Cold Stone Adventure
Earlier this week, my wife and I were invited for a taste test at Cold Stone in Scottsdale. Along with about a dozen other, we went into a classroom where someone wearing a white lab coat gave us two small samples of vanilla marked Sample A and Sample B. We indicated on a piece of paper what we thought about its texture, creaminess, and taste and whether we liked Sample A better than Sample B. There was only the most subtle differencs. The test took about 15 minutes, after which a Cold Stone representative gave us a $15 Cold Stone gift card. It was certainly more enjoyable than most of the tests I've taken in my life.
Yesterday, my wife and I went on a 16 mile bike hike. To verify our distance, we traced the same route by car and then continued on to a Cold Stone at 510 S. Mill Street in Tempe, bustlng with ASU college kids and the occasional vagrant and musician. It was also a chance to expose our kids to that kind of experience-- to have fun but also to blend in, stay alert, look people in the eye, and show confidence. Anyway, we finished up the evening with my wife and I sharing a mint milk shake for $4.95 and the boys having their treats with fifty cents to spare.
Yesterday, my wife and I went on a 16 mile bike hike. To verify our distance, we traced the same route by car and then continued on to a Cold Stone at 510 S. Mill Street in Tempe, bustlng with ASU college kids and the occasional vagrant and musician. It was also a chance to expose our kids to that kind of experience-- to have fun but also to blend in, stay alert, look people in the eye, and show confidence. Anyway, we finished up the evening with my wife and I sharing a mint milk shake for $4.95 and the boys having their treats with fifty cents to spare.
Labels: Cold Stone
posted by My Mall & News at
9:05 AM
1 Comments:
The rats that founded Cold Stone are jumping from the ship as hundreds of Cold Stone locations are now collapsing around the US. Why? Because the "concept" of mixing stuff into ice cream has always been a fad, and the fad is now over. The product isn't that good, is grossly overpriced, and consumers are flocking back to properly formulated ice cream from other chains like Baskin Robbins and Ben & Jerry's.
The Cold Stones have been largely sold to Yuppies with too much equity in their homes, who jumped into the stores to be "business owners". But since the labor costs are double the competition, and stores are too big and too expensive to run, the number of unprofitable stores is skyrocketing with the results we have here
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