Hire & Maintain Scooping Team
“A good staff doesn’t exist. Give up trying to find one.”
There is some truth in that statement. Finding the right people is important, but a really good staff truly comes from really good training and mentorship from those leading the team. Our first recommendation in the art of building the right team is to represent in yourself the type of people you are looking for.
When we begin hiring we ask ourselves, “Is the environment drawing in the right people?” Do people WANT to work here because it looks fun, and the employees are happy? Often, if we are not getting the applicants we are looking for, it means we need to evaluate how and where we are presenting the position.
Next, once we have a batch of applicants, we have an evaluation checklist to use when interviewing potential scoopers. Make your own checklist and hold to it – our biggest caution is hiring out of necessity. Hiring the wrong person just to have bodies can be the worst decision a store can make.
Once you have your team in place, be willing to put in the time to develop them into great staff members. Love your staff. Nurture your staff. Reward them often. Praise them publicly, and retrain them privately, and you’ll be setting yourself up for a smooth, successful, and profitable season.
Evaluation Checklist
As you evaluate your interviewees, look for:
- A willingness to apply in person. Online applications are fine, but value those who take the extra step.
- Smiling when they come in. Are they pleasant? Do they confidently seek out the person they are to meet?
- Thought in how they present themselves. Did they put thought and effort into preparing themselves for an interview, and putting their best foot forward with clean and appropriate attire?
- Whether you like them right away. This is a window into how they will impact customers. If you don’t like them immediately, can you like them quickly after asking them questions and calming their nerves a bit?
- An ability to roll with the unexpected. Ask off-the-wall questions, like “did you ride the bus to school?” or “if you could eat one crayon out of a box of 64, what color would it be?” See how well they can react to unexpected situations and keep conversations flowing.
- A clear, confident voice. Freezers, dishwashers and AC units are loud, make sure they can be heard clearly over the busy shoppe noise.
- Basic math skills. Test their ability to count change. Have them create change for a transaction, or, curveball, have them act out the customer end of a transaction and give them incorrect change to see if they notice and how they react.
- Excitement. Our customers value us for the experience we provide, not just the product. Are they excited to try all the ice cream? Are they excited to talk to people, move fast and make cute, yummy sundaes? Look for an excitement that customers will feel.
Training your Staff
Training can be a lot to process, especially if this is the first job a staff member has ever had. It is important to train properly, but be careful not to be “too educational” and have them lose interest in learning. Here’s a list of fun and innovative ways to train ice cream shop staff for the summer rush, along with key subjects to cover and how to make them engaging:
Key Training Subjects & Fun MEthods
Scooping Techniques & Portion Control
- Scooping Relay Race: Set up a timed challenge where employees must scoop consistent portions and build the perfect cone or cup.
- “Goldilocks Challenge”: Employees guess if a scoop is “too big, too small, or just right” using a scale.
Customer Service & Hospitality
- Role-Playing with a Twist: Have employees act out different customer scenarios—some realistic, some silly (e.g., a customer who only speaks in rhymes).
- “Secret Shopper” Game: Assign an employee to act as a mystery customer and rate their coworkers’ service.
Speed & Efficiency
- Time Attack Challenge: See who can accurately fill and serve a set number of orders the fastest.
- Ice Cream Assembly Line: Team members take turns at different stations (scooping, toppings, ringing up) to improve teamwork and efficiency.
Menu Knowledge & Upselling
- Flavor Trivia & Tasting Party: Employees guess flavors blindfolded and learn fun facts about each one.
- “Sell Me This Ice Cream” Game: Each employee must pitch an ice cream flavor to a “customer” in the most creative way.
Handling Difficult Situations (Meltdowns & Complaints)
- Improv Skits: Act out challenging situations (e.g., wrong order, rude customer) with humorous exaggerations to keep it light but informative.
- “Spin the Wheel of Troubles”: A wheel with different tough customer situations; employees take turns spinning and solving the challenge.
Sanitation & Food Safety
- “Germ Busters” Game: Use a UV light and hand lotion that simulates germs to show how well employees wash hands.
- Health Code Bingo: Employees mark off sanitation best practices as they complete tasks throughout their shift.
Teamwork & Communication
- Escape Room-Style Challenge: Solve ice-cream-related puzzles and tasks to “unlock” the perfect shift strategy.
- “Silent Shift” Exercise: Practice working together without speaking to improve non-verbal communication.
Emergency & Equipment Training
- Ice Cream Machine Breakdown Drill: Simulate a machine issue and challenge employees to troubleshoot the problem.
- First Aid & Spill Response Relay: Turn cleaning and safety drills into a friendly competition.
Final Note:
In many of these activities, new staff can be intimidated by having to provide the CORRECT answer.
Try changing the expectations. Go through these subjects and methods and ask them to give THE WORLD’S WORST answer. Or be the RUDEST worker. Oftentimes, the pressure is off when they KNOW they are asked to be bad. From there, you can go back and ask, “OK. How can we make that better?”
You will find that most people are open to improving and open to thinking for themselves. It is important to teach your team WHAT to think. It can be more important, however, to teach them HOW to think.
Money Handling & Change-Making Training
“Cash Register Speed Round”
- Set up a mock register with fake money.
- Employees take turns as the cashier while others play customers ordering various items.
- They must quickly and correctly calculate change without using the register’s auto-calculate function.
“The Make-Change Challenge”
- Give employees a set of transactions with different amounts paid.
- They race to count back the correct change using real or play money.
- Bonus points for explaining their thought process out loud.
“Odd Change Back” Game
- Give employees tricky payment scenarios, such as a customer handing over extra coins to avoid pennies.
- Example: A customer owes $4.37 but gives $5.12—what’s the correct change?
- This teaches them how to think critically about handling cash efficiently.
“Count Up, Not Down” Drill
- Teach employees the proper way to count back change by counting up from the total to the amount given.
- Example: Total is $7.65, the customer gives a $10 bill. Say, “That’s $7.65, plus 35 cents makes $8, plus $2 makes $10.”
- Make it a team challenge—who can count back change correctly the fastest?
“Fake Out” Cash Handling Test
- Give employees bills with slight damage or odd markings to test their ability to spot counterfeit or unusable money.
- Include fake scenarios like customers trying to pay with large bills for small purchases and see how they respond.
“Guess the Total” Upselling Game
- Employees must estimate total costs before ringing up an order based on menu prices.
- This helps them mentally add up costs, making them more confident when giving change.
“Tip Jar Math”
- Create scenarios where employees must calculate tips based on different percentages (10%, 15%, 20%).
- Example: “Your total bill is $8.75, and the customer tips 15%. How much is that?”
- Make it a friendly competition with small prizes for accuracy.
“End of Shift Cash Count Relay”
- Have employees practice reconciling a cash drawer by counting out starting cash, total sales, and final balance.
- Set up stations where one person counts bills, another coins, and another verifies totals.
- Make it fun with a time challenge—who can count accurately the fastest?
