Ice cream shop owner wants to stop haggling

Sofie Bell said "there is no need" to haggle over everything

An ice cream shop owner on the Lincolnshire coast has asked customers to stop haggling over prices.

Sofie Bell, owner of the Mablethorpe Ice Cream Company, said it was a "challenge we face every day".

The High Street shop sells ice cream, doughnuts, rock, and other sweet treats.

Ms Bell said the store closed for four months of the year and whatever they make in summer months they have to carry through the rest of the year.

Mablethorpe Ice Cream Company is located on the High Street

Ms Bell told BBC Radio Lincolnshire: "It's a challenge that we have every day, people love to barter but unfortunately the price is the price, and it's the price for a reason.

"It is cheap and cheerful and we are very reasonable but there is no need to haggle with everything."

She said she recently faced a scenario where a customer said they could pay with "the change in their pocket" or "it has to be a £20 note".

"I said 'that's fine, we have enough change, and you can pay on card if not.'

"If you do it for one, you have to do it for another, so that's just the rule and we have no favouritism," she added.

Ms Bell said they do "try their best" to help the community but they are a "business and not a charity".

A Facebook post by the ice cream company, it reads: "You would not barter in Tesco for your loaf of bread, or in Greggs for a coffee, or Cooplands for a sausage roll, or in Boots for your deodorant, so please do not do it with us.

"We are a small business and the price is the price."

Follow BBC Lincolnshire on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail]