Cold Stone Creamery

Poststructural Pub
1

OK. I went there. Never been there before.

I thought it was kind of nice. Upscale, for ice cream. Tasty product, pleasant decor. Etc.

The key word here being “upscale.”

So, here’s my question: If you’ve been to one of these places, were there incredibly perky employees – clearly high school – who would, in the smack dab middle of preparing orders, scream . . . in unison . . . “HI! WELCOME TO COLD STONE!” ?

And did they, also in the smack dab middle of preparing other people’s orders, stop everything to . . . do sports-style cheers? With the words “Cold Stone” inserted everywhere there should be, say, “Toledo High?” At the top of their lungs?

I mean, seriously, they cheered. Had there been one more of them, I’m sure they would have made a human pyramid. They jumped – still holding onto those paddles they use to scoop the ice cream around – and danced behind the counter.

Frankly, I thought it unsafe. What if they slipped on that wet floor? Not to mention unnerving. Who would have thought such a nice place came with . . . clamor.

Even the “perky” bit was pushing it, I thought, but sheesh! the cheers! Gack!

One middle-aged man’s wife snatched up her ice cream and bolted for the tables outside, but . . . I swear . . . he came back to watch another cheer, and the young ladies indulged him with two.

Is this normal? Do they do this at all of these places?

2

Yes. Company policy or some such. It’s quite amusing to watch the effect of said policy on holidaying Englishmen.

3

:laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

I can well imagine, I mean, most of the English I have spoken with are convinced (and rightly so, might I add) that we Yanks are looney enough as it is. :laughing:

4

Fascinating. I had thought of posting on this very subject yesterday.

I think this whole Benihana style of ice cream place is ridiculous to begin with. It takes much longer to prepare a simple waffle cone which means more workers thus more overhead. Their feeble attempts at trendiness provide nothing more than a novelty and higher prices. Within 15 miles of my abode there are two such “cremery” establishments yet not a single regular ice cream shoppe.

5

Sometimes they sing as well, which is rather scary. If they’re going to do that, they should require an audition before hiring!

Redwolf

6

I can see how it might be a funky experience when one is stoned cold, and as a result of an overwhelming munchies fit, stumbles into such a place. What a trip. Spooky even to think about. :laughing:

7

That’s really odd..
I’ve never noticed that kind of behavior at Cold Stone before. Maybe they do it differently here.

8

I was already in culture shock from the vast range of odd choices of flavours and toppings, and they hit me with the cabaret when I was at low ebb. I had to got outside into the quiet cool evening to recover. I quite enjoyed my kipper and gorgonzola/grape jelly and bacon sprinkes ice cream though.

Being English, I’m usually happy with the choice of vanilla or vanilla with a flake bar stuck in it.

9

This is nothing compared to the experience of attending a child’s birthday party at Chuck E Cheese. Fortunately, as my kids are close to grown, I haven’t had to endure it for a good long while, but there’s nothing like the close-to-losing-her-perk girl attempting to lead the Chuck E Cheese birthday cheer:

Girl: We say Happy, you say Birthday!
Girl: Happy!
Dazed parents: birthday
Girl: Happy!
Dazed parents: birthday

10

Hmmm… I’ve never seen any antics like that here either, Tyler. We’re so much more sedate about our ice cream here in SLC.

Susan

11

WELCOME TO CICI’S!!!

M :party:

12

emmline- sure you were’t out here at our Chucky Cheese :laughing:

As to the Cold Stone cheer thing, it appears they’ll do that if put a tip in the jar. As to the other observation about singing talents, maybe we need Simon to show up for an ice cream.

13

And what is with those “Japanese” places flipping spatulas and moving your food around that grill in some restaurants? I don’t care if my onion can be made into a volcano, or if you can juggle my egg on a spatula, serve my food!

14

This behavior has become an annoying trend around here. The first
time I encountered it was when a new assembly-line oversize-burrito
restaurant called “Moe’s” opened up. Since I’ve now been to several
area Moe’s, I can tell you that it is definitely company policy for every
employee to yell “Welcome to Moe’s!” whenever anyone comes in.
The first time I entered a Moe’s, this was amusing. After a few repeat
visits, the shine was off that apple. A year later, you could tell the
employees loathed this policy. There was no enthusiasm in their
welcome anymore… they sounded as if they would have preferred
that you had never come in. I think that’s the problem that this sort of
behavior will always eventually have. I started yelling out “Welcome
to Moe’s” while standing in line to see if they would echo it, even if
no one had entered. They would. Thanks, Pavlov.

Now other restaurant owners have been trying out this scheme. I
want to wring their collective necks. I almost walked out of my
favorite sandwich shop, when I heard an unenthusiastic chorus of
“Welcome to Firehouse”

15

What do you consider a “regular” ice cream shop?

There was a famous Raleigh, NC landmark called Doug’s that was doing
the “mix homemade ice cream with a topping on a cold, marble slab”
thing for decades. Many NCSU alumni consider that a normal, full-service
ice cream shop, and think of Dairy Queen or Baskin Robins to be the
“fast food” of ice cream.

16

That is probably the funniest thing I’ve read on C+F, um, ever.

FWIW, the Coldstone places around here only sing/cheer when you tip them, which is a problem easily solved. I even put a tip in their jar once on the one condition that they don’t sing. They laughed and said okay, but I got a sneaking suspicion that as soon as I left they burst into “I’ve been working on the Coldstone / all the live-long day,” or some such nonsense.

17

Yup, we Utahns take our desserts VERY SERIOUSLY!
Where d’ya think green jello with vegetables in was invented!? :stuck_out_tongue: :smiley:
Oddly enough, folks here are so damn perky about everything else tho! :stuck_out_tongue: :wink:

18

Aargh!

That was another aspect of US culture I coudn’t quite get used to on my trips over. I’m glad it’s not universal, and hope it never gets to be.

I’d wander into a shop and start to browse, and then some complete stranger would call over “How’s it going?” or somesuch.

I’d look around furtively (I’m English), as if I’d been caught shoplifting. I’d spot someone over on the other side of the store behind a counter beaming at me vacantly, like they’d just stopped banging their head against the desk. I’d mutter “OK, thanks (you divot)” and look around to see if it was just me, or if everyone found this unnerving.

Apparently it was just me.

In some UK shops you get this, and I tend to walk right out again. It’s too much “in my face”.

19

I dunno, I hate being bothered by shop attendants while I’m shopping.
It’s just plain annoying and borderline impolite in some instances…like when I go to a bookstore, for example, and every person employed by the store feels the need to personally accost me…grrrr.

20

Though an American, and a Southerner, I’m usually feeling antisocial
enough for this to annoy me, too. I like to shop in solitude, thanks.

I thought it funny when reading a tourbook about France which
warned Americans about French shopkeepers’ attitudes. The book
claims that you should act as if you feel priviledged that they are
letting you shop in their store. As the customer, you should say
“Bonjour” when entering, and “Au revoir” as you leave, and not
expect service unless you specifically and politely request it. I think
I’d actually be more comfortable with this model…
(Except for the part about no returns.)