J.Co Donuts and Coffee

The very first time I tried J.Co was nearly three years ago, on a trip to Singapore with Hubby.  I've heard lots of raves online, and was only too happy when I saw a J.Co shop on one of the shopping malls there. My favorite doughnut will always be Krispy Kreme's original glaze, but the possibility that there's a better doughnut out there made me ecstatic.  Well, we tried it alright.  And the verdict?  It was a far, far cry from Krispy Kreme.  Truth be told, our local doughnuts were even better than what we had in J.Co.  

Fast forward to two years ago, J.Co finally reached our shores. Everyone went into a frenzy; lines were formed till outsides the stores, and people raided their stocks like there was no tomorrow.  This got me wondering, is it really THAT good?  Maybe we just got unlucky in Singapore and tasted a bad batch?  So off I went again.  Stood in line for half an hour just to get my hands on what was left on the display.  I even tried it in store just to be sure that I got it fresh.  And then, again... disappointment.  It had none of the chewiness I liked from Krispy Kreme.  And the worst part?  I took some home to eat the next day, and the next morning, it was hard as a rock and dry as the desert.  That was the end of J.Co doughnuts for me.

Late last year, J.Co opened a new branch in Greenhills.  This was near our place, so sometimes we'd just hang out there, because even though I don't like their doughnuts, I actually liked their coffee.  But then, the service sucked.  Big time.  I wrote them a message in their Facebook page, and this was what I said:

Surprise, surprise, they did not even bother replying.  Guess the apple does not fall far from the tree.  This only goes to show that their management simply do not care.  At all.  And even after all that, I remained loyal.  To their coffee, that is.  But the service is still bad.  Sometimes I'd order a cup of iced coffee and request for it to be less ice, only to be served with a half a cup full of ice. Happened a couple of times too.  Sheesh. 

And fast forward to today, I asked my brother to buy me an Iced Jcoccino.  When he came back, my senses were jolted with just one sip.  It was like drinking coffee flavored sugar!  I had to put in half a liter of water just to make the sugar level acceptable.  So now it seems that even the old favorite is no longer reliable.  I've given up on them.  Now I ask, what powerful spell does J.Co have over their customers?  A spell that makes them loyal to a ho-hum doughnut joint with bad service?  I just want to know what I'm missing here because two years after, lines are still long.  And frankly, I don't see the hype.