Extremely disappointed with the Duarte location.
My son and I used to come weekly on weekends for fresh squeezed orange juice. At some point their orange juicer became broken. After several weekly visits and leaving empty-handed I asked when they were going to fix the juicer. An employee replied that they did not know because the owner didn't want to spend money. The answer seemed to make perfect sense considering the length of time the juicer was broken. We decided to not visit this location ever again and didn't go for months (perhaps, a full year).
Today - after several months not visiting this location - my son asked for fresh squeezed OJ. I guess the memory of prior bad experience has faded and we decided to visit this location again. We stopped by at 8:10 pm or 50 minutes before closing time.
I. The cashier Samantha offered OJ they squeezed "30 MINUTES" ago, but I insisted on fresh OJ from the juicer. Samantha called manager Rachel, who said the machine was broken (again!!) and that the last time they used it was 5pm, which was more than 3 HOURS prior to my visit. Clearly, 30 minutes I was told by the cashier a minute before was not the truth.
I don't know why anyone would want to pay JJ price for juice squeezed 3 hours or 30 minutes or even 30 seconds before purchase, but for me pre-squeezed juice has no appeal. I want to see oranges go through the machine. That's why juicer is there right behind the register and that's why the juicer has clear front - it is for customers to see their juice being squeezed in front of them! If the owner instructs his employees to pre-squeeze OJ, they are hoping for a dumb customer to buy it, since bottled juice at a supermarket (even organic) costs less than a cup of OJ at Jamba Juice.
II. When I asked to cancel my transaction, Rachel said it was canceled. I asked for a receipt and was given a slip that showed no items or the amount being refunded. It said REPRINT at the top and showed the amount of $0. I wanted a normal return receipt showing details behind the refund, but Rachel, after spending a long time poking at the register screen and printer buttons while looking completely incompetent, was unable to produce one. I also was not given the receipt for the original purchase. Samantha said I declined the receipt at the time of purchase, but I have zero recollection of her asking me whether i wanted one. I had to take a picture of the merchant copy for me to have record. Obviously, the way Rachel handled the cancellation didn't make me feel comfortable that the refund was processed correctly. I'll follow up with the credit card.
III. The "refund" receipt showed cashier's name as Chrystal, yet there were only two employees at the store who used that register during my visit - cashier introduced herself as Samantha and the manager as Rachel. I didn't see a third employee at the store at all. When I inquired who Chrystal was, Rachel said that Chrystal was the person whose login they were using. That much I figured out by myself. Why they were logged into the register with someone else's credentials is beyond my understanding. Handling cash drawer normally requires an individual to log in. Who'd be responsible if there is missing cash? Chrystal?
IV. At the time of purchase I had trouble entering my phone number for JJ Rewards because the touch screen was not calibrated properly, and every time I pressed 1 it entered 4. I ended up having to press on the phone number field itself to get it to enter 1.
V. During my visit the store smelled strong of chlorine. There was a bucket with a mop next to the register. I prefer not to smell chlorine when I purchase food, but I guess employees here have other preferences.
I occasionally use JJ at Hastings Ranch, and I consider it to be much better than the Duarte location. Unfortunately, Duarte location is closer to me, but I do not want to come here. I sent this same review to JJ Corporate. If I am contacted, I'll guide them to the Yelp page. In such competitive field, it is unconscionable that this store as-is is allowed to represent franchise.
Overall, this was a bad experience at the end of a long day when I was simply looking to get a quick treat for my son and myself. I don't think the owner of this location understands how to run this type of store which shows in the store having non-working equipment (orange juicer and JJ Rewards touch screen) as well as in the employee behavior. This is my opinion based on my experience. read more