Freshii at UIC

I’ve eaten here before and liked it but today I tried their smoothies for the first time. When I first arrived the guy working the smoothie counter was very friendly. I ordered a California Cooler. As I was standing there he added all the ingredients to the blender and then I watched him place a rotten banana in there. I pointed it out and asked for a different one. He took it out, went to the back, and then came back with a new banana that he quickly put in the blender so I couldn’t see it. Then he needed a lid and there were no clean one so he grabbed a dirty one out of the sink, quickly rinsed it and used that to blend my smoothie! So gross because the smoothie stuff goes up against lid during the blending process. To top it all off once the smoothie was done he comes back with gloves covered in avocado or something green and proceeds to grab my cup, poor my smoothie, and try to put the lid on it with filthy gloves! When I asked for a clean cup and a clean lid and for him to switch his gloves he did but was clearly annoyed.
For $ 6.05 for a 20oz smoothie I am shocked! Back to my Naked Smoothies from the bookstore. Terrible Freshii!

There is a certain procedure to order your food here. There is a stack of clipboards and pencils provided. If you are ordering a food item listed on their menu, you simply write down the listed food item on the blank box on the form. If there are additional prices or items you want, the prices are listed beside each item you check off so you can have a custom order.
I had the Spicy Lemongrass Soup. The food here is exactly how you expect healthy food to taste, at least the soup I chose… tasteless. Your taste buds won’t be pleasantly surprised here. There was no spice or flavor at all in the soup I ordered. It tasted just like water with veggies shredded into it. I imagine it is exactly how hospital food tastes for heart patients on a restricted low sodium, low sugar diet. So this is a perfect place for people with health problems.
I guess it is good that this place exists for people that need healthy eating options. In that case, those people can give this place a 5 star rating.
They have a refrigerated section with pre-​made salads and desserts. I saw some chocolate pudding that seemed appetizing, but after the soup experience I am paranoid about trying anything else at this place.

The food is good, but when school is in session you have to wait 15 minutes of your 30 minute lunch to get it. They also need to have both cashiers open and running by the time lunch comes around or customers have to wait in one long line. This is the only really close place to eat if you work at UIC or JBVA. Maybe place more cashiers and service people so the wait isn’t as long. Otherwise, food is similar to other Freshii locations.