leuchtstoff - Kaffeebar und Bakery

Heute gab es auch mit laptop keine Probleme und die Bedienung war sehr nett. Guter Kaffe, nicht ganz leise, aber trotzdem angenehm.

No laptop rule being not enforced (others were sitting there with laptops open). Suddenly I get told “no laptops, thank you.”

I saw people studying there with books, pens and calculators open (sitting alone). I saw people on their phones (sitting alone). And here I am to make an educated guess why they said it to me.

I come to the conclusion that their team has their culture not set strongly enough as they are not clear enough in their communication. Realizing this while I am still eating my sandwich felt uncomfortable. Since I already felt uncomfortable let’s see if I can help with it. They don’t want people like me (digital nomads), let’s make sure they communicate that so I would not have paid 15 euro’s afterwards. And I pay that much precisely because I know that a 3.50 euro drink is not enough for them, I pay it out of politeness with the implicit expectation that I can sit there.

But they have a no laptop rule, while there were people on their laptops.

I raise the issue with the staff. The staff was clearly busy, by this point I felt so uncomfortable about the situation that I didn’t care. They needed to ban me at the gate. They made me go through this, their culture needs to be fixed now.

I raise it, purely talking on what I am observing. The woman in front of me doesn’t let me finish my point. I interrupt her and ask her to finish my point. She allows me to do that. Clearly this was such a triggering issue that they don’t allow a customer with a calm tone of voice to raise their concern. I make the point. She says they don’t want people with laptops on the weekend because it ruins the weekend atmosphere.

Cool, I am fine not being here. I wish you guys would’ve told me upfront.

I got emotional after that comment, because I can’t help but think it’s a weird form of discrimination, but that’s something I have to think deeper about to see if it is. Unfortunately, I did get emotional because of it, so did she. Well, she already was emotional when I raised the concern. I could see why, other than it being a triggering issue they were under a lot of pressure and it seems like there is no time allocated to talk about how to set a culture to both employees and customers (that’s my guess, I don’t actually know that). But her being emotional wasn’t helping in keeping my cool.

So why not 1 star?

Coffee was okay (and I am critical, okay means top 20%)
Sandwich was good

And a guy stepped in (from their staff) to resolve the situation and listen to my feedback.

Not 3 stars, because digital nomads aren’t welcome. I am not welcome. The place gave me the idea that I was and then mid-bite in my sandwich I get told in a very subtle way that I am not with “no laptops, thank you”

If you’re not a digital nomad: clearly a 5 star place, enjoy. It’s worth it :)

And to the coffee place: sorry for giving a 2 star rating, but you can clearly take the hit. Moreover, anyone reading this review will realize you’re a cool place to stay, except for digital nomads needing to get work done. If anything, I am helping you to enforce the rule of no laptops.

Cheers!

Coffee didn't taste good it was way too intense in the taste.
Cafe shop was ok basic chairs some sofas, more like a "left scene" cafe also the people/customers there. You can work on your laptop durring the week. But music is a little too loud.
Self service, expensive prices.
Its ok but I don't recommend would not go there again.

Cute shop with woefully low wifi near to none but it comes with seats for maybe around 20 people with a small loft ladder for couches upstairs. Not ideal if you want to work from your laptop there but only for a cup of coffee on your way out.

Gemütlich eingerichtet. Aber eins von diesen Hipster Läden in den keiner deutsch versteht.

Nachdem ich mein überteuerten Hafercappuccino mit Gebäck für 8€ gekauft habe. Wird daraufhin gewiesen, dass am Wochenende heute kein laptop erlaubt ist... Völliger Reinfall.

Really good coffee, cozy spot to work. The butter croissant is so nice.

Tasty vegan sandwiches and a good Place to work. wifi is strong enough for work, video calls could be breaking off

Great place to have a coffee and do some work behind your laptop. Carrot cake was amazing :)

Nice and cozy small cafe for coworking. They have wifi and tables for laptops.

Buen café para trabajar, aunque para número limitado de personas con laptop. Aceptan tarjeta y con wifi.

Kind staff, nice Matche latte and laptop friendly :)

This place is great. A nice place to grab a morning coffee or do some work. Service was kind, atmosphere was interesting, and the music was good not too loud. I also appreciated the transparency report about their finances. Note, you can't use laptops on the weekends.

Croissant is crunchy but not tasty. Lack of taste of butter. Great to be able to work but Super busy.

This is my favorite neighborhood coffee spot. It's a cosy place to go to read a book on a weekend in the loft or bring my laptop to get some work done during the week. Their coffee is really good and a great gift to bring when I visit friends and family outside of Germany. You'll definitely want to get a stamp card ;)