Experience of a service crew in an ice cream shop

*This is a recap of my work experience back in Dec 2020*

I started around December 2020 with my girlfriend at that time and obviously, things didn’t work out. How I even started working in an ice cream shop is one experience I’ll never forget. It was pretty random la not gonna lie. I think I was on break and I got this feeling that my dad didn’t like the idea of me being home and not doing anything so I told my girlfriend about it and she suggested this place called Inside Scoop. The workplace is about 5 mins from her place and at that time it was something I did for love.

Anyway, I was scheduled to meet the branch manager this one night and coincidentally, I had badminton before that, and come to think about it, it was pretty dumb to go for badminton even though I have an interview the same night. Usually, my friends and I would go for supper after badminton but I didn’t join them that night. I rushed to the shop right after badminton and got there in time, but I was in my sports attire and pretty much all wet and sticky (not a good first impression but oh well HAHA)

I still remember being questioned about how I know about Inside Scoop and I gave the stupidest answer ever man fuck HAHAHA. It’s so cringe to even think about it now after so long. I basically answered “Oh, I’ve tried the ice cream in ….” (I said somewhere that the store isn’t even located at) and the manager just brushed it off like it was nothing. Obviously, I know that he knows that I’m bullshitting but in my defense, I didn’t know shit. Should have answered the truth about it but no, I decided to bullshit HAHAHA).

Got the job anyway, and I think I started earlier than my ex and I was put together with a few senior staff. When the manager sent me the schedule, I freaked out cause I didn’t expect to be the only trainee. There was this senior staff who was so into the army, he treated me like a sergeant and any time I ask him questions about work, he would literally answer in a formal way. There was this one time I was assigned to clean the coffee machine and he was told to observe in case anything goes wrong. Understandable, but his way of approach was a bit ridiculous. Imagine a trainee asking a senior staff if whatever he’s doing is right, just to get the stupidest response back. “Am I doing it right?” “I don’t know, you tell me.” What? If I knew, I wouldn’t ask you, right? My manager witnessed the whole thing and he defended me by asking that guy to not treat me like a sergeant.

Fast forward to about a month or two, I passed probation and became one of the junior staff. Honestly speaking, I enjoyed working there so much that I would go even though the new semester started. Being able to interact with customers and doing what the service crew does is actually fun. It does get tiring though, but it’s the experience that matters. The branch that I worked at was the first branch ever and it was a pretty small store so every time I work, it’s pretty much the same thing for opening and closing. My manager asked me one day if I wanted to become a senior staff and that means I’d have more responsibilities. Opening and closing the store was one of the reasons why I don’t want to become a senior staff because that’s a HUGE responsibility. If there’s anything to do with money, I wouldn’t wanna handle it because I know what kind of a person I am. I then told my manager that I’d think about it. He was pretty convincing la, and the fact that he trusted me with the responsibilities, it’s an offer I couldn’t deny.

Eventually, I became a senior staff and it took a while for me to get used to it. Delivery was one of the hardest things to manage because it usually happens during noon and sometimes we have either 2 or 3 people working at times, it can get hectic up front and it requires at least 2 people to be on standby. There were many times when I had to do delivery alone and the reason why it was so stressful is that I had to take note of what arrived, and there are a lot of ice cream and ice cream cakes, so if I’m slowly taking note of whatever that’s there, they are all gonna melt. Doing delivery alone is definitely hell.

One of the most fun parts about being a senior staff is that I get to practice latte art whenever we’re free. Eventually, the number of staff grew and there was more senior staff than junior staff so our manager would take off or leave early from time to time. That was when we would mess around but still be serious when we need to. Though we had lots of fun, we still went through hell countless times. One of the worst that we went through was a power outage and at that time, the store was packed with customers. Full house. It was me, another senior staff, and one junior staff. The TV where the menus are, freezer with ice cream and ice cream cakes, cash register, and air conditioner were all OUT. TURNED OFF. We froze and looked at each other. There were customers in front of the ice cream freezer as well as the cash register but there’s nothing we can do because the system’s down and we can only accept cash at the moment. We weren’t sure how long the power outage was gonna be, so we proceeded with those that could pay with cash, and those that prefer e-wallets, the price was taken note of and we could only charge them after everything was sorted out.

I called my manager and he guided me through it all. Mind you, it was his day off so he wasn’t really happy that I called but there was no other choice. I’d be lying if I say I didn’t panic. My manager is the kind of guy who gets really scary when he’s mad and clearly, I was getting on his nerves for not knowing how to turn the main electrical box back on. To be fair, we were never trained on that part. Eventually, the power came back on but my manager was already on his way to make sure everything was fine.

Fast forward to a few months later, the company needed to promote the new flavors for Hari Raya, and there was gonna be a video shoot. When my manager told us about it, my friend and I quickly agreed to do it cause we would get featured in all outlets, and well, who doesn’t wanna be in front of the camera right? We were told to open the store at about 7ish or 8 in the morning and we did the usual stuff. As we were getting ready, the crews arrived one by one and we were just minding our business. All the ice cream that was used for the shooting was wrapped and put on one side the night before just so it’s easier to identify in the morning. Oh, and the temperature is around -10 degree celsius (if I remember correctly) and it takes a while for the ice cream to soften before we could scoop it.

Long story short, on the bright side, we got featured on social media and every outlet, but on the not-so-bright side, it was just me and one senior staff, and we had to rewrap the ice cream, key in wastage, put everything back in the freezer, and clean the whole store. All was done by the 2 of us, while the crew and corporate people just sat in front. All in all, it was definitely a great experience, and tons of memories were made among all crews including the manager. We went through ups and downs together, a lot of drama, even arguments, and most importantly, we bonded. I quit around April 2021, and not long later, everyone left too. It was pretty sad to see everyone go but we had to move on eventually.

Oh, I almost forgot this. I remember taking trips to our competitor’s store called Softsrve during my break a few times to visit my crush who eventually became my girlfriend at that time. There were also times when she would come to visit me at the store with her friends and it’s just worth mentioning I guess. Well, things are different now and it probably is for the best. That’s pretty much it and this is just a summary of my working experience in this little ice cream store in Bangsar called Inside Scoop. Write soon!