After a fulfilling sushi dinner in ABC Ashrafieh, Lori and I decided to finally try out Pinkberry. Even though I promised myself after their nauseatingly horrible radio ad jingle that I’d never go there, I decided to give them a chance, after all maybe the marketer on that day was severely retarded or drunk.
The only encounter I’ve had with frozen yogurt was in Beirut Souks at “From the Tree” where for 5,000 LBP you can get a cup of froyo with 2 or 3 toppings (if memory serves right). With that kind of price there, the seemingly uber-friendly Pinkberry server’s “5000LBP per cup plus 4 toppings” sounded reasonable and didn’t arouse my suspicions.
After tasting the flavors and choosing our favorites, I chose my four toppings and so did Lori. We then proceeded to the counter where the cashier asked for 20,500LBP (corrected), which as you might imagine is a lot more than we signed up for. I inquired why the server and the large billboard menu said “5,000 LBP per small cup”, the cashier said we had misunderstood and started speaking fast, muffled phrases of why the price more than tripled suddenly.
Then again, I’m not particularly stupid. So, I decided not to let it go. I aske why did the server specify four toppings, and the other server stressed that one particular topping was for extra charge (meaning the 4 others supposedly weren’t). Then, in a miserably fake attempt at being concerned, the cashier said “I would give it to you for 5,000LBP, but you already paid”. This scumbag, condescending attitude, not the 20thou+ price tag, is what pissed me off.
I told him we were told something different, and that’s it’s their fault for purposefully misleading us. Then I proceeded to tell him that I don’t want the item anymore, and again he said “you already paid”. WTF?! I then asked him sarcastically, “do you expect us to come here again?” and was met with a stupid smirk like the tone he gave while grinning “You already paid”.
So, I threw the piece of trash yogurt and sorry excuse for toppings in the garbage and left yet another example of zero respect for the customer and nearsightedness in business. Pinkberry might’ve ripped me off and gotten away with it, but I am never going there again and I expect many others will do the same. Their products are also severely overpriced, with the same being offered elsewhere and in Lebanon for just half of the price.
So, Pinkberry gets 3 fingers. Why? Cause I shouldn’t have expected more from the franchisee to whom alcohol is a no-no, and from a froyo place… I also shouldn’t have taken the staff’s word and looked more closely at what they place had to offer. Granted that was a mistake I made, the treatment afterwards by the staff was what landed Pinkberry on my Blacklist.
blacklist entry APPROVED!!
Yeah customer service here is non-existent. A week ago I spilled coffee (ok it was patron coffee flavored tequila) on my phone, and all the keys stopped working. Itook it to repair, they changed the keypad (supposedly) but the main scroll button thing still didn’t work. I went back and complained and asked if they could fix the most important button in my phone and the guy says: hayda ma khasso bel keypad, hayda men el service bi 3ale2. wtf. Even I know that network service has nothing to do with the functioning of a button. Needless to say he refused to fix it nor even look at it. Needless to say, I told him he was rude and unprofessional and had just lost several customers, me and everyone I know at our nearby workplace. And now I have to pay the same fee (35$) elsewhere to get the button fixed. Sorry for the rant.
sou2al zghir: chou khaaaasss?
man just a small question : where the HELL in ABC u had a fulfilling sushi dinner ? euh… SUSHI KO ? SCOOZI ??????????? plz i need to know….
Lol… I’m curious to know too
I agree. There is no good sushi at ABC.
If I remember correctly the menu clearly says 5,000LL for a plain small yogurt and 8,000 or 9,000 (something like that) with 4 toppings. I remember 5,000 for a small plain because that’s exactly how much it costs in Kuwait but in Kuwait once you add toppings the price is a lot more expensive than lebanon probably cuz we have to import all the fruits.
i’m an alshaya fan and i know they are a pretty pro company. i’m sure they aren’t aware of what happened to you or if it’s happened to other customers as well. I would send them an email to customercare@alshaya.com and vent to them and see if you get any response.
Pinkberry sucks bro. You shouldn’t have went there in the first place.
I hate condescending people! Never stepping foot in that place!
hey on se calme les amis !c est tro bon PINKBERRY ! c pas parckil y avait un con derriere la caisse kon peu plus manger un bon yaourt glacé avec des gummy bears et des fruits !!!!!
Peace and love !!!
Don’t blacklist pinkberry! It’s too yummy! Plus, I remember when I went I found the sign clear.. Maybe they could have clarified it more, and definitely the guy’s attitude is inexcusable but you should give it another try; they’re usually soo nice. They need to overcharge cuz they get their fruits and toppings from abroad so that they have a consistent taste everywhere, its not like they’re sourcing fruits, oreos, etc. from lebanon. Also, the tree is really bad compared to pinkberry.
They overcharge cuz they import the ingredients? that’s the lamest excuse i’ve heard for a while. What’s wrong with the local ingredients. theyr the same.
They overcharge cuz they get off on ripping ppl off. AND because we let them. Id rather buy one of those 250ll Bonjus ice cream sticks: 1- healthier 2- cheaper 3- Lebanese (that is if ur arguing that their ingredients are important)
This inflation thing has got to end, and it wont as long as ppl are happy to pay more (pappaz :/ )
And you dnt have the right to argue abt the price. cuz come on, you’d expect they would rip you off. Gino I wouldve thought you would have known better. Still. A dick as a clerk.
I totally agree. These retailers are con artists when it comes to ripping people off. And yet people still frequent them. With arms outstretched and sloppy smiles. Why would you pay 10,000 LL for a cup of frozen yogurt (which should intuitively be cheaper than real ice cream) when you can buy a whole kg of Bachir ice cream for about 11,000 LL? And why would you pay nearly 10,000 LL for a ZWZ chicken wrap, which is mostly a few shreds of chicken smothered in mayonnaise, when you can have the best, most filling, and most satisfying taouk sandwich in Lebanon (try Farouj el Achkar in Broumanna, par exemple) for no more than half that price?
I’m seriously in disbelief as to why people continue to dole out large sums of cash for this stuff when there are Lebanese establishments that will serve and exceed any customer’s highest expectations in food, quality, and customer care. I could produce a list right here of good, affordable eats that won’t break your wallet.
Come on, people. Together, let’s take a stand against exorbitant prices—people in the US and Europe would be shell-shocked—and curb this culture of greed and fa7esh. Otherwise, we have only ourselves to blame.
My favorite Froyo place is Yogurtland in LA, where you get the cup yourself, choose whatever flavor you want (and that’s LOTS of flavors to choose from, not like here) and the quantity (of the yogurt and the toppings) and pay were weight. It’s MUCH cheaper than Pinkberry and tastes SOOO much better.
I tried Pinkberry last week, the staff was actually very nice, but their yogurt is not that good and is extremely expensive!
Pink berry is overrated. Definitely not worth their asking price.
Thanks for the tip – I will definitely avoid!
Hey pinkberry is a fun working place n the yogart tastes great although it is expensive but highly addictive..the yogart i mean!least its a gr8 sub 4 all that junk food we eat at burger king..regards 2 all the staff amira,naja,basel fatme n all the rest..
Pinkberry is the BEST yogurt place in Lebanon with no doubt.
And i assume that when the guy said ” you already paid” he meant that he can’t do anything about it cz its entered to the system.
my word, the place is expensive somehow, yet by far the best there is in Lebanon.
on the other hand there’s a place called FRUZ in Le mall dbayye, high prices, fucked up staff and seriously bad taste.
Well, to start! The Menu board clearly states prices as (Plain & With Toppings) and if you had looked next to that 5000, you would have notices a 9750 LBP (Which includes 4 toppings)!!! Let’s not try being smart here!
As for what the sales person told you, he was selling you the combo pack of 9750 which basically every other sales person anywhere would do (Say mcdonalds for example, hardees or any other place!).
You could’ve simply asked for your yogurt to be plain and with no toppings at all, after all the Lebanese mentality of having everything for free is a true shame on US!