Costa Location Difference (Costa Coffee)

Member Name: katkin1

Product:	Costa Coffee
Date:	19/05/09 (14 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Costa Lymington

Disadvantages: Costa London Waterloo train station

There's a big difference, I've noticed, with the overall environment of Costa Coffee shops depending on where they are located. My local Costa in the seaside town of Lymington for instance is always a pleasure to visit, the staff are friendly, the coffee is wonderful and the overall atmosphere is calm and welcoming even at the busiest of times when the queue goes right out the door. Comparing this to the Costa at London Waterloo train station is an easy task. Despite the obvious crowd difference, Costa Waterloo is always dirty, the coffee is rushed and usually burnt, the staff hardly manage to smile and the place feels more like an independent coffee store that is about to go bankrupt rather than a well known,much loved, chain store. With the greatest respect to the Costa Waterloo staff, I can understand that they are within one of the busiest train stations in Britain, however they have 3 times the staff, three times the coffee machines and three times the tills, for half the size of store!
With the same training provided, the same percentage of foreign staff and the right ratio of equipment and staff to the number of customers, I don't understand how two of the same chain stores can be so different.

Summary: Comparing my local Costa to one in London