Cold Stone Creamery

On February 21^st, 2016, on the opening hour, we were greeted by a kind lady who went above and beyond what was expected. Superb customer service and just for that, a five star rating.
Ice cream is okay though, nothing too fancy ³⁄₅. It was my first time visiting and I was only blown away by her excellent service.

We 3 all had ice cream with add in. So very good!!! only $ 17 but worth it. Left overs for breakfast.

I had no issues here and the food was exactly what I expected. Wasn’t amazing, wasn’t horrible. Wasn’t fantastic, wasn’t mediocre. It was good. Exactly what I expected. Didn’t come to an in-​and-​out ice cream joint expecting world class service so I wasn’t disappointed.

I’ve never tried CSC product before now. I entered an empty store, & was about to leave when a woman yelled «WAIT!» from the back room. She bustled out and asked me what I wanted. I made my choice (small selection, uninspiring flavors), she scooped it into a cup, rang up my purchase, gave me my change and scuttled to the back room as if she badly needed to use the toilet.
So, I bagged my purchase, double bagged it for fun, put in some paper napkins, a couple spoons. She did poke her head around the corner and yelled «SORRY!»
About what? The ridiculous prices? The shitty service? Her miserable life? Factory farming? Dunno.

This was my worst experience ever at Cold Stone! We arrived at 8:30 pm; and they were out of chocolate, French Vanilla, strawberry, and several other flavors. They had limited toppings and were even out of napkins. Save your frustration and go somewhere else for ice cream.

Horrible service. After waiting 20 minutes. They only had one employe and she told me and my daughter they had no chocolate. The employe was very slow. And the store was unprepared for even a light crowd. She took peoples orders 1 at a time when they were together.

My order: Pb&J ice cream cookie on butter butter cookies (so heavenly: loved the richness of the pb & the sweetness of the jelly)
Pros:
+ I came right before they closed at 9pm on a Sunday evening and they were gracious enough to serve us (a group of 10 – 15 high schoolers joined the night owl ice cream brigade and loitered around past their operating hours: I felt so bad for them!)
+ such rich ice cream! The varieties and the toppings were phenomenal.
+ separate parking lot (I come from the city where parking is usually an out of pocket expense so free parking is always a plus!)
Cons:
— I’ve got nothing. Granted, I’m really not an ice cream kinda girl (I love my bbt over ice cream any day). But if my friends want to grab a cone, I’ll definitely recommend cold stone.

No no no. Ice cream is nothing special. About the same as what you would get yourself at the grocery store.

The first time I discovered Cold-​Stone was in Hawaii 9 years ago. I was there with my two children and we found it while walking around exploring Oahu. We were so enthralled with the place that we ate there at least once a day for a week. SERIOUSLY!
Now that we’re not in an island paradise, and Cold-​Stones have popped up all over the place, we are not nearly as enthralled and we only go for a treat once in a while. Tonight was one of those nights.
My son and I shared a «Gotta Have It» (he figured out that sharing one of those large ones is way less expensive than us each getting our own smaller ones… my «frugalista»… and since we like the same things, it works). We had «Sweet Cream with Oreos, Heath, and M & M’s». YUM!!! Not quite paradise, but not too bad for a Thursday night in March in a strip plaza in Amherst.

It’s tragic that everyone thinks Cold Stone is just soooo great because to be honest, the ice cream here is terrible. The gimmick which gets all the sales is that they make all this fancy dancy stuff happen to your ice cream and put all this excessive (cheap, crap) stuff on it to make it look like something other than ice cream. Meanwhile all the real family owned home made ice cream places go out of business and this place just keeps multiplying, advertising, and moving in to all the college campuses and shopping malls. Ugh.
I was forced to come here by some college kids (isn’t that who goes here), last summer. Ugh.
I should mention, I only rate national and global chains on a scale of 1 – 2. I rate family businesses on a scale of 3 – 5. Here is why:
Would you rather support the local family ice cream shop, or the multi national corporations and the rich men on yachts in the Carribbean? Why are the parking lots of the awesome local places usually half empty (or completely empty)? Why are the national and international ice cream chains always so busy? Why can they afford to open so late and get all the TV advertising and all the prime intersection locations? Why are they taking over all the malls and college campuses? Why go and support Cold Stone, Baskin Robbins, and so on? These places have systematically and coldly taken over the national ice cream scene by using cheap ingredients, pre-​packaged frozen systematic snacks that are identical across the nation, overrated products, overpricing for everything, often rude underpaid servers, and a ridiculously expensive mass brand advertising campaign that gets inside the heads of all the kids and the 20somethings and keeps them under the illusion that if it’s not a brand name, it’s not worth visiting. They spend all the money they should be investing in good ice cream and food and service, in advertising and cornering the market — the local places can’t compete — and someday all we will be left with is the same chains serving the same drinks all over the world. That is our future. It’s the way we’re heading and you know it. Every time you eat at a bland national chain, you buy into that, you support that. Boycott chains. Support your local places. It’s an embarrassment that generic brand national chains are even listed on a proper foodie website like Unilocal,let alone getting 4 and 5 stars from so called foodies. Wake up, America, before we’re all just batteries in the matrix.

Essentially… All Cold Stone Creamery establishments are NOT created equal.
The establishment: Unlike most other Cold Stone Creamery franchises, I found this particular location to be clean with an abundance of lighting. Items ranging from assorted customizable cakes, to various ice cream flavors were neatly displayed. In addition, the two aisle sections available to place orders were spacious and well organized.
Service: Employees were hospitable and welcoming. I wasn’t frowned upon for requesting the sampling of four different flavors. Ultimately, my attendant put together the ice cream of my choosing without much frustration. In addition, a few suggestions were made in terms of the combination I had selected. Ultimately, customer service is key! The employees at this particular franchise embody the basic principles of treating a customer at home.
Sizing: You’ve been warned, the portion sizes are larger than they seem. When ordering a «Like It», expect to receive portion sizes for «Love It». When ordering «Love It», expect to receive portion sizes for «Gotta Have It»! Portion sizes are generous, but you’re still charged for the size you order
The Ice Cream:
Love it Sized Coffee Ice Cream w/​Oreos and Almonds: Texture of the ice cream was remarkably welcoming. With almost 0 overrun, the ice cream had a buttery and velvety flavor that’s in every way indescribable. The luscious and abundant amount of coffee aromatics stemming from the ice cream was welcoming. Each bite produced a profound appreciation for the way the ice cream is made, and it’s ability to encompass and embody the various flavors for which it’s derived. The Oreos and Almond additives provided a welcoming chocolaty and nuttiness to the application.
Overall, an excellent ice cream. Despite the burdensome natural of the almost too buttery texture.