CNBC ColdStone

[jonathanb]

Had two Cold Stone stores in Florida, closed both of them. Never made a profit with either store. We didn't profit by making people happy either. Sales and business were never there from the start, and we couldn't make sales grow either. That didn't stop Cold Stone from collecting their monies, they wouldn't work with us to abate any payments. They did offer us to buy and spend more money with them and try to franchise a Cereality, that was their suggestion to help grow business.

[formercsczee]

Once upon a time, Cold Stone was a great thing. We bought in when the company was just beginning to grow, and there was heart. They grew too fast, with a completely broken business model that is still broken. The growth did the original parent company in, and Kahala Corporation took over. They are the most unethical, improperly functioning, joke of a company that I have ever worked with. So now, I closed a store, they have my other one. Never, NEVER would I invest in this again. What a joke.

[sethdavis]

Is there a worst franchise investment than Cold Stone?

My family and I lost everything with them. Their management is terrible. Our stores sold a lot of ice cream and all we did was lose thousands of dollars every month. They kept saying it’s this and then when we would change it, they’d say oh, it’s that. When we learned they were taking kickbacks we just closed the stores and filed bankruptcy. This is the worst franchise in the world as far as I’m concerned. Talk about American Greed!!!

[JohnHardison]

I owned a Cold Stone and found the rebates or "kickbacks" to be like a cancer. I could go to Sam's Club or Costco and purchase my supplies significantly cheaper than through the Cold Stone distribution system. For example, the agreement we had to enter with a soda distributor had me paying $16 a case for bottled water when I could buy the same product at Sam's for $6. So it isn't just a small amount of money added to a few products that we are talking about, it's big, really big.

[FormerColdStoneZee]

It’s disgusting to see Robert Zarco sitting there with Dan Beem and defending what Cold Stone has done to us franchisees. I thought he was supposed to be a franchisee attorney but I guess everything’s for sale at the right price. I used to have a high opinion of that guy but I don’t trust him anymore. Shame on you Robert Zarco for what you’ve done to the Cold Stone franchisees after all we’ve been through with our unprofitable stores. How do you even sleep at night?

[MisterMikeTexas]

Looks like a lot of these franchise systems would rival the mafia!

[valc]

All the trouble started after Doug Ducey left his position as CEO. It was all down hill from there on.

[alyciaa]

2nd in the nation yet no profit? No one sees anything wrong with this? Doesn’t make sense.

[thomasburke]

the statement made by ZARCO at 7:30 PROVE IT .... what are you going to do with raw product if you dont have the machines to produce the product or you are forced to dispose of the product...

[leary]

What does "product going out the back door mean"? I'm guessing theft or waste