Airing of Grievances: “Mr. Softee Screwed Me on My Birthday!”

I try my best not to be too negative on this site, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to vent. Every once in awhile I’ll share some of the more angry useful emails I get in a post called “Airing of Grievances”. (If the Eater Complaints Dept. would like royalties, I’ll be happy to pay up…)

At Lunch Now: Spring is Here
Photo of a Random Mr. Softee Vendor (Not the one being complained about)

Here’s a particularly bad email I got yesterday from a guy who was ripped off by a Mr. Softee truck yesterday, and on his birthday of all days!

“So yeah, the guy at 36th and 7th in the Mister Softee truck is a monster prick. I went up to him, asked him for a small cup. He hands it to me and I thought to myself “wow, that’s a huge small” – he didn’t tell me how much it was, but I gave him a 20. When he handed me $13 back, I said “$7? For a small?”

He claimed that he showed me the large cup and I said that’s what I wanted (that NEVER happened). I said “well, do you have a small cup?” and he showed me the smaller (presumably much cheaper) cup. I said “that’s what I wanted. I asked for a small cup.”

He then proceeded to get in my face about it…”

“I didn’t want to get hit in the face on my birthday (yeah, it’s my birthday), so I paid frickin’ $7 for mediocre ice cream. Would’ve been cheaper to order ice cream from room service at the Plaza!

But bottom line, this guy is a prick and should not be representing Mister Softee. I say boycott the bastard!”

That suuuucks.  Although this lesson might be about how to pay for something, rather than how to order.  The same thing happened in Midtown to a friend of mine who ordered a Gatorade, and gave the vendor a $20 bill without asking how much it was.  He had already opened it and started drinking by the time he got his $15 in change- so it was too late to complain, or try and get his money back. I wouldn’t be surprised if the guy jacked up the price the minute he saw that cap come off.

So let this be a lesson to all of you… make sure you ask how much somethig is *before* paying.  And whatever you do, don’t crack open a drink (or take a lick of ice cream) until you’ve been quoted a price.

30 Comments

  • Incidentally, are we going to meet up next time you visit NYC?

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    Doc Chuck, you’re in NYC in two weeks? I was planning on dousing you in kerosene and accidentally dropping my cigarette in Maryland, but since you’re in my neck of the woods…where exactly will you be staying?

  • Hey now–let’s keep the hostilities towards those who deserve it–those goddamn good for pretty much nothing crooked hot dog cart/Mr Softee vendors (of course there are a few cool hot dog vendor cart exceptions to this generalization–some are ocassionally honest and not total jerkoffs)!!!!

    @ Yvo: True, self defense would protect you if they throw the first punch, but in the case described above, I think it was justifiable to open the back of the truck (or go in through the side door) and rip the money out of the asshole’s hands….and if you happened to punch the loser in the mouth, no foul called…Not too many cops would take the side of a Mr. Softee vendor–at least the ones in my neighberhood.

  • DocChuck, i have no malevolent (or homoerotic) intentions. So if you’re afraid to relay your whereabouts when your in NYC, feel free to contact me directly if you’re actually interested in meeting up.

  • They all try this crap. Always get prices up front. I needed to take a cab today and was in such a hurry, I let a damn gypsycab pick me up. He tried to charge me 20 for a 5 cab ride. I gave him 10 and told him to be thankful.

    If you have the money, you have the power… And they are much less likely to even try if you ask up-front.

  • @Goats – not to make this an issue but really, if you enter their truck, and there are witnesses, that’s also… I dunno if that’s trespassing or breaking and entering, and I’m just so not interested in having a record. Sure the cops might not take Mr. Softee’s side, but if Mr. Softee *really* wanted to pursue legal action, you’d be in the wrong… Also in this digital age someone’s bound to be snapping pics or video! I’d watch a YouTube video of Mr. Softee fistfighting someone :)
    Of course letting them throw the first punch also runs the risk of roshambo… If you’re a guy you’re screwed!

    Then again, Mr. Softee being a business, if you appeared to actually be about to act violently, they would probably just give you your money back instead of hitting you.

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    BAN ALLL MR SOFTEE trucks in Midtown..as the photo shows, they mostly park in the crosswalk and often block a fire hydrant as the guy opposite MSG at 32nd & 7th Avenue does every evening. Numerous complaints to local precint has yielded zero results.

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    ALWAYS ask any vendor how much their products cost, if prices aren’t listed. I often get a can of soda from hot dog guys and they WILL charge $2 for it (should be $1). If they respond anything over $1, I’ll either walk away or dictate to them “$1 – do I look like a tourist?”

  • The Good Doctor is coming to NYC? I think we need to organize a ML happy hour meet-up at the Times Square Applebees.

    I may be alone in this, but after the countless hours of entertainment DocChuck has provided me, I feel the least I can do is buy him a beer at his restaurant of choice.

  • Did you see this article? It was posted the same day this complaint was posted. It’s about “imposter” Mr. Softee trucks that go by similar names.

    http://weblogs.amny.com/entertainment/urbanite/blog/2009/07/cracking_down_on_immitation_tr.html

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