A MUM has blasted an “extortionate” day trip that forced her to fork out £5.70 for a measly 99 Flake to avoid disappointing her son.
Emma McCafferty was “shocked” by the excessive cost of an ice cream at Coombe Abbey Park.
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Coombe Abbey Park, in the Warwickshire countryside, boasts 500 acres of parkland and has been a popular visitor spot for families for many years.
No Ordinary Hospitality Management was appointed in May 2018, by Coventry City Council, to run the on-site catering.
On a family trip out on Tuesday, April 2, Emma was “taken aback” to discover that the price of the ice cream she wanted to buy for her son, at Coombe Abbey Park, was an outrageous amount.
A single cone with no flake started at £3.95 and a double cone with a flake cost £5.70.
But, it was difficult for Emma to refuse her young son’s request for a sweet treat.
The staggering total cost for her ice cream purchase was £7.90 which she reluctantly forked out.
Emma said: “I just went for an afternoon at Coombe Abbey Park. I went with my son and he could see that the other children had ice creams so wanted one!
“We were in the queue and once you are in the queue you have committed to buying one, then you get to the point where you can see the prices on the wall and it was just really extortionate prices.”
Emma pointed out that she only had to cover one child but for people with more children than her, a simple afternoon snack would come to quite a “hefty price.”
She added: “People are saying support local businesses and trying to get people to spend money within Coventry but they do not have to charge that much, they would still make a profit. I think people need an advance warning.
“If I had an advance warning I would not have bought one or even got in the queue, I would have made some excuse not to buy one so just a warning to other people, either take a lot of extra cash with you or avoid it!”
A spokesperson for No Ordinary Hospitality Management (NOHM), the company which runs the kiosk at Coombe Abbey Park, said: “Items from the kiosk start at £2.50 and all prices are clearly displayed on the board.
“We work as hard as we possibly can to offer refreshments and treats to suit all budgets but we have had to increase the prices of these particular ice creams due to a 26 per cent rise in the cost of ingredients and a 10 per cent rise in staffing costs.
“We’re in regular contact with our suppliers and our ice cream prices are in line with other outlets which have fixed costs.”
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