Hoffman's Ice Cream — Restaurant in Spring Lake Heights

My family and I have been loyal Hoffman’s customers since their inception—we’ve supported them for decades and always loved their ice cream. But after this experience, I’m deeply disappointed and feel completely let down.

I placed a custom birthday cake order for my mother’s 75th—specific flavors and gluten-free fudge instead of cookie crunch, as two people in our group have celiac. When I arrived to pick it up, they acknowledged the order and I even showed proof of my call days prior—but the cake was simply not made. There was no apology, no accountability, and no effort to make it right. They didn’t offer a single scoop of the requested flavor, just directed me to buy a standard cake full of ingredients we couldn’t eat. They knocked a few dollars off, which felt like a slap in the face.

I asked multiple times to speak with a manager, was given a wrong number, and then told I’d receive a call Monday—which never came.

This isn’t about one order—it’s about how a business treats its most loyal customers when something goes wrong. The staff may be friendly and the product may still be good, but the customer service and lack of basic decency were shocking. Hoffman’s needs to remember that loyalty is a...

A local gem - the ice cream is great and there are so many choices, with more and more vegan flavors being added every year. The kids who work here are working so hard to keep up with demand and the line that spills out the door, while also maintaining their calm and friendly demeanor. If the owner is reading this, I have two recommendations:

1). The only way to leave a tip for these hard-working kids is to bring cash. Considering that most transactions are now electronic, please make an option to add a tip on the credit card payment screen. The kids should have a nice tip pool at the end of each night.

2). The current “pull-a-ticket” system (like the one used in delis) is working so much better than the disorderly line of the past, with the employees needing the yell out “next”. Nice touch! I would just recommend adding a ticket number screen on the long wall between the ice cream counter (or display the number on the TVs). Currently, the only ticket number ticker is by the register, and it’s extremely hard to see if the...

I will explain why it gets a four star rating. First of all I will start with the ice cream. That should get 10 stars. It is that good. However, the help and I use that word loosely, need to either find other places to work or take some courses on how to communicate with people. After making my order the counter person just walks away all the way to the other end by the cash register and stares outside. I'm looking at him and wondering am I supposed to follow him or wait where I am? After a bit I walk down there and he says, without looking at me $14.59. I take out my card and put it in the reader. While it was being read I got a text that I glanced at. He then looked at me very indignantly and motioned with his head at the card. This kid should not be allowed anywhere near customers. I also noticed that there was a hole in the bottom of my cup which I brought to his attention so instead of a different cup he handed me some napkins. The cream is great, the service...