Coldstone Creamery is a favorite of many students at Harrisonburg High School. The popular ice-cream place allows patrons to chose a flavor of ice cream and then make it their own by choosing what toppings go in the ice-cream. Patrons also have the option of choosing a Signature Creations from the menu. The fun, laid-back atmosphere has also attracted several students as employees. Junior Kathy Rodriguez is the youngest manager working at the Harrisonburg store.
“I wanted to work [at Coldstone] because I like ice-cream and lots of people go there,” Rodriguez said. “I thought it would be fun to see friends.”
According to Rodriguez, the application process starts with submitting an online application. Applicants are then called in for an “audition,” which is like an interview. During the audition applicants are asked questions such as, “If you were a princess which one would you be?” and “What reality show would you want to be on and why?” The purpose behind these seemingly random questions is to demonstrate how creative the person is.
“They want to see your personality,” Rodriguez said. “They also have you sing, not so much to see how good you can sing, but to see if you have the courage to sing in front of people.”
Rodriguez’s duties include serving people ice-cream, cleaning dishes, and cleaning up the lobby. She also enjoys making her own creations, when time allows it, and sampling the ice-cream.
“I like to sample the ice-cream so that I can tell customers what I think of each flavor,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez’s favorite memory from working at Coldstone is ordering from Jimmy Johns one time and being completely shocked at how fast they were able to deliver the food.
“I heard the bell ring in the store so I walked out to see who it was and the guy from Jimmy Johns was there and I completely freaked out,” Rodriguez said. “He just looked at me like I was crazy and later when I was looking at their menu I read the slogan at the top that read ‘So fast, you’ll FREAK!’ It was really funny and everyone still laughs at me about it.”
Sophomore Taelor Adams recently became an employee at Coldstone but has not yet gone through training.
“I wanted to work there because I go to Coldstone a lot and my mom’s friend is the owner and she told us about the opening,” Adams said.
Adams had to sing one of the Coldstone songs, make up a song with group, and “bust a move” as part of her “audition.”
“I sang the Coldstone Family which is a play on the Adams Family song and for my move, I did a hurdler which is a cheerleading jump,” Adams said.
After she completes training, Taelor’s duties will including scooping ice-cream and taking orders.
“I’m looking forward to making the ice-cream,” Adams said. “Smashing the candy in just looks like a lot of fun.”
