Avoca — Local services in Toronto

Earlier this year, I stopped by to try a cone here, and it was disgusting. Maple Walnut is a classic combo, but it was stale. I chalked it up to it being slower in the winter, and they don't bother to cover their service tubs (hence the glassy surface on the gelato they obviously leave out uncovered at a temperature that doesn't keep the product fresh).

I've never posted a bad review before, (I've worked in food service for most of my life and I know how hard it can be) so I let it go. But the day before yesterday I went in again (it was hot and I figured it must be busier so they are probably turning over more product).

Worst customer service I've ever gotten. No one was at the till or behind the counter so I said "Hello? Anyone home?" No answer. waited a few seconds, called out twice more, with no answer. So I turn around to leave, then hear a rustling behind the curtains. The server walks out and stands behind the counter, I say "hello", she doesn't even make eye contact, let alone reply. I ask for a single, marshmallow and chocolate. She gave me a pathetically small serving, The second flavour was plopped carelessly onto the side of the cone, I had to make a point of using my fingers to adjust the already melting cone (their freezers are obviously too warm, which explains the stale flavour of the product, which I threw out). I paid cash, said "Thank you" and put a loonie into the tip jar. Server did a 180 and went to disappear behind the counter. This is where I lost it, and admittedly over reacted. I said "Why don't you learn some fing manners? F you.". I do regret this, and I apologize to her if she reads this, but I was as friendly as possible throughout our entire interaction, even though she barely even registered my presence. I hope she enjoys the tip I gave her, she doesn't deserve it. She may hate her job, or whatever, but I had nothing to do with that. She's clearly in the wrong field.

I don't understand why this place has the high rating it does, twice now I've been disappointed in the quality of their product, and now I've been insulted for no reason other than I came in to purchase product, which begs the question of why is this...

I really wanted to love this charming little chocolate shop in our neighbourhood in an effort to support local and enjoy one of my favourite things: chocolate. I stopped in this afternoon to pick up a few things for Halloween gift baskets, but the price of everything left me a bit shell-shocked. I appreciate that this is a local shop, but some of the prices were, simply put, egregious. I decided, since I've never sampled their chocolate before, to play it safe and go with the chocolate covered Oreos. Upon checking out, I was surprised to see a "tip" suggested on top of the final charge. I'm not entirely sure what customer service I was tipping for, as I wasn't greeted upon entering, not asked if I had questions about their products, etc. But the most disappointing experience of all was sampling the actual product. I've eaten a LOT of chocolate (the good, the bad and the ugly) from a wide variety of shops (both local and chain), and this chocolate can only be described as stale-tasting and lack lustre. The cookie itself was also stale. I love supporting local whenever I can, but was left feeling very...

We’ve been loyal customers of this gelato shop for a long time because their gelato is genuinely good. However, the recent experiences have been disappointing.

According to Google, their operating hours are listed as 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM. Last month, I went there around 7:00 PM, but they were closed. When I asked about it later, they told me they now close at 8:00 PM on weekdays.

Tonight, I went at 6:50 PM, and the door was already locked. I called, and someone came to the front, saw the phone ringing, but didn’t answer. I also knocked on the window, and the employee refused to open or even acknowledge us — she turned her back and went into the back room.

It’s very disappointing to see this kind of attitude, especially from a place we’ve supported for so long. If the hours have changed again, they should be clearly updated online, and staff should treat customers with...