MIDTOWN, Mich. – Cold Truth Soft Serve, an ice cream shop in Midtown, has again found itself at the center of controversy, this time after a customer says she was shamed for not leaving a tip.
Shante Fagans says she’s been a fan of the vegan ice cream joint since it opened its doors.
On Sunday (May 21), she and a friend stopped for some scoops. Their order was about $12, and she paid by card.
“I usually leave a tip,” said Fagans, who added that she didn’t have money for a tip this time.
The pair enjoyed their ice cream, but things changed when Fagans got home.
“I got a message from the owner,” said Fagans, who shared the message she got in her direct messages from Cold Truths Instagram account. “I thought it was strange because I didn’t leave my information.”
The Instagram DM says:
“Hi, just writing a note to convey that we operate in a tipped business model. We’ve considered building in the costs into the price, but we’ve chosen not to, to make our ice cream as available as possible. We haven’t raised our prices since we’ve been open despite the fact that ingredients have Newmarket doubled in price. If we haven’t risen to a level that you feel is worthy of a gratuity, we absolutely understand. Thank you, Tim.”
“I thought it was crazy,” Fagans said. “I felt attacked, and to search me out to leave a message like that was just unheard of.”
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After reading the message, she said she called and spoke with the owner, Tim Mahony. She tried to explain her perspective and hoped for an apology.
“I didn’t have it that day,” Fagans said. “Did you think about that? I could be on a budget, I was trying to treat me, and my friend and I had money just for that.”
Last July, Cold Truth made national news when Mahony said he would no longer serve police officers in body armor.
Mahony declined to comment on the matter, but Cold Truth commented back on Fagans’ original post, in which he said:
“We’ve seen dozens of similar independent small businesses forced to close down due to massive increases in the quality ingredients we need. If we moved from a tipped model, we will be forced to drastically raise prices to make everything work. The result would be very expensive cones that would be nearly impossible for families to consider. We are very mindful on how much our employees make, and job one is making sure they are compensated.”
A tip jar at the shop reads, “Thank you, tips are appreciated.”
There’s no other signage or information about the shop’s tipped business model.
