Mimi's Ice Cream & Coffee Shoppe — Restaurant in Nashville-Davidson

Customer service issue, 07-16-2020. The schedule says that they are open until 10pm, however, they locked the doors at 9:30pm. A plurality of patrons, including my party, were told that due to COVID-19 they may close up to 1 hour from the closing time. Not one more cone served, deliberately shutting down.

After dining at the amazing restaurant next door, "Caney Fork River Valley Grille," we had walked in from the restaurant the day before wishing to have ice cream but we were too satisfied, no room for desert. So, we asked the attendants for a closing schedule who kindly stated that closing time was at 10pm. The waiter at the restaurant had encouraged us to go to the ice cream parlor and had told us closing time also.

Upon being denied the privilege to be served, I explained this to the manager on duty but it didn't mean anything to him. He only responded: "We are not the same business as the restaurant." Even if this is true, a highly credible restaurant in the area is automatically REFERRING BUSINESS to the business next door by letting it have a door that connects to the ice cream parlor from the dining area.

A group of college age young ladies that were waiting long before us, went in upon patrons exiting but got rejected back out. We didn't stand a chance either. The other group behind us went immediately back to their car. We noticed that the young ladies had been outside, locked out waiting for quite sometime before we came because a large group of patrons was already inside. So, the ladies were turned down after they had been waiting for 15-20 minutes outside, not the way to run a business. These girls boldly suggested "Let's go to MacDonald's!"..as they were being kicked out of the ice cream parlor.

Schedule is not honored here. The disclaimer about the 1 hour, makes it look unprofessional. A regular schedule prevents people from leaving the comfort of a home or a Gaylord or Wyndham hotel room and have doors shut on your face before time, not nice. The schedule should be: "From 4:00 PM, to when we feel like working"

Looks like employees are looking for a reason to go home early. Maybe they think that COVID-19 starts spreading after 9:00 or 9:30 pm. Since they open at 4:00 pm, it is hard to believe that they are too tired.

I enjoy writing reviews to help future patrons be prepared and call first, and/or for the owner to have a chat with employees or manager. If they care, of course. Otherwise, there is always someone in search of being better that will value this long review.

Not honoring a consistent schedule is not good for a business. Locking doors to three groups of patrons (around 8 people) is not good for business. Dismissing patrons BEFORE the time posted, is not good for business. Contradicting and not honoring the referral information from the restaurant that is lending its credibility to this ice cream parlor, is not good d for business. (We actually came back because of the restaurant's encouragement for us to go.)

As a business owner, I have learned that credibility is everything in building any business. I hope this helps someone. Good handling of customer service makes businesses grow. A momentary disappointment only spreads discontent.

P.S. We didn't get the chance to get the ice cream to provide a review, but after this unpleasant episode, we enjoyed a McFlurry next door. A very kind McDonald's employee took care of everyone including the the group of young people that were shut out at the...

We’re on vacation and came in 6/19/22 just after 7pm. There were two workers- a girl, and a guy with curly hair. They were both so rude and made us feel bad for asking for sprinkles for our young kids. The guy had already gotten the first two scoops (we needed three kid’s scoops total), and seemed overly annoyed he had to walk over to the counter on the other side for those toppings. My chest felt tight knowing that we still needed one more with those toppings. After he made the first two, he stopped to spray (next to the ice cream for our kids he had just scooped), and wipe down the toppings counter while we just stood there. He finally turned around and came back over to get the rest of our order. We were trying really hard not to stress him out more so made it as simple as possible. My mom was behind us and right after she ordered, he yelled to the other worker to “lock the doors”. She didn’t hear him so he said it louder. The couple of people in line and us all kind of looked around uncomfortably because it was very clear he was over it and closing. My mom asked for a receipt when she got up to the counter and that was met with irritation also. The entire experience was awful. Then, knowing we couldn’t get back in, had to make sure the kids were very careful not to drop spoons or napkins as we wouldn’t be able to get anything else we may need. As we sat on the patio (which was filthy), and ate, at least 20 people tried to go in but doors were locked. People were looking at phones, commenting they didn’t close until 9 according to website, etc. One family was so mad because they said this was the second time they’ve tried to come recently and doors were locked when website said they were open. One family had two young kids and as they stood outside the door confused, the girl worker turned the open sign off. After reading other reviews, it seems this is common but the owner says they had to close early for school aged workers, etc. This is absolutely not what happened. First of all, it’s summer. Secondly, the staff is RUDE and closed because they were annoyed and made paying customers feel awful by yelling “lock the door” in front of everyone. Third, if during the school year, young kids are all you can get to work, then change your hours online because people look at them and then DRIVE THERE. This was clearly workers getting annoyed and deciding to close almost two hours early. Don’t waste your time trying to come here because chances are they’re closed anyway even when hours online say...

Posted store hours stated they closed at 11pm on Fridays. I showed up at 10:45pm and the door was locked and the employees were already cleaning up. When I asked the employees why they closed early, they said they close the store at 10pm to clean up which I found ridiculous. Seems to me that they just wanted to get out of there early. The hours need to be updated to 10pm if that is truly the case.

Edit in response to the owner: Thank you for your reply. I understand the current state of affairs, however I still stand behind my assertion that the store hours and website should be updated to accurately reflect the store hours. This will lead to satisfaction on both sides. Seems like I’m not the only one to express my frustrations regarding the lack of correctly posted store hours online - yet there have been no corrections made.

Tourists are drawn to your business and drive from many locations to try the product - including from out of state. If the hours were updated correctly on your website and google, it would have prevented myself and possibly others from wasting their time making a drive out only to be disappointed and not having an opportunity to try your ice cream and coffee.

Customers and potential customers have voiced their concerns, yet it seems to have fallen on deaf ears. I wish you the best of luck in the success of your family owned business, but if many people are voicing the same complaint it may be time to listen and act...