


Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Ice Cream Woes: Torico's Does The Wrong Thing

Aren't ice cream parlors supposed to be the kid-friendliest of places? Well Torico's seemed to be until this: They have stopped offering their "secret" kiddie-sized portions.

A few weeks ago, I went in there with Izzy and asked for the kid size. I was told that they no longer offered it. I expressed dismay and asked to speak to the owner. She denied this and said of course they still offer it.

Then, I return this week and again I am told they no longer serve a small size. I became extremely perturbed but the young lady insisted and got the owner to come out. This time she changed her story and explained they don't carry that size anymore..mumbling something about it not being worth it..

I just don't get it..Izzy can't eat the larger portion and we have to throw it out. Plus I will only buy one regular size which is cheaper than two smalls so they will lose money.

I am truly tempted to boycott the place despite the fact that I wrote a glowing article (as yet to be published) about them. I guess I can't since they are one of only two potential ice cream spots in town.


Anonymous said...

ah Torico's - We still miss it and little M will sometimes request it when I ask her where we should go for ice cream. It does not surprise me to hear that they are getting rid of the kiddie size. It seemed like an afterthought when they started it last year or so. Perhaps there is more to the story ... it is a family run business and maybe there was disagreement between the Mom and Pop over the kiddie size offerings, resulting in the confusion. Write them a note explaining your complaint and attach that glowing review. You might get them to change their minds.

Anonymous said...

I really really hate places that have such silly rules like this. I mean, for me, it's never about cost. It's about waste. Why isn't the world caught up about waste?

Izzy's Mama said...

I'm guessing that waste does not weigh heavily on their minds..nor does the environment, given their styrofoam serving cups and such.

Anonymous said...

All due respect here, but speaking as someone who has worked for small, family-owned businesses, it is really difficult to control something like a "kiddie size" that is sold for much less than the normal price. This really is, like you said, a homemade, family run place. They must fight hard to make money, especially given the fact that their product is not mass-produced like so many other places out there. Little things like a kiddie size may seem trivial to us as the customer, but if you look at it from their perspective, they probably are losing money on that; besides, there is always the person who tries to take advantage of such a thing that really was created for kids only. (i.e. - "Can I have a two kiddie size with 2 flavors?") If you would be willing to boycott such a neighborhood institution over something so petty, then you probably weren't a true fan of their amazing ice cream to begin with.

Izzy's Mama said...

Marie: I never thought the ice cream was "amazing" but I do like to patronize local establishments and it is a decent, homegrown option. I have not boycotted it but we only go occasionally and now, instead of ordering two ice creams, I only order one. We used to go at least three times a week and now I limit it to once or maybe twice. It has to be cost prohibitive for families with many children and it is certainly a shame to see food wasted. I truly don't see how serving half the amount of ice cream for more than half the price of a regular would cause them to lose money. I would think it is generally good business practice to keep your customers happy. The fact is, in this supersize world, a "small" option would be favored by many.

As it stands now they have medium (or regular) and large. Oh and as for "taking advantage" of the kiddie size, that would never happen since they are ultra strict about their medium size which only has one flavor.