Cold Stone Creamery — Restaurant in Monterey

Just a word of caution...

The only reason I did not give this particular Cold Stone Creamery establishment one star is because the manager Ricky squared away my issue.

What was my issue you may ask? It was a simple mistake from a confusing display of toppings for my 10 year old son. (who is on the spectrum for Autism/Asperger's)

He wanted gummy bears. Not the sour patch looking kind or the sour patch kind itself but the old-fashioned gummy bears that were presented in a jar at eye level for a 10 year old.

The real problem began when my son noticed the gummy bears were not the type he wanted. A debate over gummy bears ensued.  Seriously? Did it really matter that much to the employee who was essentially debating with my son through me, his father? After my son began to cry and engage in what I feared would be a meltdown I asked the employee if it could be remade without the gummy bears? Apparently this request was entirely outside of the norms for the particular employee who was communicating with me.

Her name is Esmeralda, at least that is what she told me. For all I know her name could be Wanda. Nevertheless her lack of professionalism, short and rude answers did not help the situation much either. In fact when she told me that because his little hands and mine had touched the ice cream cup that we had to buy a new one. Knowing that this was untrue and that she had the power to simply take one minute and make a new one I decided it would be easier to take my business elsewhere.

After contacting the manager over the phone I felt a great sense of relief that I was not alone in my thoughts. Ricky, the manager was not only extremely professional and empathetic, but he was also practical. He agreed that it would not have taken much time to remake a new one.  He followed through with his words by contacting the establishment and making sure that my son would get his ice cream as promised but complimentary.

Again I would have given it one star had it not been for Ricky. However, with that said I wanted to give it more stars but the lack of professionalism, complete lack of empathy, and the poorest communication skills that I have seen in quite some time is the only reason I will keep it at 2 Stars. I believe Esmeralda needs to be retrained very soon.

Because I worry for this establishment if she treats an autistic child after she knows and is informed that he is autistic, the next customer who is a parent under similar circumstances may not feel compelled to restrain themselves from a severe outburst. Just a word caution

And if anyone's feelings get hurt by this review then perhaps you are not part of the solution but you are part of the problem.

Thank you Ricky for making things right! Because of you and your actions I will continue my business at this establishment for...

Highly disappointed in the customer service I received tonight at this location. I am a regular at this location since we moved to California a few months ago, but today I got a different experience. When I first walked in I was not greeted with kindness instead I was was stared at until Elsa S. asked what I would like. I stated I wanted one scoop of cheesecake ice cream on a waffle cone mixed with M & Ms . After I told Elsa S. my order she asked what size ice cream I wanted and I repeated my order back to her. After going back and fourth with her about just wanting one scoop of ice cream I stated I wanted the like it size. ( never had to tell any other place what size) After that I then stated I wanted another ice cream cone the same order but with double scoops. She came back to the counter to mix the m&ms in and it did not look like double scoops at all in fact it was way smaller then the first one so I asked is that a double scoop and she caught an attitude and said yes it is . I stated we come here all the time and usually that’s not how they do it , but that will do. After she finished with my order two other people walked in and she greeted them with smiles and asked how they were doing. I find it very rude being as though I was wearing my military affiliate clothing and would’ve hoped she been more kinder . My husband is a military service member who loves this location , but after tonight we will not be coming here again. I called to speak to a manager and was told she would not be in until tomorrow so I will call again tomorrow to tell the manager about...

Like surprises? Then try ordering online from this Cold Stone Creamery. Did you order Cookie Dough with M&Ms? Surprise! You're getting Vanilla with Gummy Bears instead. Think you ordered Mint Chocolate Chip with four mix ins? You're getting Birthday Cake with no mix ins (they'll be glad to keep the money for your extra mixins). This Cold Stone Creamery is like a box of chocolates, ya never know what you're gonna get. The manager will gladly redo your order for you, and since we ordered online, we can use all the time we saved to watch them make our order again. Here's a revolutionary concept for you... How about getting the order right the first time for once? Fortunately my kids can tolerate surprises. It's become a family game for us to see who's order gets messed up the most. But if you don't like surprises, think twice before...