If a child drops their ice cream, should the shop replace it free of charge?

[LittleRa]

I witnessed this today. At the seaside, at a popular Italian ice cream/gelato store, takeaway window. The family in front of me- mum, dad and two kids. They got their ice creams and as they turned, the dad said to the eldest child about 8yo “don’t spill ice cream on your England shirt” She put her tongue out to lick and licked too hard and the whole scoop fell off onto the ground. Cue tears from the girl and the dad huffing and puffing. He came back to the counter and seemed to be expecting it to be replaced for free. The person behind the til said so sorry she dropped it but we don’t do that, the dad was saying but I’ve just bought it, but she’s literally just dropped it and sighing loudly. In the end he did get his wallet out and pay for a new one though.

YANBU- it’s the parents’ responsibility to monitor the child’s ice cream and if the inevitable should happen, they need to pay to replace it.
YABU- the shop should replace it for free.

As an aside, I got my DD’s hers in a tub with a spoon

I wouldn’t expect it or demand it but it’s a nice gesture.

Also if it could be dislodged with one lick then it wasn’t pressed down in to the cone very well, so even more reason to replace.

No, but it’s good service to replace it

If she dropped the cone then no, not obliged at all, although it would be good customer service. If the ice cream came off the cone as she licked it, then you could probably argue the ice cream was not made properly. If I was the parent in these circumstances I'd be a bit miffed if it wasn't replaced.

I wouldn't expect any business to replace goods which have been dropped/broken by the consumer.

Many places probably would because the cost of another scoop is probably not worth the hassle but it's still entirely down to the goodwill of the person behind the till.

I wouldn't expect any business to replace goods which have been dropped/broken by the consumer

If you lifted an item from the counter and it hadn’t been wrapped or bagged properly so it fell out, dropped and broke I imagine you’d expect the shop to replace it? It’s the same with a scoop of ice cream that hasn’t been pushed down into the cone properly.

'because if I had dropped it before I paid for it you wouldn't have charged me'.

Even if he had dropped it before buying it, you would have been entirely reasonable to charge him for it. Although the intent is not the same, it still hits your profit margins just as much as if he'd put it in his pocket and left without paying. More, actually, because you wouldn't have needed staff time and cleaning materials if it had 'just' been stolen.

@Kakey1294129

I think if I worked in an ice cream parlour and witnessed this I probably would give a free one, especially if it was a small child (younger than 8) - saying that imagine how much it would cost the business if it happened all the time 😂 BUT if my own child dropped an ice cream I wouldn't expect a free one at all.

Years ago I worked in a cafe/ice cream place. A guy asked for a magnum so he had one. He opened it up and it had the tiniest crack in the chocolate, he demanded another and that had a crack to and another (I wasn't serving so not me dealing with it). I think he was just taking the pee. The magnums were fine. He just wanted numerous magnums for free!

Whoever it was that kept giving that man new Magnums to try was the most gullible numpty.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I’m sure the rest of us would have got tubs as well if we’d seen a child’s ice cream roll off on the first lick

But surely you've seen children trying to eat adult-orientated ice-cream somewhere before, haven't you?

I do get the point about ice-cream physics(!) and I wonder if we might be talking at cross purposes. I think the 'traditional' cornets should only be used for the whippy stuff, with the proper fully-hollow waffle-cones used for the more grown-up stuff, if you don't want a tub. The problem there, though, is that you usually have to methodically bite into the cone to get at the ice-cream, which young children often don't like doing (nor have the patience for).

If you are using one of the standard-size hollow waffle-cones and there's still enough ice-cream to topple off the top, that would be a huge amount of ice-cream for a child to have in the first place.

Yes, there is a need for the seller to push the scoop down reasonably well, but I do think that some people have an idea in their heads that an ice-cream is inherently a much hardier thing than it actually is!

As an adult in cafes and restaurants my food and drink has been replaced, yes.
Once, I even got an extra portion of fries because I had given mine to a homeless person. I had to look grateful, but I had given the first fries away because I didn't want them (they came as a package for a lower price).

I wouldn't expect any business to replace goods which have been dropped/broken by the consumer.

If you'd just bought a really expensive vase, picked up the bag off the till and the bag broke and it smashed, would you just shrug it off and pay for a replacement?

Years ago I worked in a cafe/ice cream place. A guy asked for a magnum so he had one. He opened it up and it had the tiniest crack in the chocolate, he demanded another and that had a crack to and another (I wasn't serving so not me dealing with it). I think he was just taking the pee. The magnums were fine. He just wanted numerous magnums for free!

@Kakey1294129 In that instance you simply say “Okay, sure. I’ll replace that for you, just give me it back and I’ll throw it away.”

They don’t get a new one if they won’t give the old apparently unacceptable one back.

If you'd just bought a really expensive vase, picked up the bag off the till and the bag broke and it smashed, would you just shrug it off and pay for a replacement?

These days, you would be more likely supplying your own bag anyway; but even if it were a shop-supplied one, you still have to be a bit careful yourself. Most shop assistants are not particularly well paid and can't be expected to know the weight of every product they stock and the weight-limit of every bag. You wouldn't just hoik up a bag with an expensive vase in it and then stride merrily away - you'd lift it carefully to see if it needed support. In fact, you'd probably cuddle it to you wherever possible, to avoid it swinging against anything that could damage it.

And even if you did all that snd the bag broke there’s no way you’d shrug and say ‘no problem, I’ll just pay for another’. Or if you did you’d be mad.

Can't pay the bills with nice, they have to do that with profits they get from selling product.

Can’t pay the bills if people choose not to come back. There’s a balance to be struck.

I would if it was my shop as it would leave a good impression and make people happy especially if it had fallen off just as it was handed over. I’d also think it hasn’t been put in the cone very well if it had fallen off like that.

I wouldn’t go back and demand one for free though ever

I wouldn't expect them too would cost them a fortune
Too I always ask them to smoosh it down extra hard into the cone

@warmfluffytowels

I wouldn't expect any business to replace goods which have been dropped/broken by the consumer.

If you'd just bought a really expensive vase, picked up the bag off the till and the bag broke and it smashed, would you just shrug it off and pay for a replacement?

Oh for crying out loud.

Yes, in your very specific example then maybe yes, I would have words with the shop, but the point to anyone not determined to be obtuse is that a shop is not obligated to replace an item the consumer has broken.

And i'd still argue that he consumer still has a duty of care to not just grab a bag without checking the bottom isn't going to fall out of it if it is an expensive and easily broken object.

Pragmatism: children should lick the top of an ice cream cone rather than up the side. It’s less likely to dislodge when top heavy AND tamps the ice cream more firmly into the cone.

Or was that just me? 👀

I always find myself really shocked when someone replaces stuff for free.
I'd never expect it, but it feels like a real touch when it happens, and always makes me smile if I see something being replaced for someone.

And I personally think if someone believes that they should automatically get a replacement, that they probably shouldn't have it

Shop Clearly under no obligation, but it’s the nice thing to do.customer service and all that

Been there! My daughter managed to lick it on the side and dislodged it. That’s why i always say to go for the cup and not those precarious cones! I had no more cash for another one. I was secretly hoping the person behind the till would offer her another one just out of kindness. Although I would certainly never ask!

No they shouldn't have to.
I probably would if I owned a shop, but then I'd go bust!

the point to anyone not determined to be obtuse is that a shop is not obligated to replace an item the consumer has broken*

In that case, the consumer hasn’t broken it have they.

No - but it’s a nice thing to do.
I’ve had this happen to me a couple of times (other food, dropped at the counter) and shop gave me new one for free. I’d immediately whipped out my card to pay for another one though.
Most memorable was when my card didn’t go through (not because I didn’t have the money - it was in the wrong account) and I asked cashier to wait while it was transferred. He just gave it to me free 😂 probably because I looked like such a flustered poor student

I've seen this happen so many times and always feel so sorry for the kids.

They should make the cones wider.
It's inevitable what's going to happen dolloping two heavy scoops of ice cream onto a flimsy wafer cone.
The amount of kids who accidentally push it off with their tongue -the shop must be earning a fortune through parents having to buy replacements.