|
Choose Frequently Asked Questions pertaining to:
|
|
FAQs - Ruggles Products
Why have you discontinued my favorite ice cream flavor?
Although we would like to please everyone, sometimes not enough people buy a certain flavor and when that happens the quality can be affected. When we run a flavor we have to meet minimum run requirements as determined by costing and production criteria. If an ice cream doesn't sell, the excess inventory sits in storage and, even though it is frozen, ice cream eventually breaks down, affecting overall quality.
We have built a reputation and even won national awards for quality, so rather than put out a product that doesn't meet our standards, we choose to pull it and try something new. This also helps keep our costs down so we can offer the best product at the best price.
I have a favorite ice cream flavor of yours but cannot find it in the stores. I have talked to some of the store managers about it and they tell me they don't have any control over what flavors they receive from you. Is this true?
Not entirely. Although they don't have any control over what flavors we produce, they do have a choice as to which ones are brought into the store. All of our flavors are made available to everyone. The exception to this may be that, upon occasion, the corporate office of some large chains determines and authorizes only certain flavors to be carried by their stores. If there is a particular flavor that you know we produce (refer to our website product listing), talk to the ice cream manager at your local store about ordering it in. They are usually pretty helpful fulfilling customer requests.
What does it mean if a product is "heat shocked"?
Heat shock is the nemesis of all dairy products. Studies indicate that for every degree above 40 (F) milk is allowed to warm, one day will be lost from shelf life indicated by the code date. Even if re-cooled, this shelf life shortening will still occur. With ice cream, any melting and re-freezing results in loss of texture and flavor.
We at Smith Dairy want you to get the most out of your dairy products. We make every effort to get it to the store properly cooled. We ask that you make every effort to maintain temperature and refrigerate or freeze promptly. This will assure long lasting freshness of the products which we at SMITH'S produce with pride.
Why don't you include where to find your products on your website?
With the redesign of our website, we are looking at ways to accomplish this. One of the problems we face is that we serve several thousand retail customers and they are constantly changing as stores change suppliers, go out of business, etc. To keep a current listing would be an administrative challenge at this point. Another problem is that we sell our products through many warehouses. They, in turn, sell to their accounts. Who those are is information they prefer not to share with us. Consequently, we don't always know where our products are being sold. For the present, we would prefer to personally help you find our products through our Consumer Connection number at 800-776-7076 or via e-mail.
|
|
|
