Mr Bryan Ice Cream Truck Nashville

Having frequented this brand new eatery on 51st Ave North for several weeks and spending hundreds of dollars on their overpriced, mediocre food and occasional beer, including consistantly generous tips. (It was convenient .....That's all!)

I was a bit taken aback when I was suddenly asked to pay my bill, get out, and never come back....... no explanation given. As a senior citizen who has never in my life been kicked out of anywhere and aware of committing no offense of any kind, I was naturally a bit shocked.

When pressed for a reason, the proprietor said "I'm sick to death of seeing your ice cream truck in my parking lot, in front of my sign!"

This has to be the most rediculous complaint I have ever heard in my entire  64 years. My truck has a handicap plate and the only handicap parking happens to be next to the sign.

The sign, however, is 17 feet in the air, so my truck would have to levitate in order to be "in front" of it. There was no appropriate comment for this ludicrous accusation, so I paid my bill, tipped the server, and drove home shaking my head, never to return.

When I later went to have lunch at a much nicer place across the street, I told the manager what happened at The Nations, he laughed out loud. He said "Your truck is certainly welcome here any time!" He then offered me a free coffee.

Apparently, plenty of other customers have had similar experiences at The Nations and refuse to go there. He described the proprietor quite accurately as a short, stocky, perpetually angry looking individual who drinks too much of his own booze and is thoroughly obnoxious and rude. Yep! Perfect description of Pat!

I also learned from another source that Pat is not the sole owner of The Nations as he claims to be. My source commented: "When his backers find out that he's throwing good paying customers out, right, left, and center and getting a reputation for being an obnoxious jerk, he might be getting the boot himself."

That would be good riddance, but too little to late, as far as I'm concerned. The Nations will never get another dime from me or any of my friends. As far as I'm concerned, this second class hole-in-the-wall can crawl back into the same trailor park it crawled out of. 

I really hate for customers to miss me and I am always willing to turn around when they can't catch me, even if I'm on another street, as long as I'm not miles away by the time they call. I am never in a hurry.

Unfortunately, many people let their toddlers call me instead of doing it themselves and I sometimes cannot understand a single word or pick out the address. (It also doesn't help that I often get pointless calls from children who might be in another city or even another state and may think this is one of them.) 

One child in Forest Hills called me repeatedly a few days ago and I could not understand a single word. I knew they had missed me, but I could do nothing about it, since the child could not pronounce their street name clearly and wouldn't hand the phone over to Mom, so this family didn't get any ice cream and I really hope they didn't think I don't care, because I do very much. I value my loyal customers.

You should be aware, that I'm in a noisy truck and sometimes a noisy location, so clear calls and messages are essential. Eventually, I just had to hang up on this poor child and stop taking his or her calls. This is very frustrating for both the customer and myself. Please don't assume others can understand your 5 year old just because you can.

IF YOU MISSED ME, PLEASE PICK UP THE PHONE AND CALL ME YOURSELF! OR AT THE VERY LEAST STAND CLOSE BY AND MONITOR THE CALL AND BE READY TO STEP IN WHEN IT'S NOT GETTING THE DESIRED RESULT.

Most people assume that a text message works as well as a phone call. It does not ! They hear me in their neighborhood and text me to turn around, if they have missed me. Unfortunately, text alerts are hard to hear in a movng vehicle, and I may not notice your text until hours later .......way too late to do any good. And If I happen to be usIng my credit card reader, the phone doesn't work either. The only reliable way to reach me is a PHONE CALL !  If I don't answer, CALL ME AGAIN in a minute or two ! I can always hear phone calls, as long as my credit card reader is not being used. I really hate my loyal customers to be disapointed. They are my friends and I value them beyond measure. I will do anything within my power, to give them great service and make them happy. But DO NOT TEXT ME ! PHONE ME ! Cheers!

Many people and especially restaurants throw out almost as much coffee as they consume. This can get surprisingly expensive over time, especially if you tend to buy premium varieties. I found out many years ago that coffee does not get stale, as most people believe. It turns bitter because it's being kept hot. If you make coffee and IMMEDIATELY remove it from the heat and let it cool, it can be reheated for at least 2 days. As long as you don't reheat it to the boiling point, it will taste as fresh as when you made it. Over several decades, this trick has saved me many hundreds of dollars.  

Left over coffee can be frozen into cubes for making iced coffee in the blender and also makes a very good gravy browning ingredient. A small amount has often been the secret ingredient in many of my recipes. (Not that I actually ever follow a recipe. LOL) Coffee grounds are also good for your garbage disposal and kitchen drains. Think of them as "roughage".

I'll be posting more money saving tips from time to time. This one alone should save you enough to pay for all of your Ice Cream, which of course is the whole point. LOL

Some vendors selling shaved ice have recently been quoted by customers as having described their products as "fruit ice". This is clearly misleading, since their products contain no fruit or fruit juice whatsoever and would be more accurately described as "chemical ice". While I have nothing against vendors selling snow cones or any other product, I do have a problem with false or misleading marketing.

Everything I sell has to have the ingredients clearly listed on each package by law. I do not understand why certain other vendors do not meet these same standards and why it is even allowed.

When I tell you I have fruit bars, that's exactly what they are, fruit and nothing but fruit. If you choose to buy something entirely artificial, that's your right, but you should at least be told the truth.

And while I'm on the subject, there are numerous unlicensed trucks running around sporting big signs that say "ICE CREAM". Most of these do not have one single item that is actually ice cream. Companies like Good Humour, Riches, and Purity, now have artificial products made out of oil instead of cream.

Olive palm oil is one of the common ingredients. If that doesn't sound familiar, let's reverse the words: "palm olive". That's right ! That's where the famous brand gets its name. When you buy these products, you're getting food made from oil that is normally used to make soap. Doesn't that sound delicious?

If you haven't seen me in your neighborhood too much recently there are a couple of reasons for this. First of all I now have just about the only legal and fully insured truck in many counties, so getting around to see everybody is a bit of a challenge.

Secondly, with all of the legal fleets going out of business (racing to the bottom) I have picked up many of the top commercial customers they lost in their never ending effort to be the cheapest, rather than the best. In their false belief that all customers care about is the price, they cultivated the most unprofitable business, while at the same time failing to provide the kind of service and quality that high end clients demand and deserve.

With their fleets largely populated by drivers who had no skills, no education, and often no idea of even the most rudimentary rules of civilized behavior, it's no surprise that banks, insurance companies, and other corporate clients were less than thrilled to be served by their vendors and repeat business was unlikely. Neither would their trucks likely be welcome in any of the better neighborhoods. So their trucks wound up sharing the very worst neighborhoods with the fly-by-night operators. 

Thirdly, it may surprise many that July and August are the very worst months for doing residential business. The extreme heat is not an asset and many residence are either out of town or sitting around a community pool with no cash or cards on them.

Fourthly, This year's summer weather has been extraordinary, with rain almost every day during the peak times for doing residential business. This has resulted in my working much closer to home than is usual. There is little point in driving 15 or 20 miles and then being rained out. I have spent fewer hours in the truck every day than any previous year. Fortunately, after so many years, my business is so finely tuned that I can get away with working very few hours, but these few hours do not allow for covering a wide area on the map.

With a new publishing deal, have also come out of songwriting retirement and the extra hours have come in handy for working in the studio an finishing up songs. I have  current co-written single by Brenda Kaye Perry and a total of 10 songs on her new album, not to mention some other recent cuts. For those who might be interested, you can hear the single at the following youtube url:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhuF0ltxImk

I'm always looking for new high quality items to add to my menu. Availability of even my most popular items varies constantly, but be assured, I will never substitute any item with one of lower quality. You deserve better!

I recently discovered some really fabulous fruit bars made by a Mexican company and have added several as they have become available.

They include a creamy mango, strawberry, creamy coconut, and a Lime bar. There is also a butter pecan bar that is out of this world. These items sell out quickly and are not always available, but I will provide them whenever possible.

I recently did an event at Vanderbuilt and sold out every single fruit bar on my truck. My goal is to keep the menu interesting, while at the same time carrying most of your favorites.

Believe or not, I personally test every single thing that goes on my truck. It has to not only taste good, but it has to have quality ingredients and be a good value.

My philosophy is simple. I won't sell your kids anything I would buy for my own.

I've added some new lights an a new menu board to the truck. It now has colorful flashing lights around the hightop and a full size tow truck style flashing light bar on the roof. These not only make the truck more fun and easier to find, but also safer for both myself and my customers. Safety is always a top priority. The new menu board has a cleaner look than product pictures on the curved chassy. I also have a second music box that plays fun noises for parties .... everything from sirens to crowing roosters and mooing cows. Always looking for ways to add value and make things more fun. 

Here's what can happen when you use an 800 number to book an ice cream vendor for your event:

1. You'll likely be talking to someone who is not in your state and is not familiar with your area or your needs. 

2. The 800 company may not own any trucks in your area or have local staff. Your event may be "sold" to a third party who is not responsible to either you or the company. One such company lists a Nashville location that does not exist.

3. You may be tempted by cheap prices. A cheap price always means poor quality and poor service.You deserve better. You may find yourself getting an inferior vehicle with  inferior products.

Most trucks carry artificial products made with oil and chemicals. The driver may also be less than professional. 

4. Many "ice cream" trucks in the Nashville operate illegally, without health permits, safety equipment, a commercial freezer, commercial plates, commercial liability insurance, or any visible contact information. 

5. The driver may get lost and show up late or not at all due to poor directions or poor skills.

So who do you blame when you dial 1-800  and something goes wrong?

Unfortunately only yourself !

When you call

MrBryanIceCream 

(615) 513-1466 

you get Mr Bryan himself and nobody else!

No middlemen! No guesswork!

Leaving me website messages is not a great way to contact me! I sometimes don't get them for weeks and by then it's way too late to book your party, event, etc. The phone is still the way to go. I'll never understand why people don't just pick up the phone and call me when they have a question or want to book a party, etc. I spend very little time on my website but my cell phone is with me 24/7.

People also frequently send me emails with no phone number included and very little information about their event, etc. I never do business by email alone. If you want to book me, you have to talk to me personally. By phone, I can ask all the necessary questions and get dozens of details out of the way in a few minutes. The more information I have the better I can meet your specific needs. I ask lots of questions because I want to make sure my clients are getting exactly the type of service they need and I want to make sure their event is a success and meets or exceeds their expectations. Use the phone! Use the phone! Use the phone!