Coffee Slingers

[fourthworldtraffic]

revive....._______________________________________ _______________/////}}}..._____________________________@@#$%!#@__(*&^% %$$%$$#@!_________________________________________ ____________________________________The coffee slingers experience......I want another one!

[mecarr]

Well, I talked with a few people who use to go there reguarly who have stopped because they don't like the service. They actually say there is an official organized "boycott" of coffee slingers.

[Steve]

Still looking for Tom Elmore to comment on this thread to make it an OKC Talk classic.

[Platemaker]

Still looking for Tom Elmore to comment on this thread to make it an OKC Talk classic.

[BailJumper]

Well, I talked with a few people who use to go there reguarly who have stopped because they don't like the service. They actually say there is an official organized "boycott" of coffee slingers.

Its so 'organized' that nobody knows about it! Now that's covert organization at its best.

Give me a break. I don't know which is more pathetic, boycotting a coffee shop over service, or pretending there is a boycott of a coffee shop over perceived bad service!

If they were somehow torturing puppies or enslaving Cuban refugees to make their product then fine, but over not kissing your butt.... Three words GET A LIFE.

[soonerguru]

Well, I talked with a few people who use to go there reguarly who have stopped because they don't like the service. They actually say there is an official organized "boycott" of coffee slingers.

This is really, really stupid.

[jbrown84]

Still looking for Tom Elmore to comment on this thread to make it an OKC Talk classic.

He won't unless he can figure out a way to blame coffee snobbery on our lack of rail service.

[fourthworldtraffic]

The public transportation is Barely hanging on.

[fourthworldtraffic]

The able bodied panhandler cometh.

[fourthworldtraffic]

Que carajo quieres.

[Urban Pioneer]

Don't understand the public transportation comment but I am excited to announce that they ordered more/new chairs! lol I was there today and Melody was un-boxing a stack of new pressed wood ones. Apparently the old ones are to stay and these are a supplement. I guess that is a good sign if they run out of seats from time-to-time.

[kevinpate]

So does this mean that Steve will be doing a chair testing event in the near future?

[Rover]

I assume we are still talking about Coffee Slingers on this thread, right?

I think they suffer from a couple of problems. The whole atmosphere is a little stark. Coffee houses need to be comfortable places people want to go hang at. I think the room is too big and the surfaces too hard making sounds echo. It is worse with less people and activity as it just sounds and looks cavernous and empty...not inviting.

Second, their product is not special enough to command their prices. They have premium prices and average products. I frequent coffee shops across North America and the well supported ones are neighborhood stores with great coffee.

The third thing that hurts them is lack of pedestrian traffic. Coffee shops are neighborhood destinations at night and profit from walk-by impulsive traffic by day. There aren't complementary destination shops of businesses clustered nearby where visitors there could "discover" Coffee Slingers.

Just my thoughts, fwiw.

[SavageDigital]

I assume we are still talking about Coffee Slingers on this thread, right?


Second, their product is not special enough to command their prices. They have premium prices and average products.

I have to ask, where do you buy your coffee - gas stations? How is $2 for an Americano, and a good tasting one at that, "premium prices"? Their drink prices are average at worst, certainly less than the big chain and in-line with most coffee houses in the local area.

[Rover]

I know you are trying to imply I have no taste, but I will let that pass.

I travel extensively, not only in the US but around the world for my work. I frequent coffee shops all over as it is something I really enjoy. And yes, I will buy gas station coffee if it is the best in the area. Only status seekers buy from a brand if the product is no good. I have frequented many very successful shops and see many fold. I try lots of different places to find what I like.

I would love to give glowing reports on Coffee Slinger, but I cannot. I repeat, IMHO, the product is average and the prices above average. The room is not intimate or inviting or necessarily "cool". And while I will continue to go there I do it to support a local business, and not because it is the best coffee around. If they improved the experience, I would overlook the lack of specialness in the product, or vica versa.

Sorry I can't jump up and down for an average product.

[KStarkey]

Attitude Slingers!
Too bad because their coffee is really good. But jeez...

[Urban Pioneer]

Rover, I don't understand your line of reasoning. They are "the only" french press coffee shop I have come across (at least anywhere near downtown). Starbucks will do a French Press if you ask for it and select the bean but otherwise French Pressed cups are hard to find here.

On Sunday or after hours I am forced to try other coffees such as Red Cup, Cuppies and Joe, or Starbucks- all the other coffee I have experienced in OKC is a 3 to 1 ratio of stoutness.

Plus, they rotate bean selections and sometimes offer Elemental Coffee (an excellent and growing local roaster).

Personally, I hate getting coffee out of a pot that has set on the counter for a couple hours. So, I completely disagree with everything you have said- and I have traveled extensively too. Coffee Slingers offers the best product in the central city- bar none.

As for the atmosphere- its all business. Half of the people in there are working "out of Coffee Slingers" on laptops. I have even tried committee meetings in the house. It is European in its design and is clean, clean, clean. They scrub it and sweep it meticulously.

All coffee houses do not have to be "Central Perk" on friends. If I want to fall asleep on a couch or oogle a bunch of coeds I'll go to Cuppies or Red Cup. Otherwise, Coffee Slingers has proven to be an absolute substitute for the office cubicle and great networking space for progressive people who like great coffee.

Finally, i'm glad their filling a void on Broadway and there style offers a direct contrast to the Java Dave's which is good. We need new ideas and new products in this city and le Slingers hits the target.

[Rover]

And so, I will try them again. I am always willing to re-evaluate and give a local business the benefit of the doubt. And I will come on here and admit if I am wrong and willing to change my opinion.

By the way, I disagree with it being like a European coffee shop. Of course, most of my out of country travels are Italy and France, and some to England and Germany. And even here, I use them as a second office on the road, so I don't use the sofa's and soft chairs. I use the tables, the internet and try the different offerings. I like the robust blends (I need the caffeine ) and so I tend to favor the Euro or even Middle Eastern coffee (love Arabic coffee). Also love the coffee in Brazil. I don't look for comfy, but do look for clean and for coffee experts behind the bar, not some high school kids like work at Starbucks who wouldn't know good coffee from bad.

That said, sometimes I do go out from the hotel at night and seek out a good cup of coffee at a comfy place. I'm a happily married guy who travels and am just looking for a nice after dinner end to the day where I can go sit alone and have a "dessert" coffee. I don't like the bars, so I go find a nice coffee shop. It's a great bonus when I can go back to the same place I found earlier in the day to do a little business, and can also feel comfortable at night. That's what I guess I base my opinions on.

[citizenkane]

Coffee Slingers serves by far the best coffee in the metro. If you have not done so already, you should definitely check out their short water americano.

[SavageDigital]

I know you are trying to imply I have no taste, but I will let that pass.

Don't be silly...I wasn't implying you have "no taste" - I'm obviously suggesting your point about their exorbitant pricing is patently false and the only plausible reason to state such a thing is from having skewed point of view.

If someone doesn't like 'Slingers - fine, no argument here.
If you don't care for their choice of blends - fine, no argument here.
If you don't like the locale or atmosphere - fine, no argument here.

...but for someone to suggest they're overpriced at $2-3 or that their quality is substandard (particularly for Oklahoma) - they either have an agenda or simply don't know what they think they know about coffee.

[JohnDenver]

My only peeve with Slingers is there credit card policy of a minimum charge... That violates the credit card agreement of all credit card companies. They can't do that, nor charge any extra for smaller bills.

[Rover]

I don't know why you would suggest I have an agenda. I just don't happen to believe that Coffee Slingers is the end all and be all that you do. And I have had some fairly extensive exposure to what markets outside of OKC have to offer, so I share it. Why do you try to discredit my opinion if I happen to disagree. And I don't believe I said "exorbitant" prices - if I did, I misspoke. But they are higher than I pay in most cities for similar drinks...and that's a fact.

So, with your fanatical defense, does that mean YOU have an agenda. Are you friends with the owner, or have some ownership position, or a vested interest in their lease? (See how silly that argument is?)

Look, I love OKC. My wife thinks I should be a tour guide as I tell everyone I know everywhere I go what a great place it is to live in. But that doesn't mean I have to get in lock-step and love EVERYTHING that exists here regardless of what I think about it. You love Coffee Slingers, so bully to you. I don't hate it, but I just am not as in love with it as you. I still don't care for the room and I am still less than impressed with the product. But that is MERELY my OPINION. I certainly have been wrong before. But I do know what I like and it is from a position of experience.

[SavageDigital]

I don't know why you would suggest I have an agenda. I just don't happen to believe that Coffee Slingers is the end all and be all that you do.

Once again, you're just silly - no one suggest you actually had an agenda, merely one possibility for someone making baseless statements. Perhaps try rereading what is actually being stated before making yet another claim.

Why do you try to discredit my opinion if I happen to disagree...But that is MERELY my OPINION..

Prices are what's at issue and they aren't opinion based - they're numbers that, held in context with any other local shop, demonstrate your criticism to be incorrect.

So, with your fanatical defense, does that mean YOU have an agenda. Are you friends with the owner, or have some ownership position, or a vested interest in their lease? (See how silly that argument is?)

If I were making unreasonable statements (as you have) then your argument might not be so silly. My defense of them in the face of false statements isn't equal to making the false statements - now if you think so, that's silly. I understand the concept that "you know what you like", and you are clearly free to express that opinion. My major issue with you has been the comments concerning prices and secondarily your position that their coffee is of sub-par quality, it's not, even if you don't car for it.

[circled9]

I was at coffeeslingers this morning for the first time in a few weeks. The new furniture is a nice addition and the coffee is as good as ever. People throng to Java Daves only two blocks away so it cant be the location. it just takes time for a new business to develop steady business.

[Urban Pioneer]

I don't know why you would suggest I have an agenda. I just don't happen to believe that Coffee Slingers is the end all and be all that you do. And I have had some fairly extensive exposure to what markets outside of OKC have to offer, so I share it.

I'm curious as to what/where you refer coffee in OKC. If Coffee Slingers isn't the best (and I will readily admit that I will relegate my opinion on that to the central city) then what is above them in the metro at large that you would recommend?