鈥淚nfluencers pay double.鈥�
That鈥檚 the blunt message ice cream truck owner Joe Nicchi has for so-called social media 鈥渋nfluencers鈥� propositioning him with promises of online exposure in exchange for free treats.
Nicchi and his wife have been operating two vintage 1960s-era Mister Softee ice cream trucks in the Los Angeles area since 2014, after noticing a gap in the market.
鈥淭here was nothing like it out here,鈥� Nicchi told CTVNews.ca during a telephone interview on Thursday. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a very green juice town and low-fat frozen yogurt and all that so we were looking for something that reminded us of back home.鈥�
Home is upstate New York for Nicchi, whose father operates several restaurants there, serving homemade soft-serve ice cream. It鈥檚 the same recipe Nicchi has been offering West Coast customers since March 2014 when he launched .
Since then, the aspiring actor鈥檚 business has taken off earning praise from local food journalists and even winning LA Weekly鈥檚 best food truck in the city in its first year.
That hype is part of the reason, Nicchi suspects, numerous social media influencers, each claiming to have thousands of followers, have approached him since CVT Soft Serve opened.
鈥淭hey鈥檒l just walk up and say 鈥楬ey, my name is blah blah blah on Instagram. I鈥檓 not sure if you know me. I have 60,000 followers. I could put a picture of your ice cream on my story if you want to hook me up,鈥欌�� Nicchi said.
The father-of-two said he鈥檚 received about one or two inquiries a week from 鈥渋nfluencers鈥� interested in copping a free cone.
鈥淚鈥檓 like, 鈥楢re you out of your mind? This is $4,鈥� he recalled.
Nicchi said he also receives regular emails from people who want him to cater events for free in exchange for 鈥渆xposure鈥� online.
鈥淭hey love to use the word exposure,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檒l promise me all of this social media exposure in exchange for taking care of them and giving them all free ice cream.鈥�
What鈥檚 more, Nicchi said the majority of people reaching out to him weren鈥檛 even real influencers on social media.
鈥淵ou can purchase followers. You can purchase likes and comments,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 sure there鈥檚 legit influencers out there, I just haven鈥檛 come across any in our business.鈥�
鈥楨nough is enough鈥�
After consistently turning down their offers for years, Nicchi said he reached a breaking point when he received an invite to cater a 300-person party for free.
鈥淚 said 鈥楨nough is enough,鈥欌�� he recalled.
On Sunday, Nicchi made a sign with the text 鈥淚nfluencers pay double鈥� and hung it on his ice cream truck鈥檚 window as they served customers in Melrose.
鈥淚 put it on the truck just so if anyone showed up at the truck and started their whole spiel, I could just point to it or hopefully they would see the sign and not even pitch me their ridiculous idea,鈥� he said.
of the sign on Instagram which was then on Monday. Much to his surprise, the photo of the sign went viral and business at the trucks has doubled.
鈥淭he last two days have been crazy,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he irony is not lost on me whatsoever. I鈥檓 basically getting exposure for bashing people that were promising me exposure.鈥�
Nicchi said he thinks he struck a chord with other small business owners who have been unhappy with the increase in 鈥渋nfluencers鈥� demanding free services for online shout outs.
鈥淚t鈥檚 thrilling for my wife and I,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 great for our business to get the name out there, but it鈥檚 also exciting that we can expose what they鈥檝e been doing, the influencers.鈥�
