After having read this post, I became really curious about visiting Neuhaus' factory shop. It is located in Anderlecht, very close to the metro station Erasme (10 minutes maximum walking distance), so you can easily reach it with public transportation. Inside you'll find all types of Neuhaus' chocolates, being sold for a reduced price. In their regular gift boxes, you don't see that much of a difference in the prices, only in case their expiry date is close (we saw a box of 500g of truffles being sold for 10€, because it would expire in 15 days).
What is really worthy is the called "lucky corner", where you'll find 1kg boxes filled with all types of chocolates (each box only has one kind of chocolate, though, but you have a lot of variety to choose from). Each box currently costs 25€, but if you buy 3 of them you pay only 50€. These are cardboard boxes filled with chocolate (well accommodated with layers and plastic shelves) and you can taste each of them before buying (in fact, everything sold in the shop can be tasted for free, as there are plates with samples in front of each product, so even if you end up deciding not to buy anything, you can still have pieces of some finest Belgian chocolate for free).
I went with a friend and we bought together one of those 1kg boxes. We then split its content half-half (so I got 500g), which I then divided into 5 plastic bags, that I bought in HEMA (10 of these bags are sold for approximately 1,50€, they come with a piece for closing and they have them in several designs).
So, in the end, I had these 5 little bags to offer as a souvenir to my friends and family, not in one of Neuhaus' classic packages, but with one made on my own and for a much lower price than if I had bought them in a regular shop or at the airport. If you want to offer even a larger portion, it may be worthy to go with a friend with the same idea and buy the 3 boxes for 50€, because then the discount would be even greater. Nevertheless, pay also attention to the expiry date of these boxes, as some have a long period, but others were also finishing in just one month.
Neuhaus Outlet
Postweg 2, 1602 Vlezenbeek, Belgium
Tel: 02-568-23-10
Hours: Mon. – Fri. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. | Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
The outlet is open during the lunch hour.
All major credit cards accepted
Dear Sir, Madame,
ReplyDeleteI am writing to express my strong dissatisfaction with terrible behaviour and ruddiness of your 2 staffs (especially with the shortest one in the attached picture), who are working today in the Outlet shop of Neuhaus Vlezenbeek, Postweg 2, 1602 Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, Belgium.
I visited this shop today with my colleagues from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of my country (from Asia) and from our Embassy. We bought 9 boxes of pralines and 1 bag of chocolate, so in total 10 pieces.
As usual, your shop set at a table with 1 kg boxes of pralines, offering to sample of chocolates until the customers decides what to buy. I am like other customers circled around the table and sampled the pralines. I did not know that, I should throw the rest of mine bitten chocolates in the rubbish bin of your store!... I put rest the 4 bitten pralines in my handkerchief and then put it in my pocket at the counter, in order to receive our purchases.
Your staff at the counter requested me to bottom up my pockets, when he received the payment from us!... I was very shamed from colleagues and from other people, who are standing in the clue that time…
I explained to your staff at the counter that, it is just bitten chocolates, I did know that, I should left it in the shop!... But he said that, “my colleague said to me that you are putting the pralines in the handkerchief..?!”…
I took the handkerchief with four bitten pralines from my pocket and handed over it to your staff. Then I put these bitten staffs to the rubbish bin at the counter…
…I am very deeply offended by the behaviour of your staff in your store today!... It very pity that negative employee attitudes and unprofessional behaviour of your staff (especially shortest one) poison the image of famous Neuhaus brand and wonderful store atmosphere….
…Now I am afraid to visit this shop again…Maybe somebody of this store will again put me in awkward situation…
I will never visit your store again! And maybe I will never buy Neuhaus chocolate.
The photo of your staffs is attached.
Sincerely yours,
D.J
Diplomat
Embassy of …. in Brussels
Belgium
2017-02-01