What Happened?
Earlier this evening, Aug 19th at approx 10:25 pm, I entered the C/Style store at Hespeler Rd. and 401 in Cambridge. Several staff members, which were either family or close acquaintances neglected to acknowledge me while counting cash on the counter.

I asked for my (used to be) favourite menu item, the Breakfast Bagel with scrambled egg and cheese, no bacon, well toasted on sesame, with a coffee. The young gentleman lifted a lid on the sandwich-ingredient table, pointed to what looked like an egg-like substance (egg salad mix?) and asked, "Is this the stuff you want?" I wasn't sure what this "stuff" was and ignored my gut instinct, which was to rescind my order and leave the store.

I clearly repeated my order, and was told, "There's no coffee. We're closing." I asked a third time to ensure that my bagel was well-toasted, and proceeded to the washroom to wash my hands.

When I came back, I saw the gentleman waiting for the bagel to exit the toaster, next to which was my egg-thing, with bacon in it and on top of it. I politely reminded him "no bacon" and he flicked the sliver of meat into the garbage. My nearly raw bagel was buttered with about 4 oz. of butter, the egg-bacon filet mashed in between. I asked the man, "is there bacon in that?" He replied, "no! I just threw it out." (as if I had obviously seen him! By the way, there WERE visible chunks of bacon in the "filet.")

He proceeded to ring up my order beside the woman with piles of cash and a calculator in front of her, and said, "that will be "$1.02 please." I informed him that I usually pay $2.62, which got the woman's attention. She swatted his hands away from the cash register, began berating the young man for his mistake, and said, "$3.45" (no please, apology, smile, put the cash away, etc.)

I insisted that I always pay $2.62. She corrected the mistake and went back to what she was doing, while the rest of the staff continued with their frantic closing (10:25 pm?) tasks while shouting back and forth about some very "unpleasant personal information." I left the store, got into my vehicle, opened my sandwich and nearly wretched from the sour smell. I disposed of the food and will NEVER return to that location.

I used to LOVE C/Style - their menu, at least. Service has always been undesirable. Almost every time I visit a Country Style Store - and I desperately want to give this obviously suffering chain my patronage - I leave disappointed. My job has me on the road all hours of the night, and when I'm hungry there are few choices at that time. I've always sought out C/Style -- I'd even drive out of my way, but without an ounce of exaggeration I now find that I go away displeased 4 out of 5 times.

What's wrong? Why are there no standards for food preparation? The same menu item I order at each store is prepared differently everywhere! The staff is miserable! I want to come back but I'm scared!

Please take my comments as constructive and improve things. I do not wish to sound so negative, but hope they'll appreciate the info. I promise I'll come back, except maybe to the new store in Cambridge, ON.    [05 Sep 2003 21:13:07]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: breakfast bagel - scrambled egg and cheese

     ­Candace Archer