The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Reviews

Pros

you get to work with people everyday.

Cons

the yearly wage increases are pathetic.

Pros

It was a good way to learn how to deal with customers, as well as a fun way to make some money. Plus the company is ethical and involved with bettering it's community.

Cons

After a year I still was not able to receive any benefits, and I had received only one small raise, even though my reviews always went very well.

Advice to Senior Management

I was very happy with my store manager and the few interactions I had with my district manager as well. I would like to have been able to achieve medical/dental benefits, but eventually ended up taking a job at Starbucks instead.

Pros

Store teams and customers are the only benefit to working in this organization.

Cons

Complete disorganization at the management level. Poor and antiquated operating systems. Deceitful management to employees as well as consumers.

Advice to Senior Management

Hire a new human recources team, upgrade talent at the regional and district level, upgrade talent and systems in IT, Marketing, Operations and Training.

Pros

The group of people you work with are great people, hard working and fun.

Cons

The manager is completely focused on increasing sales and bonuses which are only beneficial to him. I would say a good manager is one who cares about their whole team and that is what this company lacked. Sales were great thanks to the workers but when it came to reviews the average yearly raise was 10-25 CENTS at our store which was a joke! and a huge slap on the face to all the hard working employees. Unfortunately some of the employees stay due to the poor job market or family obligations but this is no way to treat your employees. A respectable company is one with strong values and that is why I left the company because I lost respect for my manager and was disappointed at the company that claimed such a high morale.

Advice to Senior Management

You could only ask so much of your workers. Providing quality drinks, friendly customer service, upselling products and merchandise, adding yogurt, oatmeal and pastries on top specialty coffees and tea, okay, understandable. But, in order to encourage your workers to continue working hard and to come in to work with a positive attitude you need to also give back and not only demand. I can't generalize to the whole company, and I really hope not many stores go through these same issues, but, in my experience, this was a very successful store at a very busy location so it was to my surprise as a college student to realize how messed up this system was. I am a communication major and I have written papers analyzing this messed up system when studying organizational communication and human relations. Taking a better human resource approach to this business would definitely be my biggest recommendation.

Pros

Long Hours, good pay. Great management and a really fun work environment. Never closed too late.

Cons

A lot of downtime. Not very much business during certain hours and during peak hours it gets pretty crazy

Pros

I am proud to be part of the company that is the brand of the stars. The quality and selection of coffee and tea is excellent.

Cons

Senior leadership doesn't appear to be a cohesive group - working to the same ends. Additionally, some departments have trouble with retention.

Advice to Senior Management

A formal strategic vision for any company initiatives is paramount for successfully moving a company forward along with respect for the people that implement that vision.

Pros

Advancement opportunity, Team spirit, respectfully management, Outstanding coffee. The company's leadership team is very they have lead the company out of red ink and into the black.

Cons

The office space is limited and on-site parking is difficult but the company pays for a shuttle service to drive employees to its off site parking.

Advice to Senior Management

My advice to the company leadership would be to keep up the good work. I appreciate the honesty and fair salaries

Pros

Working at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is fun. We are very busy and are expected to get our work done, but the team members enjoy doing what they do and have fun doing it.

Cons

That not all departments feel like they are part of the company. Management still has a way to go to ensure that all Team Members feel like they are cared about.

Pros

Working for The Coffee Bean is a real life experience, because you get to work with different people of different nature. All the staff members and seniors are really co operative and maintained a friendly environment. My manager is really helpful and the experience and support really evokes the professional side in me and I think that this experience of my life would always be helpful in my life.

Cons

There is so much work to do, you end up forgetting to take a lunch. But it is mandatory that you take a lunch!

Advice to Senior Management

It is so easy to fall into the trap of only giving feedback when things have gone wrong. In reality people get more right than they do wrong in the work place. Make a point of noticing when people do things right like hitting sales targets, dealing with an angry customer or hitting deadlines.

Pros

I am given the latitiude to do my job to the best of my ability and I am not shot down for stepping out of the box

Cons

Don't always get the support I need from Home Office. Most departments are very good but on occasion, it is a real struggle to get responses.

Advice to Senior Management

Ensure that everyone at home office unbderstands their role is to support the people in the field that produce the sales and profits