These are reviews of Chamonix Coffee from before the ownership changed in 2008. For more current reviews, visit the entry.
2005-10-22 16:53:24 Don't support this guy. I used to be the manager during the glory days of Chamonix when it was a family atmosphere that supported the Davis locals. I quit my job as manager because the female employees I managed experienced sexual harassment from the current owner Milan. He flat out asked them out for drinks and said he had friends who were interested in them. Lets just say there is a reason why you always see the NOW HIRING sign up at the shop now. When I managed the store, our turnover rate was almost 0%. I only had to fire one person and lost no employees during the year I managed the place. Another fun tidbit is that on my last day, I decided to show him some "no hard feelings" attitude by buying a drink from him. He then asked me to leave the place. When I refused to leave after telling him he cant refuse service to me AFTER taking my money, he threatened to call the cops. I let him do that, an officer showed up, and she just had a laugh with me. She told me he's not worth it. —ShehryarQamar
2005-10-22 20:28:18 Hey, I was standing right there when you had that talk with the cop. —KenjiYamada
2005-12-21 04:45:46 Wow, I didn't know that about this cafe. I've only been there once, and it's so sad to hear that! I actually was pleasantly surprised when I went in here. At first, I felt really weird. No one was there, so I sat alone and studied. Then, when people came in, they didn't really talk to one another. Then I realized, after sipping my pretty damn good drink that I really kind of liked the atmosphere. I will be hesitant to return after reading this. —SS
The beverages here are "so-so" at best. Although, I have to agree with Qamar's sentiments above re: Milan. I feel that he is a very unsavory character. I recently had a negative experience with him whereby he told me to not ever return to Chamonix with my travel mug because it had the logo of "a competing coffee company" (his words exactly) printed on it. Ridiculous! Although his employees seem quite friendly, I clearly understand why the turnover rate is so high. In my mind he is Davis's version of the Soup nazi from that old Seinfeld episode ;) I only go now as a very last resort. It seems like he is quite adept at losing customers!
2006-02-16 17:22:18 The owner was really nice. Just remember to tip. He seems to encourage that. —AucdavisStudent
2006-03-31 16:53:57 I end up going here a couple times a week, since it's across the street from work. Espresso is pretty good, but the regular coffee is weak and flavorless. —CharlesGeorge
2006-06-14 21:52:37 The one time I had a mocha here, I couldn't even drink it b/c it was terrible! Overly sugary and grainy. —HalonaLeung
2006-07-12 22:25:06 I work at 49er Video so this place is the nearest place to get coffee... the other day I got a white chocolate mocha and it was surprisingly good. Very sweet, but not too sweet as to overwhelm the "coffee" flavor. I've definitely had better, but this place will do in a pinch, it seems. —DavidObrien
2006-09-02 13:41:54 Go to Chamonix if you wanna get sexually harassed. The owner and a few of his older friends harass the younger girls that go to this coffee shop. They offer them drinks, cookies, and even money! The owner is very bipolar. One day he's really nice and buys you a drink and the other day he doesn't even respond to your "Hey Milan, how's it going?" Their employees keep quitting cause they feel harrassed by the owner (I talked to a few of them). That's why pretty much every time you go there there's a new girl behind the counter, usually an attractive one too. The owner was my best buddy until one day he decided to walk up to me right after I walked out of the coffee shop and told me not to ever come back again cause I never buy anything, and always ask them to change the music. He's a psycho. I’ve never gone there without buying coffee or food. Other than that, they're open late during finals. If you need a wonderful place to study at then go Java California in Dixon, 24hr. —KianTorab
2006-09-20 13:31:43 I worked there a long time ago. The owner is insane. The employees rock. But seriously, the signature drink being a fancy mocha with two cookies in it, which eventually get soggy and sink to the bottom of the cup unless you eat them right away. It's just... no. —ProtoGarrett
2006-09-27 01:10:50 I went there yesterday and the Internet didn't work. It was also completely empty - maybe because the quarter hasn't started yet? I'm new to Davis so I'm still searching for a good place to study. This didn't seem like anything special though. Especially without Internet. —BenBackes
2006-10-01 22:13:39 Caffe chamonix is a good place to study. I think the owner is very generous with all his clients. Me and my bodies always go to this caffee and study for midterms. I have been living in Davis for 2 years and this is one of the first places I can concentrate best to study. The music they play is very good I wish they could have this type of music at other caffees. The owner is very nice with all his clients I don’t believe that all the bad things they said about this place are true. Well, as long as I can study well in this place I will keep buy caffee and using the free wireless. —BrianScott
Pseudonym for the owner or one of his friends? —KenjiYamada
Pseudonym for the owner of a competitor or one of his friends? (Honestly, all good places get the occasional bad review and the same applies to the other way around. It would make me wonder more if there were no exceptions.) —JabberWokky
I'm still pretty suspicious about this one. This user (BrianScott) wiped out all the comments (which were all negative) before I reverted his wipe, and then left this positive comment. Next we get the comment below from "SandyMiller", with the same misspelling of "coffee" and similar content. —KenjiYamada
2006-10-02 15:58:41 I think all places have good and bad things, but I like this place to go study. I can look outside the window and drink caffee every morning. In other words, I don't really care about this caffee or any other because school is my number goal. Hey, i love all the comments about this caffee —SandyMiller
2006-10-02 19:19:14 Hi! is me again KenjiYamada. I only wanted to post a comment about this coffee because I wanted to express my true feels about this coffee. If you want me to post bad comments; sorry I can’t because I don’t have any, but if you being the owner of Davis Wiki would like to post any please do so. About Coffee Chamonix sorry about the spelling word of coffee, but if some one else misspell coffee does’t mean everyone else is me. —BrianScott
I'm not the owner of Davis wiki. I don't have a problem with your posting good comments, I'm just suspicious about your identity for the reasons I gave above. Where are you from by the way? Your name looks like a generic European-American name but you don't sound like a native speaker of English. —KenjiYamada
2006-10-03 10:36:36 Note that, despite his claims of studying for midterms, there is no "Brian Scott" in the publicly-available UC Davis People directory. If he's been here two years, he's probably not a Sac City student - especially since Sac City is all the way on the other side of town from Chamonix. It could be that the individual in question chose to be unlisted... But it's far more likely that the comments from "BrianScott" and "SandyMiller" are fake. —GrahamFreeman
2006-12-03 00:01:28 All this is too damn funny! This is coming from someone that works there. —RicardoAcosta
2006-12-03 00:15:06 There is this one employee there, he is great! He is incredibly polite, stylish, makes the drinks great, and not to mention is quite attractive. He makes me want to come back again and again. He also plays the Best music! —KristinaKarson
2006-12-07 00:35:52 Just for the record we dont play Marron 5 or nothing close to that. Also the employees have full control of Music Selection and we play a variety of music not just the kinds listed above. The only thing that is true on this whole page about Milan is that he is loud and nothing more —RicardoAcosta
2006-12-07 11:33:46 I've been here a few times over the past year, when it's hot I really enjoy their ice tea and the white chocolate mocha was pretty tasty. I don't remember what the exact prices were but I'd say they are comparable to Starbucks and Pete's—DaveBanister
2007-01-16 18:40:13 I was also kind of sad to read this page. I liked the few times I went here, and I actually found a new band(2raumwohnung) I really liked that (I assume) the owner was playing. He seemed to be in a friendly and talkative mood at the time, but not so much that I coulden't study. Ah well. —ShaunGeer
2007-01-23 21:36:35 I used to work at Albertson's and came here a few times a week. The coffee was always decent if not great. I also know Milan, he came in the store all the time, and he's never been anything but friendly and polite. He's always willing to hang out and chat a bit before he goes on with his day. The stories of sexual harrassment sound out of character, the real Soup Nazi in Davis is the owner of Little Prague. —RussellAnderson
2007-03-23 15:23:09 I used to work at Chamonix and have some recommendations. The Frappes are very good, I liked the Heath one the best. You can ask to get it made with soy milk. The cookies are pricey but very delicious. Order the paninis. They are cheap, use fresh ingredients and come with a side of salad. The grill takes a few minutes to warm up so you might have to wait a little bit to get it. Plus, there is usually only one worker. Milan is very energetic and friendly with all his customers. People would always ask about a particular band we played, called 2raumwohnung, a German dance like group. Go to Chamonix early enough and they have pastries for 2.25 from the Village Bakery. If they are a day old they'll be on sale. Also, when it gets warm Milan makes different types of Iced Tea. The Mango and Peach ones are pretty good. Hope this helped. —MissBelomy
2007-05-07 07:19:25 Milan is crazy. I used to work there. The stories I have are too abundant to tell... —KevinCheung
2007-05-07 12:44:43 My comment is that I've had some pretty good to pretty not so good coffee from the dispensers, but usually it's on my way to the bus, so I don't stay and hangout. I like that they have a selection of free trade coffee. —RocksandDirt
2007-07-22 21:10:42 Be warned, the owner adds a 20 percent tip to all credit card transactions without telling you. This money does not even go to the employees, it goes straigtht to the owner. It has nothing to do with a "minimum surchage" or any of that garbage either, it's just plain stealing. —JakeJames
- Note: There is a followup comment by Jake on 2008-05-07 acknowledging that it was a misunderstood authorization hold.
2007-08-07 17:37:05 The guy at the counter was really friendly and made a good latte. The comment above about the 20% "surcharge" on credit transactions is true! If it's not going to the employees, that just seems unfair. I won't be back. —MPeterson
2007-08-07 23:16:00 It's funny how every time Milan decides to let one of his employees go, strange allegations start appearing on Daviswiki. I have worked with Milan for a year now and in that year I can tell you that he is not what some people on here describe him to be. This last allegation directed towards him is entirely false and outrageous. Among those things it is a SERIOUS ACCUSATION that should not be made unless the persons involved have evidence to support their claims. Milan is not out there to steal our customer’s money and several of our loyal customers can voucher for this. If he truly does commit acts like this don't you think that in his 3 years of owning Chamonix more then just two people would have noticed and reported this? Furthermore, any tips added onto customer’s credit slips go directly to us—the employees—not to Milan. So again, I hope you guys out there can set aside these ridiculous claims and realize that it is only angry terminated employees behind this. —RicardoAcosta
2007-08-09 19:47:34 Hey Ricardo -
First off, I made those comments 18 days ago, way before any employee I know was let go (unjustly, but that is separate from this complaint), so how about you take into account a DATE-STAMP right before you make some serious accusations of your own. Second of all, the complaint was CONFIRMED by someone else right away! So yes, you're DAMN RIGHT it's a "SERIOUS ACCUSATION" that's why I POSTED about it on Daviswiki, so people would be WARNED about it. It's happened to me the two times I've used my card there, the first time being over 4 months ago, so its been going on for quite some time. Both times it's been EXACTLY 20 percent more than what was on the receipt I received. I'm not talking about any tips written on slips, I'm talking about credit card slips with no tips written on them. Of all people, YOU should be upset about it because he is essentially taking tip money from you, or at least giving the illusion that employees like you are getting that 20 percent. In this magical "3 year" period you describe, from all thats been discussed on here and from accounts of numerous people who have visited chamonix its quite clear he has RUINED this business and pretty much drove it into the ground. It's swell that you have a nice working relationship with Milan but you aren't one of the several female employees who have had numerous complaints against him nor one of the people taken in for this credit card scam he has going on and you are definitely in the minority of people who consider him to be a good person. All my claims against Milan and the store are completely valid and I don't appreciate you trying to slight them AT ALL. —JakeJames
- Note: There is a followup comment by Jake on 2008-05-07 acknowledging that it was a misunderstood authorization hold.
2007-09-05 11:13:49 No one has yet to comment on how all their coffee served is fair trade. Has this been the case since the opening of the cafe? —AldenSeabolt
2007-09-25 10:41:08 Well this is definitely a far more DRAMA FILLED page then I expected. I don't know anything about all these accusations, but I think this place has the best cappuccinos in town. It is also a quiet and pleasant place to study. —["Users/apalley]
2007-11-01 23:17:02 I made some changes to the general info. on this place, which seemed to be very negatively biased. I used to work here and we had a lot of regulars, despite the occasional bad-run in with Milan, which does happen every now and then. The sexual harassment charges: Milan's European attitude is very open and is overly friendly toward women, causing him to step outside the line sometimes. The employees are usually the only ones you have to deal with, and Milan never comes in past 6 (if he really bothers you..)
Could someone post a better picture? The one here is terrible. I'm not sure about the 20% surcharge, I worked there for about a year and Milan doesn't even add in the tips at the end of the day, whoever is working does it when they get off their shift. I would talk to him about it if it happened to you. Anyway, I think Chamonix is a cute little coffee shop to study in, or just have a drink. I wish people who come in regularly would post on here, because the majority of these comments are negative. And Ricardo, next time a customer is unhappy with something you should try to figure out the "misunderstanding" instead of lashing out at them. You haven't been around to see everything, and some of those unhappy employees/customers have every right to be angry. Apologize and make up for it by giving good service (a free drink or biscotti?) Just tips. —davistudent
2008-04-28 23:33:11 I have been frequenting Chamonix for the past year and a half. Overall, this is a good place to study (especially once you are able to tune out the foreign adult contemporary music that's always on; no complaints here, the music is actually making me focus on my work more since I don't know any of the songs). I am addicted to their peanut butter cookie, and desperately need a recipe for it. —CClaw
2008-04-29 11:11:42 well....I'm not a regular here by any stretch, but I've gotten a cup at different times of the day. It is usually quiet, and the coffee fairly fresh and good. I like that they use fair trade goods, I also have had nothing but friendly attentive service from whoever has been working also. As I've used cash I can't comment on the 'surcharge' thing, but stray charge issues are not uncommon throughout the restaurant industry, when folks don't fill out the totals on a charge slip. —RocksandDirt
2008-04-30 18:46:13 when im just DYIIIINGGG for a frap, this is where i go. i hop on my vespa, press play on my ipod mini, and FLYYYYYYY to this super coffee nook in the wall. sometimes i even sit outside and read the lates "OK" magazine, they always have them! the owner is very foxy, but i can't get over his many physique. he must play A LOTTT of tennis. his sassyness gets my attention. —ScottWallace
2008-05-07 02:23:53 I rescind my accusation from quite a few months ago about the credit card overcharging. I have learned that some credit card systems anticipate a twenty percent tip that shows up as a "pending" charge on your bank account, but after the charge officially clears the amount you write on the slip is the amount taken. I apologize for accusing the store of stealing.
I still believe, however, that the owner's harassment of his female employees deserves exposure. I also don't think trying to mask it with sentiments like "oh he's just a zany European" are adequate excuses for his behavior. I admit that I am somewhat biased because I have a personal connection to someone who worked for this "man" and had several problems with him but there are plenty of other accounts of his unprofessional actions on this wiki page alone that should make you think twice about patronizing his business. —JakeJames