What Scooping Ice Cream Has Taught Me | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Lifestyle

What Scooping Ice Cream Has Taught Me

Valuable Lessons From An Ice Cream Scooper

47
What Scooping Ice Cream Has Taught Me
Kelsey Ritner

Living in a tourist destination has a lot of pros and cons, but perhaps the most positive aspect is the fact that you get to live and work in a place where people vacation. Scooping ice cream at the same family-owned business for six years has taught me a lot, not only about the world of ice cream, but the world in general. Perhaps after reading, you’ll understand that the young individual behind the counter of your local ice cream shop knows much more than the ingredients in Monster Cookie.

First of all, scooping ice cream has taught me the importance of specificity. When you come up to me and tell me that you want a vanilla ice cream, I’m not just going to say “okay!” and scurry off to make something I’m not even sure if you want. I’m going to ask you a million different questions like “what size?”, “cup or cone?”, “soft or hard vanilla?”, “sugar or wafer cone?” , etc. It may seem annoying at first, but I promise that I’m only trying to make you happy and avoid any miscommunications.

Which brings me to the next lesson I learned from scooping ice cream: patience really is a virtue. When you come into the shop with a thousand screaming children that all want samples and won’t stop running around the building, I’m not going to roll my eyes or get angry. I’m going to remain calm and understanding, even when you make each child tell me personally what they want, and most of them will want you to talk to me instead. I will patiently take all of the time your group needs to decide what they want. Why? Because I know what it’s like for me when customers are impatient, and I would never want someone else to feel like I do when that happens.

Scooping ice cream has also taught me to go easy on arm day when I have work later. You may think that scooping ice cream is an easy job, and in some instances, it is. However, when you run out of Chocolate Peanut Butter and you need to grab another one from the back only to find that it’s frozen solid and your customer absolutely NEEDS that flavor or they will roll over and die on your shop’s floor, you will truly understand just how difficult it is. Have you ever tried to scoop ice cream that’s rock solid? No? Well I’ll tell you right now, there must be a certain level of Hell where you need to scoop completely frozen Salted Caramel ice cream because it is the absolute worst thing that could happen to an ice cream scooper. After one summer of working at an ice cream shop, you’ll find that your dominant forearm is so much stronger simply from working through those physically tougher orders.

Finally, scooping ice cream at a family-owned ice cream shop for six years has taught me that you really can be extremely close to people who aren’t related to you by blood. My co-workers understand my ice cream-related struggles, and they’ve been there for me through all of my mid-shift breakdowns. There is no group quite like co-workers at an ice cream shop, and I was lucky enough to meet some of my best friends at the shop in which I spent most of my summers.

So the next time you go into an ice cream shop and see that worker behind the counter, be sure to pay them the respect and patience they deserve. It really is hard work, but if they’re anything like me, they’ll love every minute of serving you.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
10 things that happen the second Thanksgiving is over
reference.com

To those who celebrate, you just spent an entire day cooking an elaborate meal with all of your favorite foods. You probably ate your body weight in pumpkin pie and mashed potatoes. What happens now? Oh yea, Christmas. It’s time to take out all of the decorations and Christmas themed things that have been sitting in the attic since last year; it’s time to make a reappearance. So, here are 10 things that happen the second Thanksgiving is over.

Keep Reading...Show less
Adulting

18 Things I Want To Do Now That I'm 18

I'm technically an adult, so I'm legally required to live a little, right?

3073
Happy Birthday Cake

For the entirety of my high school career, I was always seen as the goody-two-shoes. I never got in trouble with a teacher, I kept stellar grades, and when I wasn't doing extracurricular activities, I was at home studying. Even when I did go out, it was usually with a bunch of fellow band geeks. The night would end before 11:00 PM and the only controversial activity would be a fight based on who unfairly won a round of Apples-to-Apples when someone else clearly had a better card (I promise I'm not still holding a grudge).

Now that I'm officially an adult, I want to pursue some new things. I want to experience life in a way that I never allowed myself to do prior to entering college. These are the years that I'm supposed to embark on a journey of self-discovery, so what better way to do that than to create a bucket list?

Keep Reading...Show less
Featured

10 Life Lessons from Christmas Classics

The holiday classics that shaped my life

1855
10 Life Lessons from Christmas Classics
Flickr

The holiday season is full of stress, debt, and forced conversation. While we rush through the month of December, it's important to take a step back and enjoy the moments before they're gone. Most families love to watch Christmas movies, but these beloved films provide more than entertainment. Here are 10 life lessons that I've learned from the holiday classics we watch every year.

Keep Reading...Show less
Featured

15 Mind-Bending Riddles

Hopefully they will make you laugh.

201125
 Ilistrated image of the planet and images of questions
StableDiffusion

I've been super busy lately with school work, studying, etc. Besides the fact that I do nothing but AP chemistry and AP economics, I constantly think of stupid questions that are almost impossible to answer. So, maybe you could answer them for me, and if not then we can both wonder what the answers to these 15 questions could be.

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

Most Epic Aurora Borealis Photos: October 2024

As if May wasn't enough, a truly spectacular Northern Lights show lit up the sky on Oct. 10, 2024

21498
stunning aurora borealis display over a forest of trees and lake
StableDiffusion

From sea to shining sea, the United States was uniquely positioned for an incredible Aurora Borealis display on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, going into Friday, Oct. 11.

It was the second time this year after an historic geomagnetic storm in May 2024. Those Northern Lights were visible in Europe and North America, just like this latest rendition.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments