Annual Burnley ice cream outrage

[Massivefloodlights]

‘Tis the season…

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/d ... 689645.amp

[GetIntoEm]

See pie thread. Don't buy it then.

[Wokingclaret]

A 99 is 99p right

[GetIntoEm]

A 99 is 99p right

Yeah in 1983

[dsr]

He had an easy get-out - when they said card only, he should have told them he only had cash.

It's a shame he hasn't reached 38 before learning to always check the prices. Mind you, the sizes of the ice cream cones are ridiculous nowadays - not US sizes, but still too much especially for a child's cornet.

Which brings me to the primary cause of complaint about ice cream shops generally. When did they start calling them cones instead of cornets?

[LeadBelly]

Yes, life's a lot easier when you check prices before you decide weather to buy. If it's too much, turn away; if it's value for money and you've got the money and want the item- then buy.
Doesn't seem over complicated but the papers love a "punter can't believe what he/she had to pay" story.

[Wokingclaret]

Yeah in 1983

John Bond in charge

[Inchy]

I was in Headingly last year supporting the Leeds marathon with the wife and kids. The kids wanted an ice cream from the van. It was £4.10p for a 99.


I went 1 minute down the road, bought 4 Sainsburys own cornettos for about 2 quid.

[deanothedino]

Too embarrassed to say anything at the time but not too embarrassed to cry to a newspaper about it.

[mikeS]

It's been going on a while in Towneley. No prices on display. Apparently the Towneley cafe can't sell ice cream either with the contract.

[Clovius Boofus]

There should be a sandwich board outside the van with the prices clearly displayed. You queue up and only see the prices when you are at the front of the window. Some people will feel shamed into a purchase, especially when there are other families queuing behind them. Also, why is the Rotunda kiosk not allowed to compete with the van?

[DingleDangle]

Sounds like it might be the same Ice cream van that irked 8 yr old twins Marnie and Mylah last year

https://www.tiktok.com/@dailymailuk/vid ... 32?lang=en

[mikeS]

The Rotunda can't sell ice cream according to this.
https://burnley.gov.uk/wp-content/uploa ... .11.22.pdf

[nil_desperandum]

The Rotunda can't sell ice cream according to this.
https://burnley.gov.uk/wp-content/uploa ... .11.22.pdf

That link is 2022
I’m led to believe they can’t sell ice cream - but can’t confirm

[Clovius Boofus]

User
The premises are to be used for the purposes of serving refreshments including hot and cold drinks and
confectionery but excluding hot food, ice cream, frozen yoghurt and frozen drinks in accordance with healthy
eating options and ingredients.

I dare say that I speak for many here, when I say that I don't require any dietary handholding from the local council.

[Burnley Ace]

User


I dare say that I speak for many here, when I say that I don't require any dietary handholding from the local council.

Who would you take dietary handholding from?

[Pickles]

Quite brazen to volunteer to do an interview with a national newspaper which ultimately makes you look a bit dim. Yes the prices are ridiculous but you check before buying surely?

Little fact - 99s aren't called 99s because they were once 99p.

https://www.machineryworld.com/so-how-d ... -its-name/

[brexit]

to be fair the guy looks Polish and things are much cheaper in Poland

[Eloise Laws]

The Rotunda sells ice creams for dogs……which I’m not against at all, our dog was always included in the order when the van came round. It’s a bit strange though they can’t sell ice creams for the public.

[mikeS]

Interesting Eloise. Does anyone know what the difference is between ice cream for dogs and yer ice cream for humans?
How much is a 99 for a dog btw?

[Row x]

to be fair the guy looks Polish and things are much cheaper in Poland

What does a polish guy look like?

[HollandsPies]

I was always led to believe the '99' bit referred to the length of the flake - 99 mm

[Clovius Boofus]

We didn't have foreign muck like millimetres when 99s became a thing.

[Loyalclaret]

I walk around to Towneley Garden centre, have a few options at the counter and I think vanilla at the cafe

[GetIntoEm]

No ice cream van seems to be decent prices anymore. That Emma's ices that goes around charges about £3.50 for one.

[Clovius Boofus]

I'm surprised they sell any. I mean, you can buy a box of Magnums for under £3.00 when you go shopping and stick 'em in the freezer. Mind you, this requires some forward planning, and maybe this is beyond some people. The days when homes only had a small fridge with a tiny ice compartment are long gone.

[Rileybobs]

I'm surprised they sell any. I mean, you can buy a box of Magnums for under £3.00 when you go shopping and stick 'em in the freezer. Mind you, this requires some forward planning, and maybe this is beyond some people. The days when homes only had a small fridge with a tiny ice compartment are long gone.

Not easy to carry your freezer around Towneley Park though is it.

[Jakubclaret]

Quite brazen to volunteer to do an interview with a national newspaper which ultimately makes you look a bit dim. Yes the prices are ridiculous but you check before buying surely?

Little fact - 99s aren't called 99s because they were once 99p.

https://www.machineryworld.com/so-how-d ... -its-name/

Cardinal rule get the wonga right.

[Clovius Boofus]

Not easy to carry your freezer around Towneley Park though is it.

I was clearly talking about those vans that drive around waking up nightshift workers.

[Rileybobs]

I was clearly talking about those vans that drive around waking up nightshift workers.

Not clearly, clearly.

[Clovius Boofus]

Not clearly, clearly.

Blimey. Pedantic quibbling on a thread about ice cream. This is a new low, even for a dullard like yourself.

[Roger1960]

There are i think two interconnected issues here
Firstly the ice cream vans pay the council a licence fee for the pitch ,they will pay more for exclusivity , the council run the rotunda so don't permit it to compete , the stables cafe does sell ice cream but its not cheap and a lot of people wont be bothered to walk that far from the play park with the kids
The second issue which I'm sure if they could be bothered could be solved by the council is to make the ice cream van display a decent sized price list , they do have an A4 one with what looks like the smallest font its possible to print so you can barely read it even at the front of the queue , if there was one readable from further away a lot of people wouldn't bother with it

[Rileybobs]

Blimey. Pedantic quibbling on a thread about ice cream. This is a new low, even for a dullard like yourself.

Chill out (pun intended). You’re the only one quibbling, and now throwing unnecessary insults around fella.

[Clovius Boofus]

The second issue which I'm sure if they could be bothered could be solved by the council is to make the ice cream van display a decent sized price list , they do have an A4 one with what looks like the smallest font its possible to print so you can barely read it even at the front of the queue , if there was one readable from further away a lot of people wouldn't bother with it

Good post. I agree.

[GetIntoEm]

I'm not sure what people want to happen. Everyone seems to complain about it, it's a private enterprise that has paid for a pitch. They could charge a tenner a lolly if they wanted.

Nobody, including the council can dictate their prices. It's free enterprise.

[nil_desperandum]

I'm not sure what people want to happen. Everyone seems to complain about it, it's a private enterprise that has paid for a pitch. They could charge a tenner a lolly if they wanted.

Nobody, including the council can dictate their prices. It's free enterprise.

Surely if the enterprise has obtained a license and monopoly from the council then the council could set Ts and Cs?
e.g.
You must accept cash as well as card (thus allowing children to buy ice cream)
And:
You must have prices clearly displayed and have at least one basic cone at a maximum price of £2.50
If the vendor doesn’t accept these Ts and Cs then someone else gets the contract?
At the end of the day the council should be trying to help its people not a private enterprise

[Big Vinny K]

Surely if the enterprise has obtained a license and monopoly from the council then the council could set Ts and Cs?
e.g.
You must accept cash as well as card (thus allowing children to buy ice cream)
And:
You must have prices clearly displayed and have at least one basic cone at a maximum price of £2.50
If the vendor doesn’t accept these Ts and Cs then someone else gets the contract?
At the end of the day the council should be trying to help its people not a private enterprise

I agree with this in principle but the reality of the situation is possibly different and may not make this achievable

Unfortunately if you look at the way Burnley council has managed it’s finances in recent years then it’s not surprising that we have seen some big increase in prices from a number of areas connected to Burnley Leisure.
Whilst the cost for the pitch of an ice cream van is probably a drop in the ocean of the overall revenues and without knowing the specific details about if the cost of this pitch has increased in the same way as many other things have increased then this may explain the increase in prices.

The other factor in the increase in prices of ice cream will undoubtedly be the generally massive increase in cost of ingredients since Covid. We all know that many things at the supermarket have virtually doubled in the last 5 years because of not only Covid, but because of UKraine and other world events. Whether you are eating or drinking out or in the increases have been huge so in this context is an ice cream for £5 any different ?

I’m not saying it’s good or right but it may well be justified. Have a similar size blob of ice cream in Bertrams and see what they charge you !!

On a lighter note anyone who hasn’t seen this I’d recommend watching the full episode to understand the true struggles of the life of an ice cream seller !!

https://youtu.be/Ag-bAy36yXc?si=bbWAdP1GO1eM_lpf

[brexit]

What does a polish guy look like?

Like the guy in the photo

[brexit]

John Bond in charge

Didn't he end up selling ice cream near fleetwood?

[brexit]

Selling ice cream is usually a side line
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... e-van.html

[Jakubclaret]

Surely if the enterprise has obtained a license and monopoly from the council then the council could set Ts and Cs?
e.g.
You must accept cash as well as card (thus allowing children to buy ice cream)
And:
You must have prices clearly displayed and have at least one basic cone at a maximum price of £2.50
If the vendor doesn’t accept these Ts and Cs then someone else gets the contract?
At the end of the day the council should be trying to help its people not a private enterprise

Surely it boils down to common sense consumer led if you can't see the prices or are unsure it's down to you to find that out before committing to the purchase. It's a strange concept some of us seem to have in my view on this board where people are perceived as having no control over things & are absolved from self responsibility.

[nil_desperandum]

Surely it boils down to common sense consumer led if you can't see the prices or are unsure it's down to you to find that out before committing to the purchase. It's a strange concept some of us seem to have in my view on this board where people are perceived as having no control over things & are absolved from self responsibility.

I agree with that completely, but i can’t see how it’s particularly relevant to my post in which I am suggesting that the council could dictate more favourable terms for the consumer before issuing a license.
Surely displaying prices clearly and transparently and making it possible for children to buy an ice cream could be part of any contract??

[Jakubclaret]

I agree with that completely, but i can’t see how it’s particularly relevant to my post in which I am suggesting that the council could dictate more favourable terms for the consumer before issuing a license.
Surely displaying prices clearly and transparently and making it possible for children to buy an ice cream could be part of any contract??

It came across as if you were trying to apportion blame elsewhere rather than silly people not carrying basic price checks. The children would likely be accompanied by parents & I'm not all together too sure that the older kids of this generation would be inclined if it was a choice between a strawberry lolly or a strawberry vape I know where my money would be going.

[nil_desperandum]

It came across as if you were trying to apportion blame elsewhere rather than silly people not carrying basic price checks. The children would likely be accompanied by parents & I'm not all together too sure that the older kids of this generation would be inclined if it was a choice between a strawberry lolly or a strawberry vape I know where my money would be going.

Fair enough, but I really can’t see how you reached that conclusion. I was clearly replying to a post that said that a business was free to charge whatever they wanted. I believe the council can apply various Ts and Cs.
On your 2nd point however, I think again you have misunderstood.
I personally believe that it is a good thing to teach children the value of money and allowing them to choose to spend their pocket money (or not) should be encouraged.
It is also much preferable for them to carry a small amount of cash with them when on the park as opposed to taking some form of plastic card with them

[Jakubclaret]

Fair enough, but I really can’t see how you reached that conclusion. I was clearly replying to a post that said that a business was free to charge whatever they wanted. I believe the council can apply various Ts and Cs.
On your 2nd point however, I think again you have misunderstood.
I personally believe that it is a good thing to teach children the value of money and allowing them to choose to spend their pocket money (or not) should be encouraged.
It is also much preferable for them to carry a small amount of cash with them when on the park as opposed to taking some form of plastic card with them

The councils aren't bothered enforcing terms on the pitch licence I'd even argue it's promoted to have a carte blanche policy. All the council are bothered about is ensuring the maintenance of the pitch fees are paid fully & regular. It's in the councils best interests not to be obstructive or prohibitive while the business is making healthy profits it's more likely to be a smooth free flowing business arrangement.

[GetIntoEm]

The prices are displayed on the side of the van, seems to be current theme to order what you want and then complain when you don't like the price.

People suggested a board with prices on, people would still claim they didn't see it, or how can they say no to little Tommy

Sounds like a you problem rather than anything else.

[BurnleyFC]

I’ve no idea if Royd Ices get charged more by the council depending on the time of year but I got a flake 99 for my youngest in late Spring up Towneley and it cost £2-something.

Went up again for the classic car show a few weeks later and was charged nearly a fiver for the same thing from the same van.

[nil_desperandum]

The prices are displayed on the side of the van, seems to be current theme to order what you want and then complain when you don't like the price.

People suggested a board with prices on, people would still claim they didn't see it, or how can they say no to little Tommy

Sounds like a you problem rather than anything else.

A board that is of reasonable size and prominent is a totally different thing to a small sheet of A4 with all the prices on.

[GetIntoEm]

A board that is of reasonable size and prominent is a totally different thing to a small sheet of A4 with all the prices on.

Why though? It's sufficient in a restaurant or a cafe

I don't think I've ever seen an ice cream van put a board out with prices on

[nil_desperandum]

Why though? It's sufficient in a restaurant or a cafe

I don't think I've ever seen an ice cream van put a board out with prices on

No one has mentioned putting a board out I don’t think.
There’s usually quite a prominent coloured display in the window showing pictures.