Fro-yo girl here. Remember how during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, frozen yogurt shops couldn’t provide self-service or allow indoor dining? By 2021, partial-serve was being offered by some froyo shops. You could wear gloves and get your own froyo, but an employee would add the toppings. The toppings were kept on the other side of a clear plexiglass barrier.
I haven’t seen a froyo shop require or even recommend wearing a mask this year and the vast majority went back to self-serve in 2022. Yet, a few frozen yogurt shops still offer partial self-serve, including Yogurtland in Eagle Rock, Burbank, and East Hollywood. I can’t really understand it at this point. Partial-serve is more annoying than full-service or self-serve.
I don’t think any Menchie’s I’ve been to is still practicing partial-serve. However, the one “self-serve” Pinkberry shop in Burbank does practice partial-serve.
The problem with partial-serve is that it takes a long time to ask for each topping and if you don’t specify exactly how much you want, the employee tends to give you way too much. So, explaining how much you want and where you want it slows down the process further if you’re very particular about your froyo. Typically, one employee is assigned to put the toppings on and that’s much slower than allowing customers to get their own toppings. And the employee doesn't care what your cup of froyo looks like and doesn't place the toppings carefully. However, at counter-serve shops, the employee usually puts the toppings on carefully.
If you want to layer your froyo and toppings, you'll have to wait in line twice.
I’ve been avoiding Yogurtland locations that still practice partial-serve. Am I the only one who feels that partial-serve is the worst?
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.
I’ve been avoiding Yogurtland locations that still practice partial-serve. Am I the only one who feels that partial-serve is the worst?
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.
You are definitely not the only one who feels that they are the worst! Maybe it's okay for the average dessert seeker who is just looking for a quick snack to satisfy their sweet tooth, but some of us carefully plan the way we want our creations to turn out, starting with the order in which we place different flavor combinations, etc. and the specific toppings for each of those flavors. Some toppings aren't as universal as others and don't complement flavors as well; for example, I may not want Reese's Peanut Butter Cups carelessly thrown on top of my Cinnamon Roll froyo, and I don't want Cinnabon icing drizzled on top of my Peanut Butter Cup froyo. Or perhaps I only want a small dollop of whipped cream on one of the flavors and not over the entire cup, etc.
ReplyDeleteAnd heaven forbid if I want to take a picture of the end result because there's a good chance that it's not going to turn out the way I had hoped once an employee has their way with it. Toppings will be hastily flung with no care or concern for where they land, and whipped cream will probably look like a runny mess. No thank you! At that rate, I think I'd be better off if they just put all the toppings in a small cup/container and then I can distribute them appropriately once I get to my table. A huge thumbs down to partial-serve!