How can I help you?
chris lin posted in Personal on June 3rd, 2003
When you are in high school and trying to find a part time job to get some extra cash flowing, it usually turns out to be labor. I mean, no one is going to pay you, a teenager with a high school education to help them with the company (well most of you, there is the genuises out there). So labor it is, typically fast food restaurants or just something that deals with customers. Yep, those bitchy ass people that just demand that extra slice of cheese for free because we didn't smile while serving them. Luckily, I landed a job not in a fast food restaurant but an ice cream store. That's right, not the 31 one flavors and Dairy Queen, I'm working at Coldstone. For those who never heard of it, we serve fresh ice cream everyday and what we do is, we let the customer select a flavor and something to mix it in (Crunch, sprinkles, oreos, etc) and then we mix them together in front of you. Of course, the first mix in is for free and every additional one after that is 59 cents. It kicks a lot of ass, for a teen like me. You get ice cream for free, which is one of the most demanded (who wants premade?) from consumers in this area. The co-workers kick a lot of ass, most of them being around the same age as me, and if not, they are still damn fun to be around. Life is good…ice cream, new friends that are great to be around, and most of all, money in your hands. People think the singing part is bad, which was what I thought at first, but hey, you got other people singing with you so it's all good.
That is, until you meet the customers. Throughout working there, I met a lot of types of customers, and now, I share with you the types I meet. The list I made consists of types I met at least twice.
Regular - "I like one regular vanilla with brownies" - Typical customer, comes in, knows what they want…in and out of store in less than 5 minutes (without a line). Tips are a plus 
Korean FOBS - "Yeah! Ice cream!" - Yes, we get so many I need a damn category for it. These are damn annoying, I can't understand what they are saying. And it's not just me, I know the people I'm working with can't understand a damn thing either. Plus, they come in families (big groups), and leave no goddamn tips. Damn them.
Talkers - "Wow, this is neat" - Sir, we don't care that this is neat. You are only the 20th one to tell us…this hour. Seriously, you woud think you'd be the first to tell us something that isn't obvious, but it is. We don't care if you think our ice cream is cool, just tip us and leave.
The customer is always right - Wrong. I love it when people think they know what they are talking about, then I ruin it by correcting them. You get the most priceless look on their face. This case is no different. When one asks another what type of ice cream this is, or what type of mix in that is, and they respond with the "I know it all" tone, I pop in and correct them. "sorry sir/ma'am, you are WRONG. It is
White Trash Hicks - "Well gosh darn, there's this new dessert called Ice Cream" - We seem to have a lot in the OC/LA area for some reason. Either that, or I'm just lucky and I'm always serving them. They are loud, they speak like hicks and they sure as hell act like them. By god, this is civilization, please. We don't want to hear about any of your stories. Ok, maybe not a lot, but damn, I serve a lot that sure look like hicks.
Couples - "Go ahead honey, you go first" - Damn, I love serving them. Especially if it is young couples. Why you ask? Because you can milk the shit out of them, seeing how the boyfriend doesn't want to look like a cheapass, you suggest all these mix-ins to the female and try to get her to put as much as possible into the ice cream. Of course, it's all gravy until the boyfriend hears the price for it, then, he's sad usually. LoL.
Black People - "Shit Sheena, we next!" - By god, I know I'm in for shit when I hear that in the crowd. They get all excited like the Talkers thinking everything is cool and to make it even worse, I rememberthis one time where each kid had to pay for there own. I think I waited about half an hour for the little kid to find 3 dollars in all his pockets. And please, crumbling the bill in a little ball is NOT going to speed up the process, it just annoys me.
I want everything! - "I would like a large with brownies, fudge, caramel, nuts, crunch, banana, etc" - It's annoying when you have kids that say that. What's worse is the parents who let them have it OR the parents who say no and then get into an argument and threatens to not give any ice cream at all. Please ma'am, this is not Jerry Springer, if you want to fight and argue with your kid, do it at home where I don't have ot listen.
THese are the ones I can think of now, I know there are more but I can't remember them now. Exxagerated for better effect
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