from providing water while we waited outside, offering another table if we didn't like the bench top seating to checking that our coffee and food was to our standard.  Serious thumbs up. 

If you haven't tried John Smith Cafe yet, I seriously recommend that you do. The cafe is small so expect to wait (especially on weekends) but based on my experience the wait wasn't too long and it's well worth the wait. 

To John Smith - great coffee and fabulous food. Keep up the awesome service and you've won my heart (and my taste buds!). I'll be back to try the rest of the menu and have my new fav, ice coffee during summer. 

Jo x

Bringing Customer Service Back!

Have you notice lately that customer service has just disappeared somewhere into a black-hole? I've noticed that it's rare to experience great customer service and when you do, do you tell people about it? Bad customer service is always expressed, but good (or even great) customer service is unspoken of and therefore goes unnoticed. 

Surprisingly, this isn't a dig about bad customer service; true I did have a poor experience to begin with to write this post, but I wanted to share with you that giving a second chance to a business or even someone can show that the business or person can change.

I frequent Pablo & Rusty in the city, either for my morning coffee, lunch and even business meetings. Initially, when they first opened up, they were still working out the process and flow and as time went by they found their groove and the cafe oozed a funky buzz that isn't really seen in the city centre. The wait staff are friendly and accommodating; the food is delicious and the coffee is amazing!

Back to the customer service story so that you have a bit of a background; there was one afternoon I decided to go for a coffee with a friend. We sat down and ordered our coffee, and due to our timing, asked for them to be put into takeaway cups, just in case we had to up and leave quickly. Normally this has never been an issue as they have always been accommodating. However, on this occasion, it just wasn't meant to be; even after a bit of a conversation with them, they just wasn't going to provide me with my coffee in a takeaway cup!

I walked away disappointed and dishearten. I really enjoyed going to this funky cafe in the city but also felt upset that my request was "too hard" for them even when I was happy to pay the cost of eating in prices. So I decided to send them an email to provide them with feedback, yes, a unhappy complaint feedback about my experience.

The very next day I received a reply back from Sam in their head office acknowledging my feedback and not wanting to return, apologising on behalf of the company and wanting to resolve it as soon as possible. To give them a "second chance" she offered me a pre-loaded gift card to use at any of their stores.

True to her words, she sent me the gift card with a beautiful hand written letter (handwritten is so rare!) a few days later. It did take me a few weeks to return, but I did return, and I've been back frequently ever since. Their customer service has been impeccable and they have gone out of their way to assist.

It just proves that giving a second chance does work. People do make mistakes and many of them are unintentional, so it pays to give people another go because you'll be pleasantly surprised!

Yes, I did send an email back to Sam to let her know that I have returned and I'm impressed with the improved customer service. Win/win for both myself and Pablo & Rusty! Although, I must say, I do miss the "Health Shake" that you use to have on the menu and hope it has a come back soon.....but the Cashewnut Shake is amazballs! 

Photo credit: Pablo & Rusty

To Pablo & Rusty: thank you again for listening and acknowledging my feedback. It's really refreshing to see that you do take onboard your customer's feedback and actually make a change. Credits to you and your staff!

Happy customer!
Jo x