Detroit Midtown ice cream shop owner stalks customer on social media for not leaving tip

MIDTOWN, Mich. – Cold Truth Soft Serve, a Midtown ice cream parlor, found itself at the center of controversy again, this time after a customer said she was ashamed for not leaving a tip.

Shante Fagans says she’s been a fan of the vegan ice cream restaurant ever since it opened.

On Sunday (May 21), she and a friend stopped by for some scoops. Their order was around $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 around.

The couple enjoyed their ice cream, but things changed when Fagans came home.

“I got a message from the owner,” said Fagans, who shared the message she received in her direct messages from Cold Truths’ Instagram account. “I thought it was strange because I didn’t leave my information.”

Instagram’s DM says:

“Hello, I just wrote a note to indicate that we operate in a tip business model. We have considered incorporating the costs into the price, but have chosen not to, in order to make our ice cream as available as possible. We have not increased our prices since we opened despite the fact that ingredients have doubled the price of Newmarket. If we have not reached a level you deem worthy of a gratuity , we completely understand. Thank you Tim.

“I thought it was crazy,” Fagans said. “I felt attacked, and looking for me to leave a message like that was just unheard of.”

UPDATE: Detroit ice cream shop owner apologizes after DMing customer for not leaving tip

After reading the message, she said she called and spoke with the owner, Tim Mahony. She tried to explain her point of view and hoped for an apology.

“I didn’t have it that day,” Fagans said. “Have you thought about that? I could have a limited budget, I was trying to treat myself, 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 cops in body armor.

Mahony declined to comment on the matter, but Cold Truth commented on Fagans’ original post, in which he said:

“We have seen dozens of similar small independent businesses forced to close due to massive increases in the quality ingredients we need. If we go from a tipping model, we will be forced to drastically increase prices to make everything work. The result would be very expensive cones that would be next to impossible for families to consider. We are very attentive to the income of our employees, and the first task is to ensure that they are remunerated. »

A tip jar at the store reads, “Thank you, tips are appreciated.

There is no other signage or information about the store’s business model.