To be annoyed at staff asking my kid what she wants?

[YourIcyGoldOrca]

Went to get ice cream, and ordered a icecream for my kid.
The member of staff then asked my 9 year old if she wanted a flake, but no mention of the extra cost (£1 extra on top of the £4 icecream). Just really annoys me, feel like they should ask the person paying not the kid who will not take into account or be aware of the cost.

Afraid this is entirely incorrect.

it has nothing to do with price.

99s date back to the 1930s.

The 99 has to do with the number of guards Italian royalty had, so become synonymous with ‘first class’.

It’s well reported.

Get used to it. Your child is getting older and more people will respect that and ask her views or all kinds of things

Not so. They were called that because they were invented at an ice cream parlour at 99 Portobello High Street (in Scotland) and the owner called them after that.

They certainly were not 99p in the 70s/80s when I was a child. I remember them costing about 20p in the late 70s. Even a Cornetto was 'only' 30p when they first came out, hence the playground parody of the O Solo Mio advert - Just one Cornetto/Give it to me/You must be joking/They're 30p.

Yanbu. Asking a child whether they want something which costs extra money is not ok.

if it’s just a preference such as flavour or topping for an already ordered item or ice in a drink then that’s fine imo.

Yes indeed!

They were called 99s because they were 99p.

I Thought they still were 😳. Which shows how long it's been since I last had one, but is also making me really want one now. With flake, obvs.

That's it in a nutshell.

YANBU. I was extremely pissed off when I'd booked a wet cut for my dd which involved a wash, cut & rough dry. The stylist asked dd (13) if she wanted it straightened & she said yes. I was slapped with an extra £10 at the end. Why can't they just stick.to the service I booked?

It's normal to address the child, I actively dislike when the child is treated like furniture.

No they weren’t! They were 99s when I was a child pre decimalisation. Sorry.

No no. They weren't 99p. They were about 20p in an 80s childhood. Honest.

From AI

The etymology of the “99” ice cream (a soft-serve cone with a Cadbury Flake inserted) is somewhat debated, but there are a few leading theories:

1.
Italian Connection Theory (most popular)

This theory ties the name to Italian immigrants who opened ice cream parlours in the UK:

• The number 99 was associated with elite or special things in Italian culture.
• Specifically, in the early 20th century, 99 was the number of an elite guard in the Italian king’s army. Vendors may have adopted it to suggest the treat was of high quality or “special.”

2.
Cadbury Theory

• Cadbury claims to have first used the term “99” for its Flake bar in the 1930s when it began marketing a shorter Flake for ice cream cones.
• The company says the name might have originated from the address of a shop or supplier at 99 Portobello High Street in Edinburgh, which was associated with early sales of the treat.

3.
Price Theory (unlikely but often mentioned)

• Some believe it may have originally cost 99 pence, but this is not supported by historical pricing. The name predates modern UK currency changes (i.e., decimalization in 1971), so this theory is mostly dismissed.

In summary, the Italian connection is the most widely accepted explanation.

what? 😂

Do you think the flake comes out of the Mr Whippy machine straight onto the cone?

I had this was clearly one paying and had said prior I could get everyone a £4 without flakes in - teens look at me when asked and said no DH said yes which then threw money I had left out and couldn't do it a second time as planned.

So said fine we'll all get a flake but means can't buy a second lot later in week - thanks to a family funeral money was really tight.

It from £4.50 - bloody pricy already- to £5.50 per cone - and all the shops with scoops and cones in town were the same price as had checked . So we had to find some cheaper frozen ice creams to put in freezer rest of week - which took some doing as many shops were sold out but was much cheaper.

yes it's nice to involve kids.

But I hate it when people say "but it's only a pound" or similar.

Yes it's only a pound. To you that may be nothing. But to a parent who has scraped together the money for an ice cream as a special treat that might be cutting into them having anything or even cutting into the grocery money for the week. The person serving won't know if this is the case or not so should never put the parent (payer) in to an awkward situation.

Not really a dig at you amooseymoomum but I've seen this too many times and it's sometimes "only a pound" and sometimes it's "only £100" or even more.

That’s not true actually. I can’t remember exactly what they were named for but you can google it. I can remember when they cost less than 99p and I’m only in my 30s

I last had a mr whippy two summers ago and they were £3.50 then but a fiver (regardless of if flake in it or not!). Heck if I was a parent I’d nip into closest supermarket and grab a multipack Cornettos for us all I think! 😅

If a flake was wanted it would have been asked for at the time wouldn't it

I hate the assumption that the parents can just pay for any add ons.

You ordered it in the first place so they should have asked you. If you were willing to spend the extra, you could then tell your child to tell the seller what they wanted. And to those saying it's 'only a pound' - £4 is already a lot.

I think they should ask whoever ordered the rest. So if your DD went with you and asked for her own ice cream, ask her (I wouldn’t say this applies to very young children). But it sounds like you’d ordered it, so they should ask you.

It would be weird and patronising if they spoke to you over her head at 9 as if she wasn't there.

A 4 or 5 year old, yes, but 9 is old enough to speak for herself.

If you don't want her to have it then as a parent you simply intervene and say 'not today, thanks'.

Urgh I just went somewhere that charged 40p for a squirt of strawberry sauce on top, so I don't think you are being unreasonable at these kinds of places. Its not even the cost 40p I do have, but the principle of paying 80p for two squirts of sauce just left a bad taste in my mouth

For the love of god (ignoring point of post) why don't you want your free flake? YABVU. Just think of the joy they would bring to someone else - not in the uk and have been craving a flake, so might be a little deranged by the thought of passing up free chocolate. Even if it is a cheapest of the cheap Mr Softee one.

It’s one thing to address the child, and something completely different to upsell TO a child. OP is complaining about the latter.

Digressing. Apologies. DS (adult) told me last week that a park in B’ham it was £7.00 for a Mr Whippy. I’m not sure if it included a flake and ‘red’ sauce but either way it seemed a lot. Is that the going rate these days?
No idea as we live overseas.