There are a lot of random things that happen at Culver's that one may never even think about. You don't really think about your car being 'exposed' while you are working until things happen to it while you are working. The first experience I had with this was a Sunday night that is rained most of the night. My cousins had been in earlier that evening to visit me and after that I didn't think any more about their visit; well that was until I went out to my car. They napkined my car. Yes, napkined. While I know that is not a 'real' word that is my version of what happened. They took napkins and put them all over my car. Not just a few napkins; a few hundred napkins. (It's very similar to being toilet papered). Needless to say I was not happy having to clear 100+ wet napkins from my car.
The second car incident was a sign that was put on my windshield that said 'HOMECOMING?' spelled out in Hershey's kisses with some balloons. This one was not bad to clean up but did have kind of a sad ending since I had to say no to the invitation. The girl who put the sign/balloons didn't talk to me for weeks after that.
The third car incident was some girls who I work with took the washable markers and wrote random things on my windows and windshield. This happened just a few weeks ago. I have a newer car and I was not pleased that they did this. I told them: "NEVER touch my car again."
When we are told to clean the bathrooms at Culver's that means different things to different workers. For me it means making sure I clean the mirror, check the supplies and waste at least 3-5 minutes so they think I am really cleaning good. This is a good time to check your text messages as you are not allowed to check your phone during your shift. Hey...you gotta get creative to check your phone. The bathroom is a perfect place.
Our Culver's is located pretty close to a McDonalds. Some kids challenge other kids that when they take out the Culver's garbage they should run to McDonalds and order a cheeseburger and see if they can make it back to Culver's before they get in trouble. I can honestly say I haven't tried this one and was told by my supervisor NEVER to try it or I would get fired.
The last random thing I can think of is we have a guy who comes through the drive thru a few times a week. He gets his food, eats it in the parking lot and then comes through the drive thru a second time to get his soda re-filled. He re-fills his soda every time he comes through the drive-thru. Needless to say, we've gotten to know his routine. His name is Bob. He is the one of the nicest older man i have ever met. Lately he has been getting a grilled cheese with his refill as well. Really changes things up.
Actually I just thought of another thing that happens every week. This one guy used to just come through the drive-thru every Friday. I don't think i have ever seen this guy without a smile. His dad is in the hospital and he was telling me about it and he said everything with a smile. It's insane because nothing brings him down. He always looks on the bright side and that his dad is being taken care of and getting better, not the fact that he is in the hospital. But lately he comes in on a Tuesday or Thursday. It's really a surprise when I see him because he is just happy and makes your day better. His name is Jeff but we nicknamed him "smiley". I hope to see him this Friday.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
The career path at Culver's can be somewhat lucrative depending on what your definition of lucrative is.
For me personally, lucrative is not just about pay but benefits as well. What I have seen at Culver's so far is not that impressive. When I started at the Sunset Culver's, I started at $7.25?HR. I expected to start at minimum wage since this was my first job and I had no experience. After a year, I received a raise of .50 cents to $7.75/HR. After a year and half, I had enough of Sunset Culver's. The manager there did not have any faith in me and it was time to move on. With in a week of leaving there I was hired on at the Mukwonago Culver's. During my interview I requested to start at $7.75 based on my experience. They reluctantly agreed;. They like to hire their labor cheap and keep it that way.
I have been there for a year and half now and I am still at $7.75. My performance reviews have been above average each time and still no increase. It's very frustrating since I have never missed a shift. The excuse they give me is that I was started at a higher rate than others and that's why they can't give me more. I can earn .25 cents more if I become a crew leader. Being a crew leader means you are in charge of making sure everything is running smoothly. It's a lot of responsibility for very little pay. Currently, I am not able to pursue this further since I am cutting my shifts from 5 a week to about 2 in a month. I am taking on full-time employment for the summer and keeping my hours at Culver's very part-time.
Some of the managers at Culver's have asked me if I would like to make this a career? After you become a crew leader, then you go on to crew supervisor and then on to assistant manager. You don't get much vacation and our Culver's requires you to take your vacation in full week increments. I would hate that since sometimes you just want to take a long weekend. There insurance is not that great either, You have to work nights, weekends and holidays forever. I think once I had a family that it would become old real quick.
I have learned a lot of dealing with people in my 3 + years at Culver's and am thankful for that. Do I really want a career there? My answer is not really. If my automotive career does not work out I guess it's something to fall back on.
For me personally, lucrative is not just about pay but benefits as well. What I have seen at Culver's so far is not that impressive. When I started at the Sunset Culver's, I started at $7.25?HR. I expected to start at minimum wage since this was my first job and I had no experience. After a year, I received a raise of .50 cents to $7.75/HR. After a year and half, I had enough of Sunset Culver's. The manager there did not have any faith in me and it was time to move on. With in a week of leaving there I was hired on at the Mukwonago Culver's. During my interview I requested to start at $7.75 based on my experience. They reluctantly agreed;. They like to hire their labor cheap and keep it that way.
I have been there for a year and half now and I am still at $7.75. My performance reviews have been above average each time and still no increase. It's very frustrating since I have never missed a shift. The excuse they give me is that I was started at a higher rate than others and that's why they can't give me more. I can earn .25 cents more if I become a crew leader. Being a crew leader means you are in charge of making sure everything is running smoothly. It's a lot of responsibility for very little pay. Currently, I am not able to pursue this further since I am cutting my shifts from 5 a week to about 2 in a month. I am taking on full-time employment for the summer and keeping my hours at Culver's very part-time.
Some of the managers at Culver's have asked me if I would like to make this a career? After you become a crew leader, then you go on to crew supervisor and then on to assistant manager. You don't get much vacation and our Culver's requires you to take your vacation in full week increments. I would hate that since sometimes you just want to take a long weekend. There insurance is not that great either, You have to work nights, weekends and holidays forever. I think once I had a family that it would become old real quick.
I have learned a lot of dealing with people in my 3 + years at Culver's and am thankful for that. Do I really want a career there? My answer is not really. If my automotive career does not work out I guess it's something to fall back on.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Manual vs. Electronic? I think that's the question a lot of people ask these days in our electronic age. I personally never ask that question because in my book, electronic is the only way to go.
I can tell you there is a vast difference in the Culver's in how they do their scheduling. There are pros and cons to each scheduling system that is used.
I will start off by explaining the manual system that the Waukesha Culver's uses. They use a paper notebook in which you can request any days off up to a year in advance. The manager takes the notebook and reviews all the time off that is requested for the following week and puts together a schedule. Then a manual schedule is posted the Tuesday before the next Monday-Sunday work week. The cons of this are: it's very easy for someone to erase your entries from the manual notebook, you don't ever know if you are approved for vacation until that week and you have to call or come in to get your schedule.
The Mukwonago Culver's is a bit different. You schedule your time off through an online system through the stores website. Unfortunately, this system can only be accessed through internet explorer. Therefore using Firefox or Google Chrome is not an option to bring up the schedule. You can access the website 24/7 to make your requests and view your schedule. The good thing is that you can request days off up to 2 years ahead of time and no one can erase your entry because each person has their own unique log in and password. You can view all of your time off requests on a single page. A couple of downsides to this system: once a request has been approved by management you do not have the permission required to delete it, the schedule gets posted late Friday on Friday nights two days before the actual work week and with every time off request you have to select a reason from the drop down menu's on the system. The reason that can be a pain is that management uses that to determine whether or not to give you off or not. Sometimes you just need to get creative.
The craziest amount of people I have seen ask off is for the upcoming Saturday, May 12th. It happens to be Prom night for both Waukesha and Mukwonago. 18 staff members asked off for that day, including myself. There was talk that everyone might not get off. You can imagine how many people were 'saying' they would quit if they didn't get off for that day. I personally did not ask off for the whole day, however, I was granted the whole day. The key is making sure that you don't call in for any shifts you are schedule for and to cover other people's shifts when they do call in. That pretty much will guarantee you the time off when you need it.
I can tell you there is a vast difference in the Culver's in how they do their scheduling. There are pros and cons to each scheduling system that is used.
I will start off by explaining the manual system that the Waukesha Culver's uses. They use a paper notebook in which you can request any days off up to a year in advance. The manager takes the notebook and reviews all the time off that is requested for the following week and puts together a schedule. Then a manual schedule is posted the Tuesday before the next Monday-Sunday work week. The cons of this are: it's very easy for someone to erase your entries from the manual notebook, you don't ever know if you are approved for vacation until that week and you have to call or come in to get your schedule.
The Mukwonago Culver's is a bit different. You schedule your time off through an online system through the stores website. Unfortunately, this system can only be accessed through internet explorer. Therefore using Firefox or Google Chrome is not an option to bring up the schedule. You can access the website 24/7 to make your requests and view your schedule. The good thing is that you can request days off up to 2 years ahead of time and no one can erase your entry because each person has their own unique log in and password. You can view all of your time off requests on a single page. A couple of downsides to this system: once a request has been approved by management you do not have the permission required to delete it, the schedule gets posted late Friday on Friday nights two days before the actual work week and with every time off request you have to select a reason from the drop down menu's on the system. The reason that can be a pain is that management uses that to determine whether or not to give you off or not. Sometimes you just need to get creative.
The craziest amount of people I have seen ask off is for the upcoming Saturday, May 12th. It happens to be Prom night for both Waukesha and Mukwonago. 18 staff members asked off for that day, including myself. There was talk that everyone might not get off. You can imagine how many people were 'saying' they would quit if they didn't get off for that day. I personally did not ask off for the whole day, however, I was granted the whole day. The key is making sure that you don't call in for any shifts you are schedule for and to cover other people's shifts when they do call in. That pretty much will guarantee you the time off when you need it.
The opening shift at Culver's if definitely my least favorite job that I have to do there. Plus the fact that I like to sleep in on the weekends doesn't help either. There are people who open at 7am. I personally, have never hard to start before 8am. Your start time in the morning depends on what your assignment is. You can be assigned to open lobby, kitchen, front or custard.
I personally can't speak to those that open the kitchen area, as I have never had to do this. What I've seen is that they must fire up the grills and fryers. They must all make sure the buns and condiments are ready to go. They usually have a later opening time. I also have never opened the front, however, these workers start the earliest. This shift of workers hand-cuts all the fruit and vegetables and gets them in their proper containers for use throughout the day.
Lobby is probably the easiest opening shift that there is. This shift usually doesn't have to come in until 9:30. I have been perplexed by this opening job my whole career. I have never understood why I have to come in and re-wash all the tables and chairs that were supposedly done the night before? What really happens from 11-7 when no one is in the store???? Of course, I just go with it because it's policy. :-)
The opening shift I am chosen most for is opening the custard. (This shift starts at 8) I am sure you are dying to know what this all entails. The shift the night before is required to take down the custard. That basically means taking the whole machine apart and cleaning it and leaving it to dry while it's apart. Yes, this happens EVERY night without fail. My job in the morning is take all of those clean pieces and actually put the machine together. It is pretty complicated to put together and took me multiple shifts to get it up and running by the time we open at 10am. Once the machine is together, the custard must be made. The custard buckets must be at least 1/2 full by opening time. Half full for vanilla, chocolate and the flavor of the day. We mix in any leftover custard from the night before into the new stuff. I then need to clean and fill the carmel and fudge pumps. Once those duties are done, I need to put out all the toppings for the custard. Do you realize there are 32 different topping you can get for your custard? Yes, I put out all 32 and make sure they are filled for the days use. The very last thing I do is get the coffee brewing. Quite frankly, that's probably the easiest of all the jobs I have to do.
While I still dislike the opening shifts, there are distinct advantages, You usually get done by early afternoon so you have the whole rest of the day and night free. It's good to have this experience because the more duties you know how to do, the more hours you get because you are flexible.
I personally can't speak to those that open the kitchen area, as I have never had to do this. What I've seen is that they must fire up the grills and fryers. They must all make sure the buns and condiments are ready to go. They usually have a later opening time. I also have never opened the front, however, these workers start the earliest. This shift of workers hand-cuts all the fruit and vegetables and gets them in their proper containers for use throughout the day.
Lobby is probably the easiest opening shift that there is. This shift usually doesn't have to come in until 9:30. I have been perplexed by this opening job my whole career. I have never understood why I have to come in and re-wash all the tables and chairs that were supposedly done the night before? What really happens from 11-7 when no one is in the store???? Of course, I just go with it because it's policy. :-)
The opening shift I am chosen most for is opening the custard. (This shift starts at 8) I am sure you are dying to know what this all entails. The shift the night before is required to take down the custard. That basically means taking the whole machine apart and cleaning it and leaving it to dry while it's apart. Yes, this happens EVERY night without fail. My job in the morning is take all of those clean pieces and actually put the machine together. It is pretty complicated to put together and took me multiple shifts to get it up and running by the time we open at 10am. Once the machine is together, the custard must be made. The custard buckets must be at least 1/2 full by opening time. Half full for vanilla, chocolate and the flavor of the day. We mix in any leftover custard from the night before into the new stuff. I then need to clean and fill the carmel and fudge pumps. Once those duties are done, I need to put out all the toppings for the custard. Do you realize there are 32 different topping you can get for your custard? Yes, I put out all 32 and make sure they are filled for the days use. The very last thing I do is get the coffee brewing. Quite frankly, that's probably the easiest of all the jobs I have to do.
While I still dislike the opening shifts, there are distinct advantages, You usually get done by early afternoon so you have the whole rest of the day and night free. It's good to have this experience because the more duties you know how to do, the more hours you get because you are flexible.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Did you ever wonder about the uniforms at Culver's? It's very universal in Wisconsin to see Khaki pants and blue/yellow shirts. You often see the manager's in a solid, more dressy looking shirt with a tie. EVERYONE wears black shoes.
Yes, what might appear to look the same is actually not. When I worked at the Sunset Culver's they provided uniforms for you and ordered you your first pair of non-slip shoes. They were in fact the Khaki pants and colored shirts. What was strange about these is that none of the stuff was new. Yes, that's right you got a former workers greasy shirt and pants. The pants came all one length so you had to take them somewhere to be hemmed. Thank God for my grandma. (My mom can't even sew a button on) You did however need to provide your own belt, which could be black or brown. No facial hair and no earrings allowed. This being my first job seemed a little weird to me but nonetheless, that's how they rolled at the Sunset Culver's and plus I had nothing to compare it to.
When I left the Sunset Culver's to go to the Mukwonago Culver's, I had to give my uniforms back, however, I did get to keep my shoes. :-)))) Uniforms at the new Culver's was a tad bit different. They specifically required Dickie's brand Khakis' from Walmart. It was your own discretion on how many pants you wanted to buy. (My Mom made me get three so she wouldn't have to wash my work clothes every day) At least these pants fit and were NEW. I received one new shirt and one 'used' shirt. They only allow you to receive one shirt. If you make it to a year of working there, they provide you another 'used' shirt. Real generous eh? We are are required to wear a black belt only; brown was not acceptable. They also don't provide any shoes so when my other non-slip shoes because too worn to wear anymore, I had to purchase new ones at $50/pair. REALLY? I make $7.75/HR and I am expected to fork out that money for shoes???? Not a happy camper at all. At least I am still working there so it hasn't been a total waste of money.
If you come to work missing your shoes, you most definitely get sent home without pay and given a warning. If you show up without a belt, hat or name tag you will get a warning but will not get sent home since they have a few spare hats laying around. If you do that multiple times, you will get written up and it could lead to termination. I keep my name tag clipped to my hat and it never leaves my car so that I am sure to have it for every shift. I can admit I have forgotten the belt a time or two. Oops!
If you ever decide to start working at Culver's make sure that you are prepared to make an investment in your uniforms.
Yes, what might appear to look the same is actually not. When I worked at the Sunset Culver's they provided uniforms for you and ordered you your first pair of non-slip shoes. They were in fact the Khaki pants and colored shirts. What was strange about these is that none of the stuff was new. Yes, that's right you got a former workers greasy shirt and pants. The pants came all one length so you had to take them somewhere to be hemmed. Thank God for my grandma. (My mom can't even sew a button on) You did however need to provide your own belt, which could be black or brown. No facial hair and no earrings allowed. This being my first job seemed a little weird to me but nonetheless, that's how they rolled at the Sunset Culver's and plus I had nothing to compare it to.
When I left the Sunset Culver's to go to the Mukwonago Culver's, I had to give my uniforms back, however, I did get to keep my shoes. :-)))) Uniforms at the new Culver's was a tad bit different. They specifically required Dickie's brand Khakis' from Walmart. It was your own discretion on how many pants you wanted to buy. (My Mom made me get three so she wouldn't have to wash my work clothes every day) At least these pants fit and were NEW. I received one new shirt and one 'used' shirt. They only allow you to receive one shirt. If you make it to a year of working there, they provide you another 'used' shirt. Real generous eh? We are are required to wear a black belt only; brown was not acceptable. They also don't provide any shoes so when my other non-slip shoes because too worn to wear anymore, I had to purchase new ones at $50/pair. REALLY? I make $7.75/HR and I am expected to fork out that money for shoes???? Not a happy camper at all. At least I am still working there so it hasn't been a total waste of money.
If you come to work missing your shoes, you most definitely get sent home without pay and given a warning. If you show up without a belt, hat or name tag you will get a warning but will not get sent home since they have a few spare hats laying around. If you do that multiple times, you will get written up and it could lead to termination. I keep my name tag clipped to my hat and it never leaves my car so that I am sure to have it for every shift. I can admit I have forgotten the belt a time or two. Oops!
If you ever decide to start working at Culver's make sure that you are prepared to make an investment in your uniforms.
Giving back to the community!!!! Yes, this is one of the many reasons I like working at Culver's is because they give back 10% of their sales to people right here in our city for various types of fundraisers.
While I've worked probably more than 2 dozen fundraisers over my three plus years at Culver's, one in particular stands out. I think this one stands out the most for two reasons: one because it was a death and two because I've never seen it this packed at Culver's.
The fundraiser was for an 8th grade girl that went to Central Middle School. (her name escapes me at this moment) She was a girl who lived on the same road as my mom's cousin and ironically, my mom's cousin also had her as a student. Her parents came home one day and she had collapsed in the road after getting off the school bus. We were told she had a heart defect. It's unclear whether or not the defect had been known prior to this or not. Either way it was very sad.
A week or two after she died, the Culver's on Sunset agreed to do a fundraiser to raise money for the family for unexpected expenses that they had incurred. The girls mother was a volunteer firefighter for the Town of Waukesha. All of the people from that station and more I am sure, agreed to come in and help the Culver's workers with the fundraiser.
The parents had a booth with a board displayed with all kinds of pictures of their daughter. Of course, everyone was congregating by that booth. There was not a single seat to be had nor a single spot to park in the parking lot. There were a few fire trucks there as well. The fundraiser was only suppose to be 2 hours and I think it ended up to be at least 3 due to the amount of people. The firefighters and their helpers served the food and cleared tables that's how crazy it was. They also had a firefighter at each door collecting money in their fire boots. The whole shift I really had no time to process what was going on around me; I just had to get orders taken and out.
When I sit back and reflect on this now, nearly, three years later I can't help but feel proud that I was part of the giving back in some small way. I am also proud to work for a place that gives back.
While I've worked probably more than 2 dozen fundraisers over my three plus years at Culver's, one in particular stands out. I think this one stands out the most for two reasons: one because it was a death and two because I've never seen it this packed at Culver's.
The fundraiser was for an 8th grade girl that went to Central Middle School. (her name escapes me at this moment) She was a girl who lived on the same road as my mom's cousin and ironically, my mom's cousin also had her as a student. Her parents came home one day and she had collapsed in the road after getting off the school bus. We were told she had a heart defect. It's unclear whether or not the defect had been known prior to this or not. Either way it was very sad.
A week or two after she died, the Culver's on Sunset agreed to do a fundraiser to raise money for the family for unexpected expenses that they had incurred. The girls mother was a volunteer firefighter for the Town of Waukesha. All of the people from that station and more I am sure, agreed to come in and help the Culver's workers with the fundraiser.
The parents had a booth with a board displayed with all kinds of pictures of their daughter. Of course, everyone was congregating by that booth. There was not a single seat to be had nor a single spot to park in the parking lot. There were a few fire trucks there as well. The fundraiser was only suppose to be 2 hours and I think it ended up to be at least 3 due to the amount of people. The firefighters and their helpers served the food and cleared tables that's how crazy it was. They also had a firefighter at each door collecting money in their fire boots. The whole shift I really had no time to process what was going on around me; I just had to get orders taken and out.
When I sit back and reflect on this now, nearly, three years later I can't help but feel proud that I was part of the giving back in some small way. I am also proud to work for a place that gives back.
There are many times at Culver's that we get busy. 'Busy' is a term that consists of doing more than $800 in sales in an hour. That may not sound like a lot, however, when most meals average around $6/meal it definitely is a lot of food in an hour.
Besides the normal Friday night rush that we get ever week, there are two other distinct times we can count on being very busy and having all hands on deck. $1 butter burger days and after any Mukwonago musical performance or high school football game days. Everyone is always hoping they are not the ones who get scheduled for that day. Yes, that includes me. :-)
Let's first talk about $1 butter burger days. This day is absolute insanity. It's almost like people think we are actually giving the burgers away for free! On a normal busy night the drive-thru can be backed up about 8 or 9 cars deep. On butter burger night 16 deep and waiting in the road to turn in the drive-thru. We all have this perception that if we go through the drive-through that its going to be fast. In fact, Culver's standard is to get all drive thru orders within 7 minutes of the order being placed. (If you are on drive-thru and you are not meeting these times, you will most certainly be yelled at or taken off drive-thru. Yep, it's that serious!) On butter burger night that 7 minutes was absolutely not possible. It was not possible for many reasons. The lobby was backed up just as much as the drive-thru, the kitchen could not keep up with the demand and we ran out of buns. Running out of buns on butter burger day is not good planning. Thankfully Pick and Save is right down the road and as you may have already guessed, we send someone to go get more buns. Trust me, you are always wishing you are the one chosen for that job just to get the heck out of the craziness. Needless to say, we did not meet any of our timelines that night. Most people waited for 45 minutes for their food in a 'fast food' restaurant.
If the Mukwonago performances are on a week-night, we do a lot better meeting our timelines. I would say we meet them in the drive-thru but definitely not the lobby. Most of the time the kids come in after 8pm. Many times we don't meet the deadlines is because the majority of kids that work at Culver's are minors, are let off their shift at 7pm. The good thing about these crazy nights is that they only usually last an hour unlike butter burger night that lasts around 5 hours.
As I stated before, Friday nights are notoriously busy. When the football games are over in Mukwonago, people usually start piling in at 9pm. We are supposed to close at 10. Not only does this create the busyness factor it also creates some key factors in deciding on when to close the grill or when/if to make more custard and probably most importantly on whether or not to kick people out at 10 so that the staff can start their closing duties and get out on time. Those decisions are left up to the closing manager. Thankfully, I have not been the one to have had to make those decisions.
My advice: DO NOT come in on butter burger nights unless you think that burger will taste extra good after waiting 45 minutes for it. I think your time is worth far more than $1.
Besides the normal Friday night rush that we get ever week, there are two other distinct times we can count on being very busy and having all hands on deck. $1 butter burger days and after any Mukwonago musical performance or high school football game days. Everyone is always hoping they are not the ones who get scheduled for that day. Yes, that includes me. :-)
Let's first talk about $1 butter burger days. This day is absolute insanity. It's almost like people think we are actually giving the burgers away for free! On a normal busy night the drive-thru can be backed up about 8 or 9 cars deep. On butter burger night 16 deep and waiting in the road to turn in the drive-thru. We all have this perception that if we go through the drive-through that its going to be fast. In fact, Culver's standard is to get all drive thru orders within 7 minutes of the order being placed. (If you are on drive-thru and you are not meeting these times, you will most certainly be yelled at or taken off drive-thru. Yep, it's that serious!) On butter burger night that 7 minutes was absolutely not possible. It was not possible for many reasons. The lobby was backed up just as much as the drive-thru, the kitchen could not keep up with the demand and we ran out of buns. Running out of buns on butter burger day is not good planning. Thankfully Pick and Save is right down the road and as you may have already guessed, we send someone to go get more buns. Trust me, you are always wishing you are the one chosen for that job just to get the heck out of the craziness. Needless to say, we did not meet any of our timelines that night. Most people waited for 45 minutes for their food in a 'fast food' restaurant.
If the Mukwonago performances are on a week-night, we do a lot better meeting our timelines. I would say we meet them in the drive-thru but definitely not the lobby. Most of the time the kids come in after 8pm. Many times we don't meet the deadlines is because the majority of kids that work at Culver's are minors, are let off their shift at 7pm. The good thing about these crazy nights is that they only usually last an hour unlike butter burger night that lasts around 5 hours.
As I stated before, Friday nights are notoriously busy. When the football games are over in Mukwonago, people usually start piling in at 9pm. We are supposed to close at 10. Not only does this create the busyness factor it also creates some key factors in deciding on when to close the grill or when/if to make more custard and probably most importantly on whether or not to kick people out at 10 so that the staff can start their closing duties and get out on time. Those decisions are left up to the closing manager. Thankfully, I have not been the one to have had to make those decisions.
My advice: DO NOT come in on butter burger nights unless you think that burger will taste extra good after waiting 45 minutes for it. I think your time is worth far more than $1.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
When did you have your first job? I started mine at 15 1/2. Culver's the was the first and only place I applied to. Why Culver's? Honestly, it was close to home and it looked like a fairly easy job. Ok, the real attraction was all the high school girls who were going to come in every weekend. I knew for sure it was give me a chance to flirt! It didn't take long for me to figure out that the job I thought was easy, was not!
I spent a few days training on how to properly scoop the custard to company standards. I was quickly moved into learning how to run the registers. Once you perfect registers, they throw you into the drive-thru. Wow, you definitely need to be a multi-tasker to be good at drive-thru. Thankfully, they started me out on slow days. Gradually, I worked my way to a Friday night. Wholly Cow, Friday nights are crazy with everyone ordering Fish Fry's. I don't recall ever having time to look at my watch and be bored on drive-thru on a Friday night. After you perfect drive-thru, then you do a job called 'set.' This is where you package up the orders for delivery. Culver's has a very high standard of these orders being right, so once again you had to be on your toes. There was no missing the little things: napkins, ketchup, dressing, silverware, etc... After you perfect all of those, you can receive closing shifts. Closing down the dining room includes sweeping, vacuuming, emptying trash cans, washing every table and chair, washing the windows and the windows on the doors, arranging the salt/pepper shakers and finally mopping the floors. It's quite a daunting task when it's 11pm and all you want to do is go home. This pretty much sums up the front end duties.
I know you are asking yourself, what's next for someone at Culver's. There are many different opportunities one could consider going. For me, I have chosen to pursue becoming a crew leader. A crew leader consists of being the go to person for that shift and making sure the entire front end is operation smoothly. Getting your crew leader is no easy task. It has literally taken me several months to receive the necessary stars to become a crew leader. What is a star? A star is a pin that gets pinned on your Culver's hat indicating that you are proficient in one of four areas. In order to be eligible for a crew leader position you need to achieve 3 stars. The three areas are drive-thru, set and register. In each of these areas you need to ask a manger to approve you to be tested for your star. In addition to getting manager approval. the store needs to have a minimum of $800 in sales for the hour you are being tested. If there is not $800, your testing will not count. The reason they require that amount is that is there way of guaranteeing that you are busy and can handle all of your duties proficiently while under pressure.
To date, I have received all three of my stars. I have formally applied for the crew leader position. In order for your application to go through, you need to be able to work a minimum of five shifts a week. Currently, I average about four. I am thinking maybe come summertime, I can finally become a crew leader after 3 years of working at Culver's.
I spent a few days training on how to properly scoop the custard to company standards. I was quickly moved into learning how to run the registers. Once you perfect registers, they throw you into the drive-thru. Wow, you definitely need to be a multi-tasker to be good at drive-thru. Thankfully, they started me out on slow days. Gradually, I worked my way to a Friday night. Wholly Cow, Friday nights are crazy with everyone ordering Fish Fry's. I don't recall ever having time to look at my watch and be bored on drive-thru on a Friday night. After you perfect drive-thru, then you do a job called 'set.' This is where you package up the orders for delivery. Culver's has a very high standard of these orders being right, so once again you had to be on your toes. There was no missing the little things: napkins, ketchup, dressing, silverware, etc... After you perfect all of those, you can receive closing shifts. Closing down the dining room includes sweeping, vacuuming, emptying trash cans, washing every table and chair, washing the windows and the windows on the doors, arranging the salt/pepper shakers and finally mopping the floors. It's quite a daunting task when it's 11pm and all you want to do is go home. This pretty much sums up the front end duties.
I know you are asking yourself, what's next for someone at Culver's. There are many different opportunities one could consider going. For me, I have chosen to pursue becoming a crew leader. A crew leader consists of being the go to person for that shift and making sure the entire front end is operation smoothly. Getting your crew leader is no easy task. It has literally taken me several months to receive the necessary stars to become a crew leader. What is a star? A star is a pin that gets pinned on your Culver's hat indicating that you are proficient in one of four areas. In order to be eligible for a crew leader position you need to achieve 3 stars. The three areas are drive-thru, set and register. In each of these areas you need to ask a manger to approve you to be tested for your star. In addition to getting manager approval. the store needs to have a minimum of $800 in sales for the hour you are being tested. If there is not $800, your testing will not count. The reason they require that amount is that is there way of guaranteeing that you are busy and can handle all of your duties proficiently while under pressure.
To date, I have received all three of my stars. I have formally applied for the crew leader position. In order for your application to go through, you need to be able to work a minimum of five shifts a week. Currently, I average about four. I am thinking maybe come summertime, I can finally become a crew leader after 3 years of working at Culver's.
Scoopie!
The Inside Scoop: Have you ever heard of or seen Scoopie? Scoopie is the Culver's mascot. The iconic Scoopie at Culvers is one of my least favorite jobs to do at Culvers. The actual costume is the worst smelling thing we have in the store; after all its been worn by hot, sweaty, mean for years without ever being washed. It's kind of like smelling high school boys in the locker room after their football game. Absolutely disgusting! When you have to stand out there waving at people for 3 hours you really start to get drained if its a hot day. The people always are waving at you and you don't ever have down time to relax and take a break. On the plus side, I was working at Sunset Culver's while I was Scoopie. Sunset Drive is an extremely busy road and because it's so busy I received a lot of honks and waves. In between the honks and waves, I had to greet all the little kids that wanted to come up and see Scoopie. I gave multiple hugs and high fives. I have to admit I had no kids that cried. Maybe Scoopie isn't as scary as clowns are?????
The picture that I have uploaded here is of me and my Mom. Yes, my proud parents had to come visit 'their' Scoopie! I also took a picture with my Dad and my little brother Nolan. Nolan bragged the whole next day to all of his friends that his brother was Scoopie.
I can say that my Scoopie debut was a one and done. 3 hours in a disgusting smelling outfit in 75 degree weather was about all I could take. It was shortly after my Scoopie debut that I transferred to the Mukwonago Culver's. The first question I asked was, do you have a Scoopie uniform? Thankfully, the answer was no.
Next time you are visiting a Culver's with a Scoopie, please at least honk or give them a wave. It definitely helps the hours pass by.
Life is starting to make sense.
The best thing that has happened to me in awhile is i just got a full time job working at Its All Good Auto Repair in Franklin! The shop owners name is Tim Jaeger and he works by himself currently. He is always super busy so I've gone in a couple times missing school to go work for him and he finally hired me on for the summer. I'm already learning lots from him and I am super excited to actually start working there. This summer is going to be insane. I'll be working full time at the auto shop and then when ever they need me at Culvers. So I'll be working around 50+ hours a week. The money will be great, but I wont have the time to do anything. But once i get my car paid off I will be a free man. I also recently got a tattoo and I'm looking at getting number 2 shortly. I really have nothing interesting to blog about. We have 24 school days left. Can't wait to finally be done. Senioritis has really began to set in this past month. School has just been getting crazy and I haven't been in the mood to try. This blog has absolutely no flow at all. But I just needed to finish this one so I can stop slacking all the time.
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