Milwaukee, WICold Stone Creamery Disappoints Yet Again!
So my wife was in the mood for ice cream and for what ever reason, decided that Cold Stone Creamery was going to be the destination to satisfy the craving. We have been to Cold Stone Creamery many times before so we knew pretty much what to expect. We opted for a location in Oak Creek, Wisconsin on Howell Avenue near the post office. We have never been to this particular location before and thought we would give it a shot. It has been quite common for us to be disappointed in the service and value at Cold Stone Creamery but the ice cream flavors and taste are definitely near the top in this indulgent food sector. Besides we had a coupon! We thought it was a buy one get one however, it turns out it’s buy two get one. This threw us for a loop. Who goes on a date in a party of three? Well, not to despair, we had a coupon for a free Love It sized ice cream. So we took our time and made our orders. Nothing special to note here. It was now time to pay. We presented our coupon and were told that since we had chosen a Love It Signature Creation and we were only entitled to a Love It that we were going to have to pay a dollar for that item. So our receipt shows two Love It Signature Creations and a discount of a LVCYO (I’m guessing that’s a Love It Create Your Own, but I’m not sure) The total was $6.22 w/tax. My wife was handed her ice cream and it was about 2/3 as much as mine. Mine was over-flowing the top of the bowl and hers was about 3/4 to the top. I inquired as to why there was such a difference in the two portions and the girl told me that she had “over-scooped” mine and that’s why mine had more. I was like, OK. So we went out to the table and chairs in front of the store and sat down to eat our creations. The tables were dirty and looked like they hadn’t been wiped down all day. A couple of boys came out and sat at the table next to us and right away I noticed that their ice creams looked to be just like mine, over flowing with product. I asked them what size they got and they said they got “Love It” sized. Hmmm….guess they were the beneficiaries of over-scooping too! What a joke. I then noticed an employee wiping down the tables in the store but was too bashful to wipe down any tables that had people sitting at them. We finished our ice cream and while it tasted good the experience was all but disappointing. I feel that when you are paying for a premium product or service that you should see the value in what you are getting. Clearly tonight the value was lacking. If we didn’t have the coupon it would have cost $10.00 for less than a pint of ice cream! We could go to the local custard shop and get full blown sundaes for that much. We could have gotten 1/2 gallon of custard for that much or even 3 pints of Ben and Jerry’s for that much! Sorry guys you failed us yet again! We used to come and buy fresh packed pints or quarts but they never seemed to be able to put in enough of any mix-ins requested to make it worth-wile. They also have pre-packed product and it has to be the most revolting stuff on the planet. I think the stuff in the gallon bucket at the grocery store tastes better! Will Cold Stone Creamery ever be able to provide value, service, and great tasting product? They have the last one down I have doubts that they can figure out the other two. Well, McDonalds has 49 cent ice cream cones right now. Sounds pretty good right? Cold Stone Creamery, are you listening? (see comments for their response and my response to their response)
2 Responses to “Cold Stone Creamery Disappoints Yet Again!”
(copied and pasted without editing)
this is in response to your complaint issued 6/5/09,
I apologize for the fact that you do not think you recieved what you paid for,however I will try to explain your issues. first each location is individually owned and as far as the coupins they are issued in publications by corporate, so we do not always have a voice on what coupons they offer. the buy two get one free is one of our best coupons, although everyone cannot use it if they do not choose to buy three ice creams. as far as the coupon you used it was rung up properly on the register. it was for a create, and our signature ice creams are higher priced ( more mix-ins ). the coupon simply gave you a value for the create your own and applied to a signature. as far as the cleanliness of the unit, we have recieved many compliments on the store,we have very busy times and it is not always possible to wipe down each table when someone leaves, as stated a crew member was wiping down tables when possible. as far as the difference in sizes, that unfortunatly happens because we have a system that uses two spades and is not always exact, however per your explination they were both at least what should have been in each container. we offer a super premium product at a reasonable price. we take all complaints seriously and will try to do all we can to make every experience a great one!
please bring in this email for TWO FREE LOVE IT SIGNATURE CREATIONS , and hopefully we can make you experience a great one !!!!!
SINCERELY,
Keith Geminhardt/ owner
Keith-
Thanks for your response. I understand your answers and my purpose was not to attack you or your company. My only purpose was to share with you my experience as I saw it. Clearly I was a bit frustrated and disappointed and thus my email. I am not sure if there were any adults working at the store that night but it just seems that putting a business into the hands of teens presents challenges. Clearly you take my complaint seriously there is no question about that. Yes, you do offer a super premium product no debate there. The things that make the difference between a disappointing experience and a great experience amount to small things. For instance, the boy wiping down the tables could be trained to approach customers and ask if they want their table wiped down. I know for a teen that interacting with clients sitting at tables might be intimidating but with training this can be easily overcome. I would have welcomed an offer to wipe down my table as I am sure most other customers would have as well. I understand that you can’t possibly wipe down every table after every customer. However, I would think that if you are wiping down tables you may want to make an attempt to wipe them all down. As far as the volume of product goes, I would think that when called on this the easy thing for a crew member to say would have been “oh, let me add a little more to make up for it” rather than “I just over scooped on yours” I don’t expect perfection but when you see everyone else getting more product than you, it makes one feel shorted. Teaching crew members how to provide good service and take care of problems (within reason) that come up will have bigger pay offs. I am sure getting my email was not something you enjoyed getting, nor is offering customers free product to make up for it a profitable business model. I think that with a little coaching and crew members that are more aware and involved this store can provide the service and experience people expect.
Troy
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