Reader: Make a decision and get out of the way so I can get my ice cream

Cafe critic Gretchen Kurtz stopped by Nuggs Ice Cream with her family one recent Friday night for a cool treat, and what she found there has led to a hot discussion on Cafe Society. Unlike other ice cream spots she's frequented around town that happily hand out samples, the Nuggs...

By Patricia Calhoun

July 10, 2014

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Cafe critic Gretchen Kurtz stopped by Nuggs Ice Cream with her family one recent Friday night for a cool treat, and what she found there has led to a hot discussion on Cafe Society. Unlike other ice cream spots she's frequented around town that happily hand out samples, the Nuggs employee stopped at two -- despite the fact that the place was otherwise empty and the crew wasn't holding up the line. "What are you trying to do, fill up on tastes so you don't have to buy a cone?" he barked. The family left with $20 worth of ice cream and a bad taste -- although an assistant manager later told Kurtz that the employee was not following store policy.

You scream, I scream, plenty of people are screaming over this story... See also: What's the scoop on the skimpy sampling at Nuggs?

Says Michael:

Obviously Gretchen is one of those people that won't just get the fuck out of the way and make a decision so I can order my ice cream.

Says Christine:

A business is only as good as the people who represent it. There are too many choices out there to go somewhere that doesn't have the proper customer service acumen. Why didn't the owner instill the importance of customer service in that employee?

Says lorenzo463:

That was a lame thing for an employee to say, and that's coming from a guy who never asks for samples, especially on a Friday night when there is a line out the door, because frankly there are worse things in the world than eating homemade ice cream containing coconut that wasn't quite as toasty as I'd hoped it would be.

What do you consider the right policy regarding free samples? For dealing with employees who don't follow store policy? And when our Cafe critic encounters what she considers bad service, should we report it?

Follow @CafeWestword

Patricia Calhoun is editor-in-chief of Westword, the alt-weekly she co-founded in September 1977. She’s been inducted into the Colorado Press Association Hall of Fame, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Hall of Fame and the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. She’s also received dozens of local, state and national awards for writing, including first place for feature writing and first place for column writing with the Society of Professional Journalists. Patricia is a weekly commentator on Colorado Inside Out, PBS 12's public affairs roundtable, which has won two Emmys.

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