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Guru G		 I sing the praise of Gloria Jeans [ August 01, 2004 ]

Being caffeine intolerant and allergic to artificial sweeteners, going to a coffee house and choosing a drink can be an ordeal. And most of the time due the lines of people behind me I usually opt to go for the one or two drinks that I know I can consume without any bad side effects.

Tonight, while waiting for the Japanese food we had ordered, we went to the Gloria Jeans next door for a coffee. M34tb4LL and Droidy both had a fair idea of what they wanted, but being someone that does not go to Gloria Jeans very much, and having previous consumed a drink from there that, to but it simply, come back to haunt me within the hour, I was in need in help. There was not a queue behind me, and the gentleman on the counter had giving me a big warm smile and offered to help me pick a drink, so I thought now is my time to find out exactly what I could and couldn’t get away with. Both him and young lady were so helpful; they even went out to the back room to get an unopened packet of their chocolate mix so I could check the ingredients. So rather that getting for a plain decaf cappuccino, I was able to explore my sweet tooth, and have a mocha caramel latte, using the hot chocolate mix instead of the creamy chocolate, and no cream – due to the use of sweet ‘n’ low. I can safely say it was the best hot beverage that I have had the pleasure of consuming!!!

It may sound strange getting excited about a cup of coffee, but in this day and age where artificial sweeteners are so common place, and caffeine is used more readily than sleep, it is a pleasant change to not be made feel like a leper when I try to walk into a coffee house.


Comments

It's good to see a shop being given praise. With the amount of negativity being thrown about, it's heartening to see a post that actually says something good about a shop. If I was a coffee drinker I'd run over to Gloria Jeans today and drink myself silly!

Posted by: Sparker on August 18, 2004 04:02 PM

We don't complain that much do we, Sparker? *grin*

Posted by: [0-0] on August 21, 2004 11:02 AM

I must admit that Gloria Jeans products are definately above average, however, being a bit of a greenie myself, I am a bit concerned about their environmental practises, particularly their usage of disposable containers.
A few months ago, I bought a "strawberries and cream" milkshake from GJ's which was devine. The guy serving me put too much cream on the top and the milk started to spill over the sides and onto the counter. While I was trying to put the lid on the drink, I asked him for a cloth to clean up the spill myself, as he was quite busy. Instead of giving me the requested cloth, he put my drink into a second plastic cup, threw away the first lid and replaced it with a second lid.

Now, this was probably the most hygenic method to use, but considering GJ's plastic cups cannot be recycled in Australia, this was a very environmentally unfriendly way of dealing with the spill.

By the way, in Australia, we only have recycling facilities to deal with levels 1, 2 &3. If you take a look at the bottom of your GJ's cup, at the number within the "recycling symbol arrows", you'll see it doesn't fall into these catagories.

So, I sent a customer comments card to GJ's regarding this matter as well as the fact that they are taking away jobs that could be created by using china cups - such as dish-hand jobs. I also inquired if GJ's uses any Genetically Modified ingredients in their products.

In their response, GJ's completely avoided the GM issue. They also avoided the jobs issue. They did tell me that their cups are recyclable, which is true, only they're not recyclable in AUSTRALIA! Besides, most GJ's stores are within shopping centres that do not provide recycling bins! (but that's another issue!)

Finally, to add insult to injury, GJ's tried to tell me that their wonderful cups are in fact not only recyclable but are also "ideal for landfill, as they aerate the soil."

I almost choked on my home-made coffee when I read that part! Now, I study Environmental Science at uni, but by no means am I an expert on this matter, but HELLO? How can plastic cups benefit our environment? Don't we already have a huge problem with too much waste and landfill in this country? I'm sorry GJ's but I just cannot fathom how plastic "aerating" our dumps is a good thing!

Am I just being too much of an extremist greenie? Can anyone shed some light on this issue for me?

Posted by: Greenie on August 27, 2004 03:58 PM

yes you are being too much of an extremist greenie.

do you eat mars bars? pretty sure the soy beans in mars bars are genetically modified.

Posted by: b on August 29, 2004 04:48 PM

it's the hot beverage cup at gj's that allows the soil to breath. They may not be fantastic but they are better than stirofoam and take-away china cups would make for a very expensive cup of coffee. So unless you are willing to design something better just shut up and enjoy the coffee!

Posted by: chessy on August 30, 2004 06:34 PM

Hey there,

I am Store manager of a Gloria Jeans Franchise and as chessy stated china is a very expensive practice. Gloria Jeans Hot drink cups are Poly China not stirofoam and do not detract from the taste of the coffee contrary to popular belief.

Unfotunatly with the volume of business that most GJ's experience it is just not viable for the use of china and in recent conversation with my franchise owner it looks to me that GJ's are in the near future very possibly changing the Poly China to a more environmently friendly cup. Do not worry, GJ's are very serious when it comes to the environment and are doing research on their equipment.

Thank-you all and remember - Life is too short to drink a bad coffee... so i might just go get a GJ's now :)

~

Posted by: GJ's Barista on December 3, 2004 10:15 AM

Whatever cups are used aside, I will stand by original post of the excellent service that I have received at Gloria Jeans. There have been a couple of times I have gone to GJ several times since I did my original post and asked the dreadful question "can I see the ingredient list?”, and every time the staff have more that happy to help me. Including one time where the packaging did not have an ingredient list so they rang another store and got them to read the ingredients out over the phone!

So GJ's Barista - I say you and your fellow team members, hats off to brilliant customer service!!!

Posted by: Guru G on December 3, 2004 08:20 PM

Guru G,

Thank-you. I know for a fact that great customer service is the biggest issue in todays society and i try really hard to enforce it through my staff. It makes everyones day alot easier.

So i hope you never have to experience a bad visit to GJ's and i am sure you never will.

~

Posted by: GJ's Barista on December 3, 2004 08:55 PM
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