A man filming at an Insomnia Cookies location in St. Louis, Missouri, said in his TikTok video that staff turned him away from ice cream because the service was closed. The man, whose name is Damon according to his TikTok profile, claimed he then watched the employee serve chocolate ice cream to another customer who arrived shortly after him.
In the video, the person filming asked the employee why ice cream was unavailable. The employee responded that a regular customer comes in every night for chocolate ice cream. She added that she does not consent to being filmed.
Damon stated that he and his group had entered not even five minutes earlier and were told they could not have ice cream. He pointed out that the other customers came in not even two minutes later and received service, saying, “That’s not right.” The employee replied that she was not serving a bunch of ice cream and had told the regular because he comes in every night.
Employee explains ice cream was closed while working alone near closing time
The customer pressed further, asking if only regulars could get ice cream. He noted that the other person had not even paid yet. The employee asked him to leave and said no, especially now that he was taking video of her.
Damon insisted the situation was not right and stated, “That’s discrimination.” The employee denied the accusation. She explained that the regular comes in every single night and receives ice cream. When the customer said that was a lot, she responded that it was not.
She asked how many times she sees him in a week. He replied three or four times. The employee said she usually does not close the ice cream but was working alone that night and worked very hard, so she closed it. Damon challenged that she had just given some to the other customer. Ice cream policies have sparked similar run-ins at other chains, like when a woman was refused a larger ice cream cup at a Chick-fil-A.
In the second TikTok video, Damon said the employee was being lazy and had claimed she was not doing any ice cream. He stated he stood outside and watched the other group enter, hoping she would not serve them. He noted the store closes at 1 o’clock and that it was 12:20 when he first walked in.
The employee said she was close to closing and would now be there even later. She maintained that she did not reopen the ice cream and only gave it to her regular. Damon demanded she call the manager and continued arguing as she asked him to leave the premises.
Viewers reacted to the clips with a range of opinions about the exchange at the counter. One commenter questioned why the filmer was not served, writing, “why not just give him ice cream i dont understand.” Another suggested the approach appeared limited to regulars, stating, “So if you’re NOT a regular you DON’T EAT?”
A third commenter claimed to have faced the same treatment, writing, “SHE DID THE SAME THING TO ME.” One viewer criticized the other customers for still purchasing ice cream, writing, “The fact that those guys still bought ice cream seeing the discrimination happening in their face is disgusting!!” Ice cream counter disputes have gone viral before, like when a TikToker said a customer tossed a $50 ice cream order after employees refused to waive the bill.
Another commenter tied the situation to race, writing, “White ppl are willing to lose their job and go viral for the wrong reasons just because of racism that’s crazy.” A further viewer joked about the length of the back-and-forth, writing, “That conversation was at least 10 scoops long.”
Published: Nov 15, 2026 11:45 am