April 11, 2022

How do you make a boring checklist a fun thing?

We are setting out to have great, over the top, customer service at the Chaeban Ice Cream and Cheese store this summer season.  Before we can get fancy though, we need to make sure that we cover off the basics.  There is no point blowing someone away with some over the top something-or-other thing we do if they go into the washroom and find it dirty, or they go to buy a certain cheese and find none in the cooler.

Getting the basics right is, well, boring.  But it is important to establish the base on which you can do special things.

One thing that has worked for us is acronyms.  One we started last year was CHIPS.  This is something we would say to remind each other what to do when we had a free moment.  If there were no customers in the store.  I could say, “how about you eat some CHIPS while you chat?”  I would emphasize the CHIPS with gusto and everyone knew what I meant, laughed and got to it.  I even heard one staff member say to another when the person said “it is so slow what should we do?”  Their co-worker said – “we better do CHIPS before we say that.”

For my part, I would often pop quiz the team asking them if they knew what CHIPS meant.  I did it so often that it became a joke, but it was a joke that kept the basics done.  A fun joke instead of a boring checklist.

CH – make sure the cheese cooler is stocked, cause you know that is the first thing Joseph will look at when he comes in.

I – make sure the ice cream cooler is stocked with all flavours of jars.

P – pint jar returns are clean and organized

S – work surfaces and washroom are sanitized 

This year we are adding O to the list

O – check the outside of the building and the park behind us for garbage and cleanliness.

So we can now bark at each other like this, “hey Morgan did you CHIPSO lately?”

Do you or someone you know want to work in the store this summer?  Interest in making people smile is a must!   Email Jodi@chaebanicecream.com if you want to.

By Darryl Stewart, Partner