Godiva Chocolatier

This place is not to be missed! If you like icecream like me, stop by and enjoy one… Please do not compare to Italy!!! But for US, is it VERY decent! Creamy, tasty and some balance… Just cant compare to a «real» gelato… But does the need!

I had to make a quick shopping stop at the Apple store for my mom and just happened to glance at the Godiva store near by. Usually my spontaneous memory isn’t that good, but for some reason I instantly remembered my great friend had an upcoming birthday and that I would be seeing him later that evening! So needless to say, I stopped in.
After browsing for a bit and giving some serious puppy eyes to the chocolate covered strawberries I settled on some chocolate dipped macarons (the coconut cookie cake kind, not that almond flour French kind) and a bar of birthday cake chocolate!
My 5 stars are solely based on the customer service I received. I asked to get some sort of birthday bag, which then resulted in me getting a blue bow around the birthday bar (had to get the Blue of course ;)), bag, paper, card… seriously the whole nine yards. I had to laugh as this scene reminded me of the Mr. Bean scene in Love Actually when Alan Rickman is trying to get away from the store and Mr. Bean just won’t stop adding more things to the bag lol. Anyways while all of this was going down, I was also offered a bite a their new ice cream and signed up for the rewards program. Since my birthday was the day before my «cashier» opted to «fudge» the system and put my birthday in in July so I didn’t have to wait a year to get my $ 10 rewards card, and then proceeded to give me a free chocolate of my choice (which if I understand right I get every month)…so yes, this was a great visit to the store!
I see a lot more Godiva gifts in my friends’ futures!

Last Saturday, I had the best experience at Godiva thanks to Asif and his lovely manager. In a world where so many sales people are quick to say «we are out of stock», Asif went beyond the call of duty by being solution oriented. I had a craving for some Godiva dipped strawberries while running my errands in the Galleria Mall. As I walked in, I was immediately assisted by Asif. I told him I was looking for strawberries dipped in white chocolate. He could not find any in stock but ask me if I did not mind waiting a bit. He then proceeded to ask his manager if he could dip some fresh strawberries. She gave him the okay and he offered to have them ready within the hour. When I came back an hour later my strawberries were ready and by the time I drove home they had deliciously disappeared! All that to say that I will definitely go back to that Godiva location knowing that the staff will appreciate my business and even accommodate a craving if I have an hour to spare for a special request. I hope someone at their corporate office reads this because they are the example to follow when it comes to customer service with a smile and efficiency.

I love chocolate, no doubt about it.
While Godiva makes really good chocolates, I don’t think that they are any better than others that are much less expensive, like Lindt.
When we walked by yesterday, I was intrigued by the concept of the Trufflelata, a new drink that is replacing their shake and is your choice of truffle flavor blended into a small beverage. It’s a great concept, but not at $ 6 for a pretty small cup. While I was tempted, I just didn’t think it was worth it.

Bad service

I never saw the fascination with Godiva. I’m a chocolate snob. I will take Lindt over Godiva any single day… but I guess that’s not Godiva’s fault. I do like this little email club, means I can walk in once a month and get a free truffle. The kids like the shakes. I like when my mind wanders into daydreaming land when the blender is running and I dream the lady says try one of everything… then maybe I might like Godiva ½ as much as Lindt.

Two kinds of «Sugar Free» chocolate bars here… milk chocolate and chocolate with almonds. Note they are labeled «sugar free» not «no sugar added»!

The chocolate here is great.

I really don’t like chocolate that much, but I LOVE Godiva Chocolatier. There are just so many great varieties and flavors that range from the über-​sweet (yuck) to the dark (gurgle gurgle drool). While each store can carry the same chocolates, I have found that they all tend to carry those treats that best suit the locals. This particular store has an affinity for nuts and nut flavors (go figure) as well as fruits (yeah…)
Every time I enter the Galleria Mall, I know that I will get a dark chocolate-​covered, dried apricot along with a box of 8 chocolates. God, the apricot is quite decadent. The prices are a bit much if you are going to eat the chocolates like you would the chocolate from CVS; but you really shouldn’t do that. One should savor one piece at a time over a long period of time. They are that good.
One of the better parts about Godiva is that they have themed chocolates that they bring in on varying time-​scales. Right now? It is spring and so there are five new chocolates with fruit flavored ganache centers. The orange ganache covered with chocolate is awesome!