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.