Sprinkles Potomac — Restaurant in Maryland

Just had the most terrible experience at sprinkles in potomac. We have been supporting this establishment for the past 10 years. I know recently it had acquired new ownership and had recently met one of the owners and her daughter and they were very nice and professional. Right now with the pandemic I hate to write a one star review however I just had the worst experience of my life. I walked into the establishment without a mask with my three children in tow. I left the store after the clerk told me she could not help me because I was unmasked. At that point there was just one other customer who was in front of me and nobody was behind me. The clerk advised me that I have to go outside call in my order and they will bring it out to me. So I Went outside and when outside attempted to call in my order And was told that they were very busy and I had to call back in 15 minutes. I was just in the store there was nobody else in the line behind me so I would have been the next customer. At this point I was totally ready to get up and go however my kids really wanted sprinkles. I Took a quick walk around the block to Rite Aid pharmacy bought a mask and went right back into sprinkles. At that point the clerk apologized to me and said she didn’t realize that it was me that called And she felt bad. So we started to place the order and at this point I ordered four ice cream‘s and the owner had walked in as I was placing my order and the clerk told me to speak to the owner and not to write a negative review when I told her that that’s what I was going to do.The male owner that was there is not the same owner that I originally met months ago maybe that was his wife and daughter I’m not sure. He did not even acknowledge nor did he approach to see what was wrong. At this point my children are outside eating their ice cream and I’m trying to pay and run out there so they’re not alone. By the time I paid and went back outside my eight-year-old took two licks of his ice cream and the two scoops he had dropped to the floor. He was crying and I needed to go back and get more ice cream. The problem here is that I walked from my house to here with my children and I only brought $40 with me. I spent seven dollars on a mask and $30 for the original four ice cream’s. I only had three dollars left. The clerk told me that they are not in the business of giving free ice cream mind you the owner was still standing right there. I said I don’t care just give me what you can for three dollars. Sometimes you just have to be a human about situations. Especially during a pandemic when a local family is trying to support a local small business. Good luck... you will need it. Never would I have had this problem with the original owner. He was so sweet and knew you on a first name basis. Be human...

Sprinkles is not what it used to be. I’ve been coming here for 20+ years and ownership changed a few years ago. Since then the quality and taste of the frozen yogurt flavors have gone down hill. Quite honestly, they do not taste the same and half the time they are out of stock!! It boggles my mind how many times I’ve gone in and they say they do not have the Oreo frozen yogurt. On top of this, I used to get the fronana all the time. It was my favorite dessert. But when the ownership changed, they pushed back on making it for me when I asked and each time I’ve ordered it since, it’s never the same. It doesn’t taste as good, neither does it look as appetizing.

The staff is less friendly and seems much more disinterested now. And they completely redid the store and filled it with art and decorations for purchase. No more seating area inside either.

I still go here out of nostalgia and so many happy memories, but while I used to go 2-3 times a week, I now go maybe 1-2 a year.

Sad to see one of the best og ice cream shops in Potomac go downhill. The original owners...

Qualitity is middling to low. I go once in a while, but it’s not the same. This place was known to stay open late during the summer holidays because of the number of high school and college kids coming back to visit their families. That has stopped some time ago as the ownership focus is more on making as much cash as they can. It’s a business and that makes sense. However, their staff often times closes up Early and ignores customers standing right outside well before closing time—this has happened several times, not sure what’s going on.

The flavors are definitely not as good as they used to be. If anything signals “interminable decline” for our beloved region, it might be how this once charming small town ice cream shop has become an outpost of “the business is always right, and never the customer.”

Went back twice after this experience. Staff seemed miserable, flavors tasted terrible, and other customers seemed far more disappointed than I was.

Go to Potomac...