WAY Over priced.. come on- $4.50 for one quart??

I worked at cold stone as well, for 4 years actually, I was a manager by the time I left. Now I must say, most of the appeal of the place is fabricated by corporate. The fact of the matter is, the ice cream is over-priced and the quality is never fantastic. You pay a fortune to have 1 oreo cookie smashed in to your 5 dollars (or more) Ice cream, and usually, USUALLY, the employees are so tired of being underpaid, overworked, dancing monkeys that they do a half-ass job of mixing it in so you basically get all of the candy in your first bite. You are paying for a show, a show that most of the time is not that great because face it...no teenager can fake caring about singing the same Flinstones-themed tip song for a 7 hour shift enough to make you believe it. Also, the store always smells like curdled milk and I very rarely go back to get ice cream because I leave smelling like an old waffle cone. I think a cookout shake for $1.99 is way better than a $6 dollar "Love It" creation. Also, if there's a Ralph's Italian Ice in your area I would encourage you to try it. The stuff is great, and it's not super-buttery like Cold Stone's ice cream. In this case, I just feel like the customer doesn't get what they pay for.

i work at a cold stone creamery in california...and just to clear up some stuff, we dont put anything in our ice cream that makes it addicting. i've seen them make it. the ice cream is really expensive and i do think that its stupid to charge so much for mix-ins and whatever else you want...but thats the cold stone headquarters decision/the owner of the store. sorry that the singing bothers you but you can ask us not to sing...a lot of customers actually wait for us to look at them put the money in the tip jar cuz they want to hear us sing. and some employees might be fake when they sing, but im happy to do it and i think its fun. and about charging for water, if its bottled, we have to charge just like any other place would. but if you just ask for water in a cup, they're not supposed to charge...at least my cold stone doesnt. and sample the ice cream before you buy it! dont complain about cake batter making you sick. you're the one that bought it, try it before you pay for itttt.

I love love love Cold Stone, in fact just last night I bought a half gallon of cake batter.  I always get Love it size with no mix ins.. and where i go i have only heard em sing once or twice and when they did i felt bad for them bc it is cheesy but o well , i am enjoying the ice cream too much to care!! :)

i really really like this place, but couldnt give them a higher rating for a couple reasons: one omg the price of one ice cream treat is over 5 bucks!! second, they charge u for water!! 3 they give u half a napkin for a family of 4, and lastly, no seats. the ice cream is good as hell though. and please, stop singing....or do it with enthusiasm. lol. and the portions are smaller lately too.

COLDSTONE CREAMERY MADE ME SICK!! Yeah it's good icecream, but it's not worth it in price or health. I ahve been sick now for three days with symptoms that are consistent with salmonella poisoning. Nausea, throwing up, fever, stomach cramps and diarheaa. I live with two other people- niether of which had the icecream and neither of which are sick. I wrote a letter to the manager and he insists that it is a stomach virus, but wouldn't the people I'm around get it too? Don't get their icecream- in fact I had the same flavor (cake batter icecream) that they recalled a while back for salmonella poisoning...

I have been going the the cold stone creamery that is in rochester ny.
I always get the ice cream batter gotta have it dish with no mix ins.
I am very satisfied with the ice cream, but not the price. I think they put something in their ice cream that makes it addicting. I normally spend about $50 a month on their ice cream. Also, I can't stand it when they sing, it sounds to fake. Also when you walk in the door they say welcome to coldstone every 3 or 4 customer with a fake greeting.
Also, they have cut back on their portion sizes. When I order the largest cup, I expect to get generous amount of portion size.
They use to give generous sizes , but they are cutting back on their size portions. I rather just make my own home made ice cream.
Cold Stone has gotten greedy with their ice cream portions.

The ice cream was good but I could have done without the song and dance routine when I left a tip.

cold stone is great!!! i went to the one in simsbury ct and the crew was amazing, they had a new song for every tip, and if you dont like the songs if you tip them and say "dont sing" they dont sing. if you get your ice cream and realize you dont like it give it back, they will make you something you do like. i do think the cake batter is way too sweet and they are expensive but you get good portions, and you are really paying for the show. they now have new grab and go ice cream where you walk in, grab a quart in their cake display go right to the register and pay. now you dont have to wait in a line or listen to them sing. my favorite grab and go is the shock a cone. i recommend everyone try the grab and go even if you dont like cold stone ice cream because the grab and go's are shipped to the stores premaid and there are flavors you cant get waiting inline. if you havent tried cold stone try it and make your own opinion because everyone likes something different.

A friend of mine went into one of these in Columbus, ordered some ice cream and gave the cashier her credit card while she munched away on her ice cream. The cashier tells her that her card will not go through for some reason and that she must now give back the ice cream. I just can't believe that since she ate off of it they should have just told her to keep it.

I LOVE COLD STONE CREAMERY. Despite the jerk below me who hated the cake batter ice cream it is really good. It is rich! it is luscious! it is creamy! it is delicious! it is sensual! it is sexy! I love the smell of the icecream while i wait in line patiently. The people who worked there were up-beat and jolly. They even sang when you give them a hefty tip! Thier voices were music to my ears! The location was primitave, next to the movie theater where i could enjoy a treat after a super duper movie. The prices were not at all expensive....my wallet was very happy (i am rich) I would definitely go back for more and more and more!

Love Jeff and Leah.

a little waxy in texture....best with a mix-in.....the cake batter got all the press and i literally got sick eating it.....we will see if it stands the test of time....a total unworthy take-off on steves ice cream

Typing this right now makes me hungry for some ice cream.

The Cold Stone Creamery stores I have visited in Tanasbourne or Portland, OR area serve excellent smooth, creamy ice cream with a staggering variety of flavor/mix-in combinations -- this is not a place for the indecisive! They do have several popular combos listed out on the menu, something I missed the first time.

Long lines mean long waits, so come back another time, as it takes a few minutes for each customers order. This is because of the manual labor they do to manipulate the ice cream and mix-ins on the "cold stone", which can be fun to watch.

The service has usually been very good and cheerful. The prices are quite high, but I always seem to end up with larger portions than I expected, and I have no complaints about the ice cream, which has consistently been fantastic.

This is for the faux-cultured crowd. Nice cutsie name with crap ice cream.

Coldstone has really weird flavors, but they are very good and you can mix all sorts of things into your ice cream

i LOOOVVE cake batter flavor!

Their ice cream quality is not that great. I worry about sanitation.

After dinner we decided to stop by the location in Millbury, MA. The staff was pleasant but ice cream was some of the worst I've every had at a premium ice cream parlor. It had a gummy consistancy that left a coating on my tongue. I love ice cream but was unable to finish this, it was terrible. I am amazed at the high ratings some people posted. In fact, my 5 year old wanted cake dough (or cake mix) he took one bite and started crying because he was so looking forward to having ice cream and he made the mistake of asking for cake dough. My wife order here ice cream with mix ins and they were almost no existant. She said she'd rather have a Blizzard. I hate DQ but in this case I'd have to agree.

Fat anyone, only 6 bucks for a scoop

Cold Stone Creamery is the ultimate indulgence. High quality service with the very best ice cream made fresh in the store every day! I think I can visit Cold Stone Creamery for the rest of my life and get something new every time, what a selection! I love the ice cream and the cakes are over the top. Thanks to the wonderful crew members, this place makes every day a great day for ice cream.

ok so ive worked at cold stone for a year now...literly , i started workin ther when we first opened an i LOVE IT, i mean readin yall comment about cold stone sayin its nasty an u got poor service, im really sorry.but just becuase ur visit was bad doesnt mean our franchise is...if you came to the many ones in the north carolina area.....cary/durham/chapel hill you would change your opinion on cold stone, if you got bad service im really sorry, if the people were rude its not like that at all in all of them, to each its own, and it makes me frustrated that my fellow coworkers in your areas made your visit bad b/c they didnt keep up with the store ,or were rude or nasty toward you...thats not the way cold stone is supposed to be. As far as yall not liking the taste of the ice cream, i've been workin there for a year, an gettin shift treats each shift....yes there are some flavors that id rather eat from another place,and yes the mix-ins are a huge part in the cold stone expirence, without those you dont get the whole enjoyment of coming to cold stone, but the ice cream is still good, its homemade there in the store, maybe becuase yall got bad service when you went you used the ice cream which u might not of disliked to make your expirence sound worse.But on behalf of those cold stone employees that made your expireince crappy, i apologize for them, an ask you to consider not bashing the whole cold stone franchise!Yes i agree that the prices are a bit high but the quality is well worth it and the fact that the emplpyees are happy an polite an there for to do as much as they can for you, and we try to make your ice cream expirience as enjoyable as possible. As for tips, its part of our payment, most of us get paid minimum wage + tips so we really appriciate them, we dont try to sing like a professional singer, its jus for fun an to show appriciation for the tip...an to make yall smile, we dont do it becuase we feel the need to sing...ha, and if you wish for us not to sing, jus politely tell us to save the singing for the next costumer that tips an go about your way....ALso we do have floats, smoothies,milkshakes, etc...we have just bout everything, so if u have anymore questions or comments...jus email me at inlovewiththeboy42@yahoo.com thanks an for those who commented good things bout cold stone , thanks an keep commin back , we love yall! ....Casey

Good ice cream but it's horribly expensive.

This place is a gimmick. The fact that you can add anything you want to your ice cream isn't exclusive (except for the fact that the first topping is free), every ice cream chain will add other items for an additional price. The atmosphere is very loud which can make it confusing to order. And that jingle is just stupid. You won't see me in here paying 5 bucks a cup for a scoop of ice cream (with the additional dollar in toppings of course). While the ice cream is pretty good, the prices and atmosphere just aren't enough to make it an awesome chain. Isn't worth the hype.

This place is so awesome I like when they sing to you and you gotta try the strawberry ice cream with strawberries .

The ice cream is delicious and getting to add what you want is a great option!! The prices are a little steep, but the quality of the ice cream is great! I definitely reccommend Cold Stone to anyone!

The Charlestown, MA store was highlighted (in a repeat) on Phantom Gourmet so we decided to try it. What a mistake. $17+ for 3 things. My mother ordered a strawberry sundae; she was watching the guy and when he was about to put on whipped cream she asked what about the sauce; was told by another employee that they didn't have strawberry sauce (!!) but said she could put on raspberry sauce if she liked; my mother agreed and we were both shocked to see a store-bought container of sauce! I ordered a hot fudge sundae with vanilla ice cream and marshmallow. They don't have normal vanilla ice cream--just sweet french vanilla so that's what I had with about 1 tablespoon of hot fudge and whipped cream and marshmallow. It was disgusting---way too sweet and could you spare the fudge?! The last one was a bowl of boston cream pie ice cream with a chocolate dipped waffle cone on the side for my bf. Again, much to sweet. For this particular location, parking is a major issue---we had to park in a lot which in very large letters read $2 for every 1/2 hour. As we exited, after 18 minutes, we were told it was $12!!!! The bottom of the sign in much smaller letters read $12 flat fee Saturday & Sunday.

gotta love the cake batter ice cream. very thick. very expensive and chock full of fat and calories. of course, three of my friends work there and give me anything i want for a dollar.

My best friend took my husband and I there, saying that this place was close-to-orgasm kinda good; of course, it had a tough act to follow, when we just ate at the place with the absolute best ribs in Baltimore (but, that's an entirely different story). The place was packed, as to be expected anywhere on a Friday night, but there was a line out the door. And it was still chilly outside. Priced kinda high, but you get a lot for your buck: the small is still pretty decently sized. It was kinda neat to have all the fixin's folded and molded into the ice cream itself; quality of the product is pretty decent, well, certainly better than, say, Friendly's. I appreciate them singing for their tips, but yeah, that does get annoying after the first fifteen times; I wanted to do a tip-and-run, but I inadvertently found a way to curb the singing politely; ask a question right before or while you're leaving your tip; by the time they're done answering it, it'll have been too late for the song, anyway. I don't have the same enthusiasm for this place as my friend did, but it was still okay.

Gimmick!! Ice cream is bad at best.

I see here that most people give it very high or very low marks, I'll go for somewhere in the middle - Very good ice cream but the prices are way too high.

Ice cream has no taste.. Plus the price for a family of 4 for ice cream is crazy. Maggie Moo's for me from now on!

Pretty good ice cream with an inventive twist. The ice cream is mixed together at the time of ordering, with whatever you want added in. Its worth going at least once, for the experience, but its too expensive for repeat trips.

way to much fat...if you wanna die young , eat this stuff.

I made the mistake of ordering a cup of ice cream without all of the mix-ins. The ice cream was pretty flavorless, gummy consistency, and nothing to write home about. Spend the extra $5 for all of the toppings and you will like it, love it, or gotta have it.

After tasting Cold Stone and thinking it tasted waxy, didn't taste that good, and was expensive, I didn't understand what all of the fuss was about. Then I tasted Marble Slab and was blown away. I talked with the owner and found out that it was 100% natural with no additives or preservatives. If you like thick, creamy ice cream with not a lot of add ins that hides the taste like Cold Stone, then in my opinion, Marble Slab is the best pure ice cream that I have tasted except for Giardelli Chocolate Factory in San Francisco. Cold Stone can keep there off key singing.

Okay it's very simple. I want vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. What the heck is schmuckenlackencreme? Sheesh. And please shut up.

I love being able to choose whatever I want when I come here

Just goes to show what happens when the marketing virus invades the ice cream world. The ice cream itself isn't good - it's really gummy. The mix-in selection is great (their only plus) but sometimes they skimp on them. It's pricy, and you're basically paying for the privilege of watching them make it. Lines are long and stores can be a real mess. I'm normally a fan of chunky ice cream, so if they can't win me over, they've got problems.

$4.00 for a baby sized cup of ice cream with mix-ins! Other then that it tasted okay.

yeah. another corporate chain infesting your local hood

Good, but too pricey. there's plenty of other ice cream places that are way cheaper and are probably a bit better.

I find Cold Stone Creamery a bit over the top and cheesy (for ice cream that is mediocre)...just take how they name their sizes - like it, love it and gotta have it The thing I find the most irritating is one of those original creations things that is called something like Germanchöklädekäke This word makes no sense whatsoever in German. As a fluent German speaker, I find this the worst attempt ever at making up a supposedly sophisticated, fake German name for something.

The ice cream is good, but do they have to sing a cheesy ice cream jingle everytime they get a tip. Pretty bad since most of them are off-key and tone-deaf. That would cost them a tip from me.

This Ice Cream is awsome. How do they get it so creamy. The Cake Batter is to die for.

I think the Ice cream itself was terrible. It was stretchy like marshmallow fulff and had the taste of crisco shortening, I will gladly take my money somewhere else and get twice as much for it. Way Way WAY to pricey and the whole hokey pokey expierence... 2 thumbs down form this guy.

Cold Stone is the Hollywood of ice cream. All special effects. It is precisely those effects (the heath bars, milky ways, various chips and candies, etc., which distract the customer from realizing that the basic ice cream is utterly mediocre. I tried a simple scoop of plain mint, no chips, and actually got odd looks from the clerk (he was nice but almost seemed so brainwashed by the sales routines they rehearse, that any deviation from the over-the-top menu threw him off base). The ice cream looked more like green mashed potatoes and had a consistency of gum....not even very cold. I came to the conclusion after only a spoonful, that this company relies on it's fixings and fillers to do its work. Without the aid of all the toppings and edible bells and whistles, the product can't hold up to even the simplest of flavors at a Hershey's store, or the quality store-bought brands like Bryer's. A second trip proved just as lame when I tried the more promising Coffee Lover's cup. Loved the Heath bar crushed in it, liked the caramel sauce....but funny enough, the last thing I liked was the ice cream itself. That is like saying wow, great ketchup, hated the burger!! To sum it up: Don't be fooled by the Emperor's New Clothes of ice cream. No amount of in-store singing will have me singing Coldstone's praises. Good Humor, anyone?

I liked this place, but 2 stars are getting chopped off because this place is so expensive, like $4.30 for a small cup of ice cream

SO SINFUL! The Chocolate Devotion and German Chocolate is INSANE. The only downfall is the calories and price. If you went all out for a small chocolate devotion in a chocolate dipped waffle cone you'd be averaging 1,200 calories. Eeek... but as a treat it's worth the calories and the price! (And if you tip the ice cream makers they sing!)

Out of general principle I refuse to pay five dollars for a small ice cream. There is something seriously wrong when a family of five needs to spend $35-$40 dollars to treat his/her family to ice cream. That would be 1 large, 2 mediums and 2 smalls. It has nothing to do with whether or not one can afford it. I would rather seek out an independent shop that is just as good and half the price. Not to mention I feel better about patronizing a mom and pop shop then a corporate ice cream shop even if the Cold Stone location is a franchise. I would not wish misfortune on anyone but I feel that Cold Stone is a bit of a fad and the people who spent 250k to 450k to open these will realize that all they did was lock in 60-70 hour work weeks for about 75k after franchise fees and expenses. By the way, they also have no benefits.