Mr Bryan Ice Cream Truck Nashville

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.

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