01/23/09

Not friendly business people

by eirecailin

I will no long patronize a coffee house that treats its employees the way William Swoop and his son William Swoop Jr. do. They have consistently fired great friendly help, and left crabby grumpy help in their place. The help is always complaining out loud about the unreasonable nature of the owners. I hear them every time i go in there. A place that is all business but doesn't care for its help does not create a a friendly atmosphere, and I will not support local business that does not support local people. The people I find there now are rude and full of attitude, and always smell of cigarette smoke. The pastries are always stale, the shots are often too strong, and if you come in after 10pm, you will be sure to get eye rolls and a nasty attitude. I have found much better coffee shops in my day.

12/16/07

Going down hill

by mken

The shop in Squirrel Hill has deteriorated. They have very good coffee, but the help are very inexperienced. One person sneezed into his hands before pouring my coffee! I am finding coffee grounds in the bottom of my cup when they tilt the container in order to drain the very last drop of coffee. Any now, when I tell them not to leave room for milk or cream, they still only fill the cup 3/4 full.

They were and still have the potential to be an excellent coffe house, but without supervision, and experienced help, it is going down hill. I use one of their cards and get coffe there all the time, but I now must re-think my preferences.

08/16/07

Excellence All Around

by dogkysser

Service-oriented, great place to meet the locals. Excellent coffee, too. If the coffee shop is crowded, that's because people keep coming back and are in no rush to leave. In the roughly ten years my partner and I have been going to the Coffee Tree Roasters, I've had the pleasure of learning about quality coffee, getting to know the owners (Bills Sr. and Jr.) and their families, meet new people and run into old friends. When I want to give my visiting friends a snapshot of what recommends Pittsburgh, I take them to The Coffee Tree Roasters to meet the diverse and friendly people who consistently linger at the shop, and enjoy great coffee.

I am a service snob, I work hard for my money and I will be the first to pipe up about bad service or a bad product - but Coffee Tree Roasters has performed with excellence consistently over the decade regardless of which of their locations I patronize.

• Pros: Consistently good coffee, excellent service, great place to meet locals.
• Cons: Little-to-no gluten-free food options, no sound absorbers (lots of background noise inside).