Biggby Coffee

Reviews about Biggby Coffee

• 1 / 5

  By Liz Johnk
  Generally speaking, I love Biggby's. The one downtown (on Ottawa) is my favourite, but I like most of them-- but almost without exception, I cannot stand the ones owned by a franchise licensee named Moe (his nickname). This outpost is, sadly, one of them. It's especially sad because it's the closest one to my house.
  
  This Biggby's is perpetually out of something-- grande cups, caramel sauce, espresso beans (yes, even bloody espresso beans, from time to time). This is true of most of Moe's Biggby coffee shops, because he is constantly trading stock among them. When the Grand River shop is out of lids, they run to the MSU Union shop and borrow some. Oh, but then like, two days later, the MSU Union is out of lids. But no more have come into the Grand River shop, so they have to run to the one on Michigan and borrow some from them. And so on.
  
  It's a terrible way to run a business-- completely unsustainable, yet Moe pulls in money hand over fist because Biggby Coffee is wildly popular in mid-Michigan.
  
  I feel very badly for the baristas who have to staff these places. They are the ones who take guff from patrons because their owner is useless as a manager. He never bothers to update these locations, either. Go to almost any non-Moe Biggby and you will find that they have a unique flavor: standard Biggby colours, perhaps, but paired with a unique layout, a special picture window, wood floors, snowflake murals in the wintertime. Not so with this location: same horrible muzak, same tables, carpeting, and wall art. Same overworked staff (required to work on Thanksgiving, even-- oh hell no). Nevertheless, the staff is friendly and fast, it must be said-- that single star is for them. They deserve more, but this coffee shop does not, overall.
  
  Despite my soft spot for amiable, minimum wage baristas, this particular Biggby is on my blacklist.
  July 04, 2016