$22 Soft Serve? Ice cream prices near the National Mall spark outrage

WASHINGTON — Soft-serve ice cream lovers in the nation's capital were raising their eyebrows after reports of sky-high prices at food trucks near the National Mall. 

The controversy began when Melissa Hayes shared her experience with WUSA9. Over the weekend, Hayes ordered four cups of vanilla soft serve for a total of $88 —$22 per cup. Shocked by the price, Hayes said the vendor did not disclose the cost upfront, and she only discovered the exorbitant charge when reviewing her bank account.

"I was pissed. I you know, was thinking maybe it was a mistake. I got my receipt and started Googling like the invoice name trying to find him," she explained.

She said she expected higher prices in such a touristy area but didn't expect them to be that high. "I wouldn't have thought it would have been that much. So I was in complete disbelief," said Hayes.

Her story has sparked a massive conversation about the prices vendors pay along the mall.

"When it comes to charging and selling goods, you have to for one, make sure you're selling what you're licensed for, so food or merchandise, and you have to have transparent pricing," said Tiffany Crowe, the director of DLCP.

She told WUSA9 there are between 100 and 110 vendors who are licensed to sell along the National Mall.

"We don't specify how exactly the prices have to be displayed, but you do have to be upfront with your costs. So in this scenario, when she said how much would that be, he has an obligation to let her know before beginning the transaction, and most certainly before charging her," Crowe said Wednesday night.

Friday night WUSA9's Katie Lusso stopped by about a dozen food trucks along the National Mall, that sell ice cream.

She asked each vendor the same question, 'How much is the vanilla soft serve?'. 

The prices the vendors shared ranged from $7 to $10, but one woman told WUSA9 she had been charged $11.

"I paid $11 for a small scoop of ice cream," said Tara.  "It's way overpriced."

Another person told WUSA9 he did a bit of bargaining before paying for his ice cream cone.

"I said how much is your ice cream and they said $10 and I said I don't value ice cream that much. I started walking away and he said 'no no no $8' and I said 'no you already lost me'. Then I went to the next truck over and they offered $6," said Matt.

One visitor to the mall told WUSA9 he could understand higher prices, but not $22 for a cup of ice cream.

"$7 to $10, fine, I mean it's DC there's a lot of people so the market's determined by scarcity and value and how much people are willing to pay for it," said Russell. 

However, he said he'd be going home and checking to see what he'd been charged for the ice cream he had purchased earlier in the night.

"I'll tell you right now if I got charged $50 I'm taking $30 and change out of that dude's ass," he said.

It's all a reminder, to make sure you ask the price up front.