Tutti Frutti

My experience here turned out to be one of the worst customer service experiences I’ve ever had. Long story short -
1) It’s poor image for the brand and the establishment when the owner is rude towards their customers.
2) As the owner, don’t assume all your customers are trying to take advantage of you. The immediate accusatory tone damages your professional image.
3) If you have been taken advantage of it in the past and want a rule to prevent it… no problem! Put up a sign and communicate that policy with your customer.
If anyone wants to know about my experience buying a cup of froyo — keep reading…
Note: Tutti Frutti is a franchise and every store is owned and managed independently. I’m only reviewing this specific establishment.
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I entered the store with my friend to hang out and catch up on a weekend. I’ve never had any of the flavored froyo so I asked the guy working behind the counter for a sample. He says «Sure, What would you like to try?» I said «Salted Caramel, Mango, and Taro.» He grabs the tiny cups and proceeds to help. He provided me samples in the order of the machines and gave me Salted Caramel first and then Mango — both were probably good for someone else, but not me. I ask to try the Taro, and the employee tells me «Sorry, we have a store policy where you can only try two flavors.»
I was confused and annoyed. 1) I don’t understand why this wasn’t communicated when I asked to try three flavors. 2) It would be nice if there was a sign that told me about this policy — I might have prioritized differently. I also added that other Tutti Fruttis did not seem to have this policy. The employee said that each store has its own management.
I really wanted to try the Taro since the friend I was with gave a positive endorsement. I asked if they were flexible and whether I can just try it and if it’s good, I’ll buy a cup. The employee was adamant about the two flavor sampling and said he didn’t want to get into trouble. OK — I asked to speak to the manager to see if I can just try this third flavor so I could get a flavor I actually liked. The employee indicated that the manager was at another location — Columbia Mall. I called Columbia Mall and explained my situation and employee who answered the phone said they’re typically flexible about these kind of things and they’d talk to the manager and call back. The manager calls back to the store I was at and told the employee not to give me a third sample. Being frustrated, I asked to directly speak with the manager. The employee (after putting up a fuss) finally gets me on the phone with the manager.
I asked if I was speaking to the manager. He responded that he’s the owner. I expressed my situation and my desire to try another flavor and the owner was adamant that his decision still stands (at 2 flavors). I told him that this was not communicated to me when I originally asked to try the three flavors but the owner did not budge, asking «How do I know whether you will buy or not?» Keep in mind, a sample size is probably about 1 teaspoon of froyo and I was only asking for 1 more flavor to sample. I indicated that my friend is sitting here eating froyo, I wanted to hang out with her and that’s why I’m here as a customer. I’m not there to score a free sample of his ice cream and run away. It’s not like I’m asking to try all the flavors either. (I was thinking: Why would I go through this much trouble if i was going to try 1 flavor and run?)
Then the owner tried to tell me that all Tutti Frutti stores have this policy. It’s a pet peeve of mine when a merchant tries to «pull one over» their customers. I told the owner that I’ve been to other Tutti Frutti establishments where they have provided more than two samplings. He then responded with «Then why don’t you just go there?» Wow. All I wanted was to hang out with my friend. I didn’t realize that was too much to ask. The dialogue continues. Owner: «He [referring to the employee] already gave you two samples. No more.» I told him that I’m not buying a flavor that I dislike. My patience was wearing thin. I told him that the lengths I have to go through to get a cup of froyo at his store is ridiculous. Finally he asked me «How many more samples?» I responded that I only wanted one more sample (like I stated from the start of this whole conversation). He finally talked to his employee and I got my sample.
At the end of the day, Taro was indeed a good flavor — I bought a cup. I was disappointed at how much effort it took for me to get this cup though. Before I left the store, I strongly suggested to the employee that someone should put up a sign about their policy.

This was my first visit to a yogurt parlor so I was a bit guarded as to the taste. I am not a fan of self serve however it was painless. Salted Caramel, mango with strawberries and pineapple topping then I was a kid again very nice!

My kids love this place. Seems to be pretty healthy and has a wide variety of toppings. We always keep the spoons for lunch box yogurt. Cute and good quality.

Great service and chill atmosphere. Try the Pina Colada flavor, it tastes delicious!

Clean and modern, cool location. Friendly service and great flavors tonight.
Lots of toppings, no bananas. Ugh! I wanted bananas.
I’m going to stop whining now only because the flavors were amazing.

Love the froyo. good variety of flavors, good consistency of the froyo, plenty of toppings n sauces to suit your diabetic taste buds.
Seating available inside n outside.
You can also go shopping in walking distance to several shops if u like.

Wonderful, fresh and great service.

Craved froyo even though the weather is getting progressively colder. good thing (or maybe it’s actually a bad thing -.-) that this place is so close and conveniently located in Columbia Crossing’s shopping center, which is filled with other food joints like Ichiban, BGR, and Mission BBQ.
Interior décor typical of most froyo places — bright colors, quirky plastic chairs, cute tables. There’s enough seating for couples and small groups. They’ve got the usual flavors — a mix of tarty/​fruit flavors such as mango and sweet flavors such as ‘Death by Chocolate,’ taro, etc. A wide assortment of toppings like mango and strawberry popper bubbles, pieces of fresh fruit, gummies, mochi, and cookie dough bites. Cashier was friendly and attentive even though we stopped in about 20 minutes prior to closing.
I always get the fruity/​tart flavors and the consistency was thick, creamy — what you would expect from good froyo. Yummy!

There are a lot of froyo places around, but Tutti Frutti is the best one in my opinion in the area. The yogurt is noticeably less watery/​icy than some of the other froyo places. I enjoy my visits here, though i wish they more regularly clean the tables.

I normally don’t get fruit on my yogurt but I couldn’t resist today and I’m so glad I did! Not only did this place have my favorite flavor (Nutella), but they has a great selection of FRESH toppings. Normally I opt out of fruit bc it looks canned and syrupy, but these strawberries were on point today. Also, their toppings weren’t stale!

Love this place! Only frozen yogurt place around the area that has Taro flavor… yum! They have all the usual frozen yogurt toppings. I usually just get Taro frozen yogurt with spoonful of mochi. I think they had pumpkin flavor yogurt too around the fall season… I might be wrong on this one. Either way, cute clean place to get your frozen yogurt fix!

Great frozen yogurt! They even have soy! Wish they had green tea, but toppings make up for it!
Friendly service and plenty of tables to sit at.

The staff is so rude, I’m sorry but it makes me mad every time. They act like they don’t want to help you. It’s a freakin frozen yogurt place, lighten up! The asian girls who work there have been rude every time i go. Bad service turns me off immensely. The frozen yogurt is decent. Their toppings suck compared to yogi castle. Cut up little Debbie cakes and brownies??? They need the real thing. Never going back again.

How can you go wrong with fro-​yo? I am pretty boring here and just get the chocolate, cookies n cream & cake batter. but I loveeeee toppings. So glad they just opened another location at the mall. Plenty of toppings & flavors and a nice clean store.

Staff was very nice, there was an ok selection. This place had flavors were actually ‘deep’ and the frozen yogurt was smooth and had a very creamy mouthfeel. I was impressed with this find.
As an added plus: they have their own branded spoons that were pretty swanky!

I prefer this place over the yogurt place closer to where I live. Couple more flavors to choose from & I would pick pretty much the same items (mix & match) as the other place & it was about half the price!
Cant wait for the mall location to open.
It was busy, (saturday evening) but they quickly cleaned up the tables once customers would leave

I’ve been here maybe 5 times and each time is a different experience. Sometimes it seems half the flavors are out or not dispensing. Sometimes all the flavor combinations you want are available. Sometimes the employees are friendly and doing a good job keeping toppings stocked. Sometimes the employees look like kids who’ve never worked a job in their life and don’t know how to interact with other humans. Seating is very limited which has been the case every time I’ve come. It’s easier when it’s just the wife and I because you can always find a seat or two. Come with a group and you’re left having to sit outside competing for seats that BGR customers are trying to use, too.
The froyo itself is good and I’ve always enjoyed it.

They now offer soy milk based frozen yogurt and non-​dairy based frozen yogurt, which is nice option for those that cannot partake in dairy items.
In addition they have those mango and strawberry poppers for toppings.

I heart Tutti Frutti!
These places just make me so happy — all the bright colors and funky décor pieces, combined with a seemingly endless row of yogurt flavors followed by a endless row of toppings. How could you possibly go wrong?
I must say that the couple times I’ve been here it hasn’t been as well kept as other franchises, which leads me to deduct one star. On one particular instance, there were leaves scattered all inside the store and there was no rush for them to be swept outside or off to the side. While the leaves don’t necessarily impact the yummy-​ness of their fro-​yo, one could argue that it detracts from the experience. Just my humble opinion.

Self-​serve frozen yogurt with a rotating variety of flavors alongside the staple plain yogurt. I really like the natural tart plain yogurt one. There are dozens of fruits, nuts and chocolate toppings to please everyone.
Every chance I can get out of work in the late afternoon, this is my goto snack spot for some peace and quiet away from the cacophony of the office and a cup of delicious froyo with lychee and mango on top.