5 Lessons Learned from Working at a Smoothie Shop

I’ve been working at the smoothie shop — which shall remain nameless on this blog just so I can rant and rave as I please and remain less Google-able — for just over a month now, and in my time there, I’ve realized some things about this job that are best reflected by a pro-con list.

Pros: Being around fresh, mostly local and often organic food; sampling the extras of any smoothies, juices or bowls (thick smoothies with toppings eaten with a spoon); talking to friendly locals while I’m at the register; the non-desk-job factor; certain weekdays off; strong(er) biceps with all the heavy lifting and manual labor

Smoothie girl with some specific blur-outs to maintain my anonymity. Also, my hair is definitely not usually that nicely coiffed and shiny; I had just gotten a haircut.

Cons: Aforementioned manual labor; days when I have to open the shop at 6:30 a.m.; getting only 20% off menu items and not a free smoothie per day, as I had expected; irregular work schedules that change week to week and require me to work one day of the weekend; closing the store and dealing with the mopping

So what exactly do I do, you ask? Well, my duties range from working the cash register and restocking fruit, yogurt and other ingredients to adding people to our loyalty rewards program on our computer, and, oh yeah, making smoothies, juices and bowls. I actually feel like that’s the order of tasks from most to least frequent, for me anyway.

Like any customer service-style establishment, speed is a premium, so the shop likes to have the quickest people in the back making the drinks. Since I am completely hopeless when it comes to memorization — there’s a reason I sucked at chemistry and did not become a doctor — I couldn’t remember the down-to-a-science, super specific smoothie recipes and was thus, pretty damn slow. To motivate their employees to memorize said recipes, the managers require you to pass a “smoothie test” before you’re privy to the tip jar. (People tip very well at this shop.) I just passed my test, so…go me!

But more often than not, you’ll find me at the register. I suppose I can take it as a compliment, that the managers like my super smiley, hyper chit-chatty personality. But at the same time, there aren’t many other options since two other (Mexican) employees have pretty thick accents. And how in the world am I supposed to remember my smoothies if I’m never making any?

Eaman stopped in for a juice and snapped this with my phone, hence the grainy quality:

On the upside, being at the register has me interacting with some pretty cool people, including Lost and Hawaii Five-0 star Daniel Dae Kim. I actually never cared for Lost, but still. (Apparently fellow Hawaii Five-0 star Alex O’Loughlin phones in orders often. Too busy to come in person, I see! Also, the local newscaster has come in a hat and sunglasses as to not draw attention to herself. Lady, I don’t think anyone cares.)

As far as my other employees go, half are youngins in college and the other half are moms. One co-worker is absolutely infuriating and constantly corrects others to do things her way. She’s on a serious power trip and likes to think she owns the shop. (She does not.)

I waver between liking this fun, fairly simple job that I know is temporary — and hating that I don’t really care about it, hating that one co-worker and hating really disliking how it’s turned life into a routine. I come home tired from work with aching feet and legs that’ve stood all day and then it’s virtually impossible to motivate myself to go out. I know I appreciate my days off a lot more than if I was just chilling here unemployed, but sometimes it’s like pulling teeth to get ready for work. You’d think it’s the kind of job where you can zone out and just push “pulse” on the blender, but there’s an emphasis to always be doing something — whether it’s refilling the whey protein or wiping down the tables — so I always feel nervous that I’m not doing enough. And because I’m still learning, I’m probably doing it wrong.

In the long term, I now know just how hard working in the food/restaurant industry is and will probably think a lot harder about whether opening a bakery or brunch spot — which was always a vague daydream — is really for me. But for now, it pays the bills.

There have been fleeting moments when I think I’m crazy for working at this job after going to such a great university and having such great work experience. But I will say, much like an internship where all you do is fax documents and Xerox documents, this is the kind of job where you build on your basics and learn practical skills. And much like living in New York, I think this is the kind of job everyone should experience at least once. The kind of skills you learn here, like the ways of customer service or even how to work a cash register, round you out as a person if all you know is how to work from behind a computer at a desk.

Perhaps more than anything, though, this job has taught me how to be a better consumer. And there are five specific rules I hope to carry on with me:

1. I will be patient with my waiter/server/shop girl, especially if he/she can’t hear me. You wouldn’t believe the number of dirty looks I get from people when I apologize and ask them for the second or third time how to spell their last name so I can find them in our loyalty program to give them points. Excuse me if we happen to have machines that BREAK DOWN ICE blaring in the background.

2. I will not hand over crumpled up bills. No, no, I really enjoy unfolding your wet-from-the-beach $1 bills while a line of customers wait.

3. I will try to make as few changes to my order as possible. “Can I get an acai bowl, but instead of the apple juice, can I get coconut milk? And no strawberries mixed in…or on top. Can you replace that with half a portion of papaya and a half a proportion of mango? And can I get an energy supplement mixed into that? And a peanut butter scoop on top, but not too much.” “Oh wait, I’m allergic to coconut milk. Let’s go back to the apple juice.” Yeah, that really happens.

4. I will try my hardest not to go to an establishment as they’re closing. It’s soul-crushing to see someone stroll in at 7:55 p.m. when your store closes at 8 p.m. It’s not like we go home at 8 p.m.; we have to stay and clean! If someone comes in that late, it just means there’s even more time before my feet get a break. I know, I know. You have a right to come in if the sign says open. But it’s just common courtesy.

5. I will not talk on my cell phone whilst ordering. Rude!