Lessons Learned Behind the Counter: Making the Most of Your Summer Job

As the second semester starts to come to a close, I begin to get the sad feeling of having to say goodbye to the lovely Boston College campus.  Unfortunately, I was not granted the lucky green light from my parents to stay up in the city for the summer, and as a result, I have decided to return to my reliable summer job at a frozen yogurt shop back home, for the fourth summer in a row.  Now although this may sound monotonous and mindless, I have found that working somewhere as simple as a frozen yogurt shop can teach lifelong lessons and skills that can be carried into a future career.

Here are some of the lessons that being a team member at Kiwi Yogurt has taught me, and how beneficial they can be in the future.
 
Patience is a virtue. 
It’s often said that the public is very difficult to deal with, and I have found this true at many of my shifts working at Kiwi.  Sometimes the store doesn’t close until midnight, although technically we close at 11 PM, because we remain patient and want to give Kiwi customers an enjoyable experience.  Also, since Kiwi Yogurt is all self-service, from the yogurt to the toppings, many people are slow in making decisions.  As a worker I must remain patient and help the customer in any way I can.  This lesson is useful because many careers will involve interacting with the public and if you lose your cool with a customer, then you may end up losing your job.

Teamwork makes the dream work. 
As a team member, I have learned that I’m part of a team, and that I must work with all of my co-team members.  This means trying to work around shift switches, picking up someone’s hours in times of an emergency, taking my turn to clean the bathroom and mop the floor, and not leaving all the dishes and prepping of toppings for someone else to do.  If I do my share of work, then I’m reassured that my co-team members will do their share of work, too.  I feel comfortable working with each of my co-workers and know that they’re reliable if I’m ever in an emergency.  This is valuable to know when I enter a future career; working well with my co-workers will definitely bring the best results.

There is always a way to improve.
Sometimes the morning shift is slow at Kiwi since not many people want to come in for frozen yogurt right when we open.  During these times, I could have wasted that time when the store was quiet, counting how many red M&M’s there were in the topping bar or sneaking samples from the self-serve yogurt machines, but instead I made the most use of my time.  My boss taught me there’s always something that can be done in the store to improve it.  This may have been scrubbing down the table and chairs or doing some extra prepping of topics to help out the later shifts when it’s more hectic; either way, I was contributing to improving the store.  On any job, one should always be thinking what else can contribute to the team.  One day that extra effort may bring you a raise, a promotion, or make you leader of a team on an idea you thought of. 
 
Friendliness and a smile is key.
The #1 rule at Kiwi is to provide the customer with the best twenty minutes of their day.  This means to be friendly with every customer that walks in the door.  A friendly welcome, helpful explanation of the process, thoughtful answers to questions, and a warm-hearted thank you will more likely result in a customer returning than would a negligent and unfriendly Kiwi employee.  Therefore, I am always friendly with the customers; I know that their experience at Kiwi goes beyond just the yogurt they eat.  This is an important lesson in life, for you never know who you may be serving and who you may be talking to.  That person may be scoping out a new employee to their company or later on bring more business to the store.   And as an additional note, friendliness and a smile often brings in a tip!
 
Treat others how you would like to be treated.
After having worked in the service industry for four summers, I’ve come to appreciate the hard work that goes into pleasing customers and up-keeping the store.  As a result, I make sure to always be polite and tip the server or ice cream scooper at whatever dining location I’m at.  Remember, in life in general, although the ice cream scooping position may only be a summer job for you, it may be a career for someone else.  They are putting in long hours and lots of work, and the least they deserve is respect and appreciation for their work.  Always treat employees at other locations how you would like to be treated, for there is no better feeling than having a friendly and appreciative customer during a long hot summer shift.

So for all you HC BC readers who don’t have your dream job or internship lined up for you, I can tell you from experience that returning to a simple summer job is not as bad as you make it out to be.  Enjoy the job and know that you’re picking up ideas and lessons that will stay with you forever.  No matter how silly the job, something important always comes of it.
 
Photo Sources:
http://fayemurman.com/blog/page/13/
http://www.facebook.com/kiwifroyo
http://www.dentalblogs.com/archives/administrator-2/the-secret-of-successful-dental-teamwork/
http://hbculinkup.ning.com/profiles/blogs/2012-summer-jobs-for-low-income-youth