Toronto Delivers

The perfect bubble (tapioca) drink is in the bubbles. If the tapioca is hard or rubbery, then you got yourself a dud. So the first instance in checking for value for your money at every bubble drink location we go to is to check for the goodness of the tapioca. BubbleTease at Eaton Centre's Food Court seems to meet that requirement. BUT its not all bubbles and drinks that makes a world class establishment, its customer service as well.

THIS is where BubbleTease fails. The employees seem to be doing this as a side job and not taking their customer service seriously. From "What do you want?" to "Here! (as they hand you your change or your drink)" prevents a pleasant experience for the customer. The frowns and the strange stares don't help either. So we tested it - with a suit, there was a bit of resentment in the voice of the cashier, with jeans or shorts, there was no respect at all and more of a "Waat's up" (along with a head nod) approach. Not sure if that's what I would want from what I would consider Bubbleliciousness drinks. So sans the service, the drink is fab!

Our rating? Need to upgrade the service. And maybe clean up at the back either. We could see tapioca on the ground, unidentifiable liquids that have mixed together on the counter, and no wiping or washing of hands as they move from money handling to food and back to money handling and it has caused us much distraught.

Easy Greasy Potato Chips. That's Spudniks for you. And in lots of flavours too! Yummy... but...make sure you have lots of napkins. They don't provide any. In fact, if you are not quick with your order, the cashier gets upset. He frowns and give you a hard time. Then we asked for a small bag since we had no more available hands to carry this bag and eat it at the same time (been shopping -you've done that we're sure) - he said he didn't have any. Guess what? We saw them under the cashier's desk. And he gave them to some lady who was wearing a mini. Well, that was not fair! What's up with that?! Although we like the chips if the service sucks, we will not entertain the thought of coming back. You're better off making them yourself at home or as a friend said, "go to Dominion instead." Besides Spudniks is not at Yorkdale permanently, they are only there on special market days. So if you are a vendor and not going to be making revenue everyday, wouldn't be more congenial to your customers? Not sure why it sounds simple but difficult to implement.

Our customer service rating? Not World Class. Our potato chips rating? World Class. Our Overall Rating? Upgrade something - their attention to their clients.

Have you been to this location? What is your rating?

I'm not sure I'd like to have a bit of this cookie. Some may say its cute. Others may think its a cookie for kittens (would they even try?). And in some countries, they may think this is made of kittens (gross!). So why put a kitten's face on a cookie label? Because its cute? Because the cookie is so yummy that one would smile like a kitty? We don't know, and may would not really want to know.

What are your thoughts on this cookie's label? Would you buy one? If you've bought a bag, how did they taste? Whiskery? (pun intended) Do tell...

What is Guk anyway? We got our first Lick's exposure by seeing their sauce on shelves at Dominion's. What's in it? Click here for the nutrition label.

Lick's Homeburgers apparently are not just a Toronto phenomenon but can be seen all the way to north of Barrie and even beyond that. Started as an ice cream place in the Beaches area and we were told that their "homeburgers" took off and the rest is history.

What we don't like: Three points... let's start:
1. There is no clear ordering process for the newbie. There are no directional signs and the one cooking the burgers just stared at us without saying a word or being helpful. A client who came in 5 minutes (yup, we were standing in front of the burger prep lady without being helped) told us to come up to the counter to order (a cashier who was not there but was busy chatting with the ice cream lady so she didn't even care to welcome us properly when we arrived).

2. The marketing (discount to Wonderland on paper used to line the tray) had no clear direction on how to acquire it. We had to ask the cashier who said she would give this to us - again she wouldn't have just done it nor provided an indication that it was in existence if we didn't ask.

3. The guy cooking the burder was also swirling his broom around to clean the place up. Do you really think cleaning and cooking match? That seems to be a health risk issue. Besides no one wore a hair net or a cap to keep their hair or particles thereof from getting to my food. Is there no law in Toronto about this?

What we liked:
1. Guk actually tasted different (we didn't say fabulous, we said different). It's their secret sauce that got their burgers that famous status, says the nice lady next to us while we were munching and taking photos of the place. The fries were non-descript. We should have ordered the poutine, that might have been more exciting (especially for our arteries).

2. The cute names like "Ring-ed-dy Dings" or Taters n' Cream's TNC would have been good if we ordered it. We did read about it though. We do like the personalization portion so we know exactly what goes to our burgers. No onions please.

Suggestion: Don't go to Lick's if you want great (or even mediocre) service. Get the Guk! sauce from the store and grill your own burgers, you're better off that way.

Overall rating: Not world class and definitely Upgrade Something [for reasons indicated above] ~ richard

What happens when you like a coffee shop but there's this one employee that just would not stop harrassing you because they are flirting with you?

This is what happened to me at Lettieri on Church and Wellesley. I think employees should have proper decorum especially when dealing with the public wherever their location may be and however their perceived connection is with the lifestyle of the environment. The location of this coffee shop is in the heart of the gay neighbourhood and the show of affection amongst its community is quite public and common. But my presumption is that people know each other well before they start touching in what can be viewed as inappropriate by non-familial onlookers. I like this store and its owner but I can't really go there because of this one employee who keeps on having lingering touches, inappropriate coming on and flying kisses. Being in Canada with all its available freedoms does not translate into open season and with blatant disregard for common customer service courtesy. Yesterday was particularly annoying because this employee walked around the counter, put his hand over my shoulder and started touching my left nipple! What's going on there?! It was a blatant disrespect for me and it was definitely unwarranted, unwanted and unacceptable behaviour. I would hate to get a person fired for actions like this but this has gone way over the line. I guess I won't be going to this coffee shop now because of this unfortunate event. My overall rating - UPGRADE SOMETHING - maybe train the employees properly? maybe provide a manual? maybe move them around to other stores? something to get this rating to world class that it deserves. ~ richard

What would be your suggested next steps for Richard ~ torontodelivers (td)

Toronto Delivers has had its ups and downs when it comes to Mexican food. Filling in the middle ground is The Burrito House at 818 Danforth.

The Burrito House has a fun atmosphere, with bright primary colours and Mexican-themed artwork decorating the walls. They play Mariachi music to help set the mood. The food itself is okay if you’re looking for lunch at fast food quality. Otherwise, it’s bland and unremarkable. The meat in the burritos is pre-cooked, which translates into a dry, almost chalky substance. Sauces and cheese are in such small portions that the lettuce overwhelms the taste completely. Had I not watched the counterperson put the cheese on (it couldn’t have been more than a teaspoon of a shredded cheddar mix), I would have thought she’d forgotten it altogether.

Presentation also lacked any details that would have made the meal worthwhile. The burrito bowls are advertised as “all your favorite free toppings without the wrap”. Also without the bowl. The dish was served in a Styrofoam clamshell.

The Burrito House does make a good licuado, but they seemed to have used up all of their culinary creativity before they could get to the rest of their menu. Customer service was also lukewarm, and doesn’t seem to be high on their list of priorities. Their take-out menu advises their customers that delivery is available, but only with a minimum of ten—yes, ten!—burritos. So unless you’re having a party, plan of schlepping out to the restaurant yourself.

The Burrito House rates a Not World Class for its barest-minimum approach to Mexican cuisine. ~ robis

It's midnight and you're craving for some junk food. You head to the local Pizza Pizza (this one on Wellesley and Chuch) and the asian cashier cannot understand you, in fact, not really interested in talking with you. The customer in front of us orders 3 pizzas and the cashier only takes one of the three orders and moves on to us. We had to force her to continue with the order. Weird.

This is unacceptable attitude. It does not matter where they are (we were told, well its Pizza Pizza so they ignore the type of service they get - NOT the behaviour you will get in New York City even at this type of establishment). They need to upgrade their customer service. They need to lessen the oiliness of the food. They need to provide a security guard when the people start hanging around and even sleeping right at the front door! How many homeless people would you need before you start acting upon it? They need a cleaner facility especially at night. There were tables unkempt. This is rated NOT WORLD CLASS and LESSEN SOMETHING immediately. Lessen the inability to perform by training these people with appropriate customer service and ability to actually count change - did the franchise owner know that they are losing money time and again because of incorrect change? Lessen the attitude of not being able to perform at levels worthy of the ideals of this restaurant.

Here is a quick copy of the "about us" page from Pizza Pizza: Throughout our history, our commitment to quality, freshness, service excellence, customer satisfaction, and innovation has been the driving force behind Pizza Pizza. This has been our recipe for success. Do you see this at your local Pizza Pizza or have the franchisee forgotten this mission when they paid for the fees to get them up and running? Or has Pizza Pizza forgotten their own words and more focused on bottom line? Think about it before you bite into that greasy pepperoni pizza 680 calorie slide. (click picture to see actual nutrition guide) ~ allen