AVOID AT ALL COSTS, especially if you are a tourist. This is a neighborhood coffeeshop where I live. I had been there before with friends and had no problems. However, this weekend, some friends wanted to stop in to a coffeeshop after a Westerpark event so we went to Coffeeshop 137. We ordered one item which was 6,50 euros and paid with a 50 euro bill. The budtender returned 3,50 euros in change and then insisted that he had been given a 10 euro bill. There was some argument and then he asked that we sit down while he served other customers and then we would deal with the issue. He said that we can watch the security video, which was aimed directly at the cash register where the transaction took place. He went into the back room, then returned 5 minutes later saying he watched the video and was definitely given a 10 euro bill but would not let us see the video.
He then counted the drawer and said it was where it was supposed to be which is strange because (1) he didn't run a report or have any other information regarding the cash level in the drawer; (2) is irrelevant to us because he didn't give the wrong change, he was simply stealing, and (3) we wouldn't know where the cash drawer was supposed anyway since we are not employees.
He then accused us of being drunk and kept asking if we were American, which should be irrelevant. He then called some of his friends who were very large and intimidating. They threatened a physical altercation with us. These were not employees of the coffeeshop, nor were they police officers, nor were they security guards. They were simply friends of the employee that he called for intimidation and attempted to physically remove us from the property.
We called the police but there is no non-emergency line that we know of in Holland and we didn't want to use emergency police resources. So we decided instead to come back the next day to speak with the owner/manager. We did research and discovered that this is a common scam in Amsterdam for employees of coffeeshops to rip off tourists this way. The same employee was there along with two others and we explained the situation calmly to the other employees. The original budtender who had been there the night before immediately got defensive and began yelling. He had to be calmed down by the other employees. The other employee promised to have the owner call us by the end of the week after which time we advised we would involve the police. I will update my review accordingly.
There is nothing I hate more than people who take advantage of other people for personal gain. There is nothing special about this coffeeshop and there is a much better one, Coffeeshop Relax, just around the corner. read more
