With the sun in the middle, determined to melt everything in its path, and two lines of sweat sliding down her face, to prove that this summer life itself has the thermal sensation of a desert, Miriam shares her Tuesday misfortune with 26, in front of Las Copas ice-cream parlor.

"A neighbor told me that they had reopened and I was very happy to bring my grandchildren. I imagined that the prices would not be the same, because even the state offers have lost respect for money, but I was very surprised. To make a long story short, a salad cost more than 200 pesos, what a lack of respect. And don't think that the ice cream was very good, nothing of the sort.

"Another consumer commented that the product came from a small and medium-sized company, which is why the costs were so high. I was upset, firstly because all the money I had to take care of the children was gone, and secondly, because I feel that there are services that should be protected, and this is one of them. Where are we going to take the children this holiday? I am a science teacher, but I feel that the bill is not enough. They should publicize that workers can only come to Las Copas once a year..."

Since the reopening of the service in the heart of the boulevard, a wave of comments has accompanied the event, along with those who come to fight the high temperatures. There has also been a lot of debate on social media.

Yolanda Mireya wrote on the Facebook page of 26: "My experience: high prices and poor quality, I ordered chocolate and I didn't know what flavor it was and it melted". Yendrys Rojas wrote in capital letters: "Superbad quality, exorbitant prices, and melted ice cream. The cup at the bottom is full of pieces of fruit, pumped up to give less than what is needed".

Clara Olguita emphasized: "Very sad, especially because to please a child you have to give up the family basket. The famous salad with four tiny little balls is 220 pesos, and the ice cream that we all people from Las Tunas call: aguao" (watered).

THE CHALLENGE OF MAINTAINING A STABLE SUPPLY

Norbert Reyes Leyva, director of the UEB Boulevard to which Las Copas has now been added, confesses that his biggest challenge has been to maintain a stable ice cream offer, especially during the summer season and due to the influx of children to the place.

"We are providing service in the salon and outside, with differentiated prices because the ice cream comes from two suppliers. In the outside area, we sell what we are supplied by the Dairy Products Company", explains the manager. There are combinations with larger scoops and smaller ones, hence the costs also vary, but the supply is intermittent, we are not supplied every day".

In this respect, Osmany Atencio Legrá, technical production director of Lácteo, assured 26 that the industry has certainly maintained an unstable supply due to a lack of raw materials, especially milk and vegetable fat. We have made several formulations in search of strategies to maintain the presence of ice cream this summer," Osmany emphasized. We are testing with fruit pulp that we acquired from the Liberation factory and other additives. We are currently receiving resources to support the summer season and we are going to produce around 500 gallons per day, prioritizing the social commitment agencies".

DIFFERENTIATED SERVICES

The instability of this supplier put the manager of Las Copas on the path of non-state commissioning, of course, with higher costs. "We set ourselves the task of looking for other sources and that is where we found the link with a self-employed worker (TCP in Spanish) who to date has honored the contracts and maintains a stable presence. We market his product on the market and of course, it is more expensive," said Nolbert.

"The reserved area is an air-conditioned area with other supplies, and different comfort, the ice cream is of higher quality than that of the Lácteo and the salad costs two hundred and twenty pesos. We listen to consumers and we know that many do not understand the inequality of prices, but many are grateful that there are options to enjoy with the family.

"The combinations include biscuits, there are some with jam, meringue, fruit, and all of that influences the cost sheet. We strive to provide a good service, to gain public acceptance, but if we buy at high prices we are obliged to be profitable.

"We have revived ice cream sales and we are very happy about that. The unit has nineteen workers and we have to guarantee their income. It should be noted that sales have been very good; at the end of the first decade, it was one of the UEBs of its kind that sold the most.

"In addition to ice cream, we are selling cheese bread, hamburgers, and juices, both to take away and in the parlor. We expect to diversify production to take advantage of the strategic position of the building and at the same time provide the population with good quality service".

DO YOU WANT TO LOWER PRICES?

"We are trying to get the ice cream factory to set up here; there is a space on the boulevard that can be used. The TCP agrees and that could take away the transportation costs that are included because it is a bit distant from the city and it would make the ice cream cheaper to some extent.

It would also solve the problems we are having with the freezing of the ice cream because the product comes from Guáimaro and the cars that transport it have the refrigeration system in poor condition and I reiterate that the service is expensive".

Since its beginnings, Las Copas has been a place with a large number of children and long lines outside the building. It has always been characterized as a place with reasonable prices, where any family can have a few scoops of ice cream. Now, fortunately, it is reopening its doors, but even though it coexists with a differentiated service, it should protect the most economical option for ordinary people from Las Tunas who are looking for refreshments in its facilities.

The inequity of the prices is a reality of these times, but a stable offer of the Lácteo, in correspondence with the summer stage would guarantee that the external part could be adorned more of infants and protect in a good way the pockets of the parents who look for to please their offspring. One of the things that is missing is a more intentional approach to commitments.

It is a gigantic challenge for the new forms of management to keep the tables full of offers and services stable and affordable, especially since they were born with a view to profitability. But neither can the price of a cup of ice cream be burdened with additional costs that disguise inefficiency, lack of management, and lack of better commercial strategies to keep the units afloat.