Cold Stone Creamery

[Congratulations]

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.

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.

[Tyler]

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

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

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

[Martin Milner]

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"

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".

[Tyler]

....and look around to see if it was just me, or if everyone found this unnerving.

Apparently it was just me.

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.

[fearfaoin]

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

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.)

[emmline]

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.)

Ditto. My daughter just dittoed as well.
I think there is though, in current anti-shoplifting storekeeper theory, the belief that if you greet people as they come and go, and be a little "in your face," that it lessens the opportunity for sneaky pocketing behavior.
I still don't like it. (And, like MarMil, it makes me feel like I'm being suspected of sneaky pocketing behavior.)

[Flyingcursor]

Within 15 miles of my abode there are two such "cremery" establishments yet not a single regular ice cream shoppe.

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.

Good point. I'm not referring to the fast food kind. I mean where you go up and order a waffle cone and your ice cream flavor and they put it in the cone or a sundae etc. and you're done. Without the mixing or frozen custard or frozen yogurt. I wasn't aware the mixing concept was that old but unfortunately it's becoming a fad which makes it trendy.

[Redwolf]

Ben & Jerry's were the first to take the "mix-in" concept to the national chain store level, though they eventually stopped doing it because it was too labor-intensive. Their original concept, way back when they got started in the business, was based on plain vanilla or chocolate ice cream with "mix ins."

What amazes me is how many ice cream places can flourish within a block of one another here. Downtown Santa Cruz is about seven blocks long, if that (with most of the businesses concentrated in a four-block area), and within that small area there are three ice cream parlors (Coldstone, Gelatomania, and local favorite Marini's), as well as a cookie store (Pacific Cookie Company) that also sells ice cream. And they're ALL always busy! And just about a mile away is Santa Cruz landmark Mariannes (locally made ice cream since 194-something), which is also always busy. It's mind-boggling.

The taquerias are even more astounding, however. I swear there's a either a taqueria or a sit-down Mexican restaurant on every street corner downtown, and every single one is packed during the lunch and dinner hours. We Santa Cruzans must be frantically gobbling up ice cream and tacos in record numbers!

Redwolf

[herbivore12]

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.

. . .

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

I'm an American, and even I find the behavior you've described annoying. Not so much if it's a small shop and/or I've been there often enough that I have some rapport with the shopkeep/employees; it's the total strangers doing this that I dislike. I, too, feel like they're just letting me know they're watching in case I'm thinking of stealing something, which is irksome.

There's this new thing I'm encountering in almost every store, too: an employee walks up to you and asks, "Are you finding everything?"

"Everything"?! Well, no. But did it never occur to you that if I needed to find a particular thing and couldn't, that I'd ask for your help?

(Also, I've never even seen or heard of, much less been to, a Cold Stone ice cream shop, and now I don't think I need to. Cheering, indeed. I was twice dragged to a Renaissance "Faire" by a former flame, and was driven up a tree by all the shouts of "Huzzah the big tipper" and the like every time someone tipped a food-server or beer wench or whatever they call them. It's enough to keep you from tipping, sure.)

[bradhurley]

Ben & Jerry's were the first to take the "mix-in" concept to the national chain store level, though they eventually stopped doing it because it was too labor-intensive.

And they got the idea because it had become a New England tradition due to the success of Steve's Ice Cream. Steve Herrell opened up an ice cream shop in Harvard Square in the 1980s and his mix-ins became all the rage. There were lines out the door all day and night. He had a competitor called Joey's in nearby Somerville where you could make your own sundaes...that was a favorite place for my office to go for a mid-afternoon gorge-fest. If memory serves, Joey eventually bought out Steve's and as a condition of the sale Steve Herrell had to stay out of the ice cream business for a few years and couldn't use the name "Steve's" anymore. Eventually he opened up a new chain called Herrell's that also featured premium ice cream and mix-ins. Eventually the premium ice cream craze was replaced by the premium coffee craze (there was a premium cookie phase as well, with David's Cookies and a few other high-end cookie makers).

[burnsbyrne]

My niece got a job there when a new store was opening. After the opening, when she realized how stupid the job was she quit. The store has since gone out of business. Good ice cream, though.
Mike

[Flyingcursor]

WELCOME TO CICI'S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

M

It took me half a day for that to finally register. According to what I've seen on this thread this is becoming an alarming habit.

...because it was too labor-intensive

Exactly. Hopefully this too shall pass.

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.

There's a Guitar Center here where they hover near the door and study you as you enter. Every employee stares at the customers as if we are all some organized robbery ring.

Last week this guy behind one of their counters said, "What's up boss?" I just shook my head and left. I'll order my harmonicas online in the future.

[The Weekenders]

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?

Ha, I can't even imagine anybody trying that in this combination sophisticated and/or disgruntled employee environment. No way corporate America would demand this of People in the Comm-un-i-ty.

We also DON'T have a Hooters, naked chick steakhouses, or even restaurants where the employees have "flair" here in the gritty SF Bay Area.

About the only thing similar to this that I can think of is at Chevy's, when the staff comes over and sings their fake non-royalty-inducing Happy Birthday cheer to the occasional patron.

Editing in: adding all the sprinkles seemed to have started at yogurt shops, even though places that did banana splits and such were once quite common. They really died out around here, except for at Fenton's and Dreyer's, then the yogurt places brought back the idea. I can't believe all the stuff at Cold Stone. Too many choices, takes too long to order and at our store, the line goes outside, where it's often foggy and windy in the summer. Kinda pricey too. I am the worst grouch about buying ice cream like that. Why get a fancy cone when, for the same money, you can get a half-gallon at the supermarket and take it home and hurt yourself, I say.

[fearfaoin]

Editing in: adding all the sprinkles seemed to have started at yogurt shops, even though places that did banana splits and such were once quite common. They really died out around here...

Good point. I haven't seen a TCBY (except in airports) for many a year.

There's a Guitar Center here where they hover near the door and study you as you enter.

Ah, now here is an unusual point of diversion from my norm. I went
into a newly opened Guitar Center, where I was one of maybe 3
customers at the time. All the employees hid up front and completely
ignored me. I played several guitars in blissful silence (once I found a
room that sufficiently muted the heavy metal playing up front). I
thought this was a good place to buy a guitar (though I didn't at the
time). A couple weeks later, I dropped into a smaller music store
much closer to my home just to see what they had, and a salesman
started talking to me. I thought at first I may have to ditch him or
leave, but it turned out he was quite knowledgeable, and talked to
me as if we were just two accoustic guitar enthusiasts hanging out.
He took a few accoustic-electrics off the wall and plugged them in,
and it turned out he was a pretty good player as well. We talked
about how Martin manufactured their sub-$1000 line (one of which
I was considering), and explored some of the equally-priced
alternatives. I ended up coming back and buying a very nice
Seagull, and felt good about the experience. I was pretty surprised.
I may have to divide my purchase decisions into two classes, one
class being "I can handle this myself", and the other being "I should
find a good, non-pressure salesperson to help me."

[The Weekenders]

Tons of employees at the El Cerrito GC and they ignore ya when you come in, beyond the official door greeter, receipt checker person. Just weird, considering they are presumably on commission.