For broke college students, summer involves less tanning, going to concerts and hanging out with friends and more figuring out how to make money and pull your life together. It's the time to either get an internship and rock it or work, work, work until you drop dead. This summer, I had the pleasure of working at Baskin Robbins while maintaining two other low-demand jobs. After a sweet summer at Baskin, I have 13 confessions to make regarding my ice cream-scooping experience.
1. There are regulars that you love and there are regulars that you strongly dislike.
Same goes for probably all employees at every customer service establishment in existence.
2. Freshly packed pints and quarts are every employee’s dreaded request.
I have a pretty good feeling that hand-packed quarts and pre-packed quarts are EXACTLY the same. I highly doubt the freshness is any different. Think about it, the large tubs I “freshly” pack a quart with were probably filled by the same machine the pre-packed quarts were filled with.
3. Some people are clueless when it comes to ordering ice cream.
I am human. I can’t read your mind. When you ask for a cone, you’re going to have to tell me which of the multiple options you want.
4. There’s more cleaning involved than you’d think.
The store I worked in was small, but moping that place up after hours was brutal. Did I mention there’s a long list of chores that need to be done beforehand?
5. Waffle cones are made constantly.
You will always have a fresh waffle cone. I understand the worry, but there’s no need to. You may have peace of mind now.
6. The smell of waffle cones, a smell you once enjoyed, will start to give you headaches.
Why do some of the best things in life turn into the worst?
7. There are people out there that actually tip at Baskin Robbins.
Honestly, as a customer, I never would’ve thought to tip people who work at Baskin Robbins. We don’t even have a tip jar. It’s surprising how many kind souls are out there. They’re very much appreciated!
8. Customers can actually buy a whole gallon tub of ice cream, if they so desire.
I never experienced this, so I’m not exactly sure how it works. As I understand it, either the employee has to hand pack the whole tub into quarts (which would probably make him or her cry) or the customer can take the whole tub home. Either way, I’m curious as to who has a freezer big enough for that amount of ice cream.
9. You may be a good customer, but other people are not like you.
I once had a family of five sample four flavors…each. Twenty samples later, decisions were finally made and I proceeded to scoop all five orders. Another time, I had two different groups trying to order from me at the same time. I can only do so much, people.
10. Scooping ice cream is way harder than it looks.
A few days into the job, my wrist hurt so badly that I went out and bought one of those wrist braces from Walgreens to wear when I wasn't on the job. True story.
11. As an employee, you’re always in the know about new flavors.
It's one of the few many perks alongside being able to taste as many flavors as you want.
12. Always take your receipt.
There’s a coupon on the bottom! How can you pass that up?
13. As you may have noticed, there are more than 31 flavors at a time.
There has to be at least 31 in the store, but no one said anything about having more than 31!