Bear's Shaved Ice — Restaurant in Gaithersburg

I would NEVER go back to this place. If you are a person of color or someone with dark skin, DO NOT go. Today, I went with my friend and asked the female worker what a "Hawaiian snow cone" was. She mentioned a topping, so I asked further, "What kind of topping?" She replied that it was condensed milk. I said "Oh," and ordered a small shaved ice. As she handed me my order, she looked at her male coworker and said, "Es por eso que no me gusta servir a las morenas." (Note: Morenas can mean brunette, but in other contexts, it refers to dark-skinned people. I am a Black woman.) I didn’t understand what was said, so I thanked her and left. However, my friend, who speaks Spanish, overheard the remark and said "Muchas gracias" to let them know she understood. The male worker then smiled at us. As we walked away, my friend explained what the female worker had said, which translates to, "That's why I don't like serving dark-skinned women." Shocked, I decided to go back and address the situation. When we returned, the woman refused to come to the window, so my friend asked the male worker to get her. When she finally came out, I calmly asked her what I had done to upset her. She claimed she didn’t understand English. At that point, I had my friend translate the conversation. I told her I was shocked that she would say something like that in front of a customer. I explained that we live in a diverse community, and it’s upsetting to hear such remarks, especially when I had done nothing wrong. Her first excuse was that there was a language barrier, which was why she made the comment. I responded that the interaction had lasted only two minutes, during which I asked just two questions. I explained that I understood her point, but asked if she realized how her words could be taken to mean she didn’t like serving dark-skinned people, not just people who don’t speak Spanish. She then claimed she was joking. I told her I didn’t find it funny, and I didn’t think anyone else would either. You shouldn’t speak negatively about a customer in front of them—if you’re going to make such a joke, say it when they’re gone. Her next excuse was that she didn’t remember saying anything. At that point, I walked away because it was clear the conversation was going nowhere. I didn’t record the encounter because I wanted to have an open discussion and give her a chance to learn from this. However, it felt like a lost cause. To have her never once apologize or say, "I didn’t mean for my comment to make you feel this way" shows that she simply doesn’t care. I hope this experience makes her think twice about what she says in front of people. So, unless you are a light-skinned Spanish speaker, I strongly recommend you...

Could not even purchase :( We tried to purchase but there was no way for them to accept my payment method of credit. The side of the trailer has a square logo with acceptable cards of payment. The employee tried to tap my card to Thier phone (not a square device or plugin device), and I informed them my card was not compatible with the tap to pay, I asked if she could swipe or insert it, she said no. So I opened my phone to use google tap to pay, it did not work. We tried a few times, didn't even register or buzz that it was reading. The employee asked to put my card number manually into "square" on her phone, I said no. 🤷🏼‍♀️ No reassurance for me as a customer that she's not taking my information and keeping it. Sad to walk away without the shaved ice that was already made. It didn't seem like she understood me very well when I was explaining why it made me uncomfortable to type in my card manually. I won't be back.

This business...

I came to the place around 8 pm sunday. On google it says open til 9pm and on the trailer itself it says 930. The woman was still inside with the light on so I walked up. She saw me and then began sweeping and kept ignoring me. If it was closed, when she saw me she should have told me immediately upon arrival instead she looked and went back to sweeping to which i assumed then I just should wait and she would be right with me. I wait another 5 minutes just standing until she rudely knocked on the window (didn’t even open it) and said “we are closed” I’m not sure why they would be closed when the website says they do not close for another hour and their trailer says an hour and a half and no sign on the windows to indicate...