The National Dipper March April 2021

Dipper Vol. 37 No. 2

The National ®

THE MAGAZINE FOR FROZEN DESSERT RETAILERS

March/April 2021 $5.00

Reader Service #101

®

THE MAGAZINE FOR FROZEN DESSERT RETAILERS Published by United States Exposition Corp.

Vol. 37, No. 2 • March/April 2021

Features 2021 Industry Outlook.....................................................12 Robin Belleville, BG’s Frosty Fare, Bowling Green, Ohio

Patti Finnegan & Mary Ellen Faught Niederfrank’s Ice Cream Factory, National City, California Jason Schoenherr, Erma’s Orignial Frozen Custard, Shelby Township, Michigan Sarah Skillin, Ice CreamSmith, Dorchester, Massachusetts Greg Smith, Ice Cream Station, Pompton Lakes, New Jersey Donald Wagner, Papa Clyde’s, Spring Hill, Florida

Great Expectations: How to get Employee Performance Up To Par and Cut Ties When Necessary........................................................21

by Deb Boelkes

Building an Emotional Bank Account with Your Employees: Eight Ways Leaders Can Save for a Rainy Day....................23

Page 6 - Luciano Berti, founder and honorary chairman of Ali Group passed away days before his 90th birthday.

by Quint Studer

Departments Advertisers’ Index ......................26 Calendar .............................26 Editorial ..............................4 News .....................................5

Reader Service Card ....................19 Regional Yellow Pages ..............25 Subscription Card .......................9 Yellow Pages .............................25

In The Next Issue • July is National Ice Cream Month • July 18th is National Ice Cream Day The National Dipper

March/April 2021

Page 7 - Steve Carberry, owner of Carberry’s Gourmet Desserts and former president of the National Ice Cream Retailers Association passed away last August.

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Editorial

36th Anniversary

As I reflected over the past 36 years, one of the words that came to mind is grateful. I am so grateful for the many people I met along the way, some who have become really good friends. I am so grateful for the many places I have been able to visit. I think I have been to every major city in the United States, and many, many smaller cities to visit ice cream stores. I have even been to Italy and Canada on my many travels. I am most grateful for the many loyal advertisers who have made this journey possible, for you, the subscribers, as well as myself.

I have tasted so many flavors of ice cream, I cannot even begin to name them all. (But I will tell you my favorite flavor is definitely chocolate.) And I have witnessed many trends and fades come and go over the years.

I truly have enjoyed these past 36 years and look forward to many more years to come. I hope you will join me.

As you know, it was one year ago that we launched the digital version of The National Dipper. We have seen more and more increased interest in this digital version. If you would like to receive a Constant Contact email letting you know when the digital version is available, please send me your email address and I will add you to the list. You will only receive an email when the digital version is available, and it will contain a link to the issue.

Please be assured, we do not sell email addresses. And we won’t clog your inbox with emails, just one email every other month.

One of the biggest advantages of the digital version is that you can click on any of the ads in the issue and go directly to the advertisers web site.

Check it out. Go to www.nationaldipper.com. Pull down the magazine tab and the first link is online magazine.

In This Issue This issue contains the 2021 Industry Outlook. We asked several ice 4

cream shop owners from around the country to look at their business for the past year and to look ahead to predict the future of the ice cream industry in 2021. This year the participants are: Robin Belleville, BG’s Frosty Fare, Bowling Green, OH; Patti Finnegan and Mary Ellen Faught, Niederfrank’s Ice Cream Factory, National City, CA; Jason Schoenherr, Erma’s Original Frozen Custard, Shelby Twp., MI; Sarah Skillin, The Ice Creamsmith, Dorchester, MA; Greg Smith, Ice Cream Station, Pompton Lakes, NJ; and Donald Wagner, Papa Clyde’s, Spring Hill, FL. As you all know, it was a challenging year with the pandemic, to say the least, but these store owners managed to weather the storm. The article begins on page 12.

The next article is Great Expectations: How to Get Employee Performance Up to Par and Cut Ties When Necessary by Deb Boelkes begins on page 21.

Boelkes says it is the employee’s job to perform, but it is your job to motivate them. She gives you step by step ways to deal with an underperformer, including laying out a specific, measurable, achievable, reasonable and time-bound (smart) plan for both sides to agree to and parting ways if, and when it becomes necessary.

The final article is Building an Emotional Bank Account with your Employees: Eight Ways Leaders Can Save for a Rainy Day by Quint Studer which begins on page 23.

Studer says communication is the key to building an emotional bank account. He calls it good insurance for the future. You put in enough “deposits” so that when the inevitable “withdrawals” are made, let’s say you forget to say thank you, there’s enough goodwill in the account to salvage those relationships.

Lynda Utterback Publisher/Editor

THE MAGAZINE FOR FROZEN DESSERT RETAILERS

LYNDA UTTERBACK Publisher/Editor Editorial and Sales Office 1030 West Devon Avenue Elk Grove Village, IL 60007-7226 Phone: 847/301-8400 Fax: 847/301-8402 e-mail:lynda@nationaldipper.com Web: www.nationaldipper.com

This publication is a member of: • New England Ice Cream Restaurant Association • National Ice Cream Mix Association • Great Lakes Ice Cream & Fast Food Association • The Ice Screamers The National Dipper (USPS 0001-374) (ISSN #0895-9722) is published six times a year, (Jan/Feb; Mar/Apr; May/June; Jul/Aug: Sep/Oct; Nov/Dec) by United States Exposition Corp., 1030 West Devon Avenue, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007. 847/301-8400. The National Dipper serves ice cream retailers in the United States and Canada.

COPYRIGHT © 2021 UNITED STATES EXPOSITION CORPORATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The National Dipper Magazine and The National Dipper Source Books (the “Works”) contain proprietary information and are licensed, not sold. In consideration for the original subscriber of this copy of this work substantially completing and returning the subscription form to the publisher, which act shall be deemed sufficient evidence of said subscriber’s acceptance of this non-exclusive, non-transferable, license, the publisher (a) grants the original subscriber only the limited right to use these works in that subscriber’s business, provided that said subscriber does not sell, resell, reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means, (by way of example and not limitation, photocopying or recording by or in an information storage retrieval system) these Works, either in part or in their entirety, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Without advance written permission from the copyright owner, no part of these publications may be sold, resold, reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including, without limitation, electronic, optical, or mechanical means (by way of example and not limitation, photocopying, or recording by or in an information storage retrieval system).

For information on permission to copy material exceeding fair use from the National Dipper Source Book or other copies of The National Dipper, please contact: Lynda Utterback, Publisher/Editor, The National Dipper, 1030 West Devon Avenue, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007; Telephone (847) 301-8400. The “NATIONAL DIPPER” and the “ICE CREAM CONE DESIGN” are registered trademarks of JLM Unlimited, Inc. In new product items and trade news this publication acts only as a news reporting service and assumes no responsibility for the validity of claims or statements. Unsolicited material should be accompanied by return postage. The publisher assumes no responsibility for such material. All letters/e-mails sent to The National Dipper will be considered the property of The National Dipper.

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The National Dipper March/April 2021

News SBA, in consultation with the U.S. Treasury Department, reopened the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for First Draw PPP Loans the week of January 11, 2021. SBA began accepting applications for Second Draw PPP Loans on January 13, 2021.

SBA is currently accepting Second Draw PPP loan applications from participating lenders. Lender Match (https:// www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/lender-match) can help connect you with a lender. You can also view all lenders near you on a map (https://www.sba.gov/paycheckprotection/find).

At least $25 billion is being set aside for Second Draw PPP Loans to eligible borrowers with a maximum of 10 employees or for loans of $250,000 or less to eligible borrowers in low or moderate income neighborhoods.

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) now allows certain eligible borrowers that previously received a PPP loan to apply for a Second Draw PPP Loan with the same general loan terms as their First Draw PPP Loan.

Second Draw PPP Loans can be used to help fund payroll costs, including benefits. Funds can also be used to pay for mortgage interest, rent, utilities, worker protection costs related to COVID-19, uninsured property damage costs caused by looting or vandalism during 2020, and certain supplier costs and expenses for operations.

Maximum loan amount and increased assistance for accommodation and food services businesses. For most borrowers, the maximum loan amount of a Second Draw PPP Loan is 2.5x average monthly 2019 or 2020 payroll costs up to $2 million. For borrowers in the Accommodation and Food Services sector (use NAICS 72 to confirm), the maximum loan amount for a Second Draw PPP Loan is 3.5x average monthly 2019 or 2020 payroll costs up to $2 million.

Who may qualify: A borrower is generally eligible for a Second Draw PPP Loan if the borrower: Previously received a First Draw PPP Loan and will or has used the full amount only for authorized uses Has no more than 300 employees; and Can demonstrate at least a 25% reduction in gross receipts between comparable quarters in 2019 and 2020 You can apply for a Second Draw PPP Loan from January 13, 2021, until March 31, 2021. SBA is currently accepting Second Draw PPP loan applications from participating lenders. Lender Match can help connect you with a lender.

You can also view all lenders near you on a map. All Second Draw PPP Loans will have the same terms regardless of lender or borrower.

If you wish to begin preparing your application, you can download the following PPP borrower application form to see the information that will be requested from you when you apply with a lender: Paycheck Protection Program Second Draw Borrower Application Form https://www.sba.gov/document/sba-form2483-sd-ppp-second-draw-borrower-application-form The National Dipper

March/April 2021

Reader Service #102

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Tips for Costing Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Cakes & Pies How to Cost:

• Mix • Soft & Hard Ice Cream • Soft Frozen Yogurt • Hard Frozen Yogurt • Crunch • Cake • Manufacturing • Preparation • Decoration • Packaging • Labor • Pricing

Tips for Costing Cones, Sundaes, Shakes & Other Goodies Using Soft or Hard Ice Cream or Frozen Yogurt How to Cost:

• Mix • Soft & Hard Ice Cream • Soft Frozen Yogurt • Hard Frozen Yogurt • Cones • Sundaes • Shakes • Mix-Ins • Sodas • Floats • and more

Learn from Cliff Freund, Cliff's Dairy Maid, an expert and store owner for over 40 years!

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Costing Cakes & Pies, $15.99, plus $2.00 s&h Costing Cones, Sundaes, $15.99, plus $2.00 s&h Both Manuals, $30.00 plus $4.00 s&h Illinois Residents add 9.5% sales tax Please allow 3-4 weeks for delivery.

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Make check payable to JLM Unlimited, Inc., 1030 West Devon Avenue Elk Grove Village, IL 60007 • Phone: 847-301-8400

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Reader Service #103

News ALI GROUP is saddened to announce that its founder and honorary Chairman, Luciano Berti, passed away peacefully on January 18, 2021, from natural causes. Berti would have celebrated his 90th birthday on January 26, 2021.

His greatest love was for his wife, Giancarla, who passed away on November 23, 2019, after celebrating 52 years of marriage. More than anything, Mr. and Mrs. Berti loved having their family together to celebrate special occasions. Their six grandchildren were a particular source of pride and joy for them.

Berti was the recipient of a Stanford University Fulbright Scholarship in 1955, where he achieved his bachelor’s degree in Sociology. “My degree in Sociology was due to intellectual interest,” he said. “I still have that intellectual curiosity in people.”

After his time at Stanford, he returned to Italy, earning his doctorate in political science at the University of Turin and spending a brief period as a professor of sociology at the post-graduate school of IRI. He made an investment in a small Milanese automated warewashing company in 1962, and soon thereafter went out on his own and founded ALI Comenda, the first step toward making the Ali Group a world leader in the foodservice equipment industry. With the initial help of his wife Giancarla, he built the Ali Group into the multinational foodservice force it is today.

Berti was also especially proud of ALIWORLD magazine, which he started in 2012, because it focuses on internal projects and on the Ali Group’s vast network of business partners.

Luciano stood alongside Giancarla in their many charitable and philanthropic activities, but most notably he was very fond of the scholarships he sponsored as he strongly believed that education is the foundation for success. Both were deeply involved with organizations supporting the arts and sciences through their founding of the Fondazione Berti in Italy and the Berti Foundation in the United States. A special point of pride for Luciano was the educational assistance given to children of Ali Group employees through the Berti Foundation Scholarship Program in the U.S. Filippo Berti issued the following statement: “We have lost a dear friend to many, and for those of us in the Berti family, a loving father and grandfather. Many of you who personally knew my father know that beyond his deep intellectual curiosity, he always enjoyed meeting people. He genuinely cared about his employees’ well-being, as much as he cared about the business. I look forward to continuing his legacy.

On behalf of my family, I would like to thank you for your kindness and sympathy during our time of loss. It gives us great comfort to know that you are thinking of us during this time.”

The National Dipper

March/April 2021

News STEPHEN R. CARBERRY, 68, of Merritt Island, Florida passed away on August 28, 2020 at Kindred Hospital in Melbourne, Florida. Born December 28, 1951 in New York City, he came to Brevard in 1980.

During life he was the owner of Carberry’s Gourmet Desserts. He was on the Board of Directors and served as president of the National Ice Cream Retailers Association in 2005.

He is survived by his wife, Beverly, daughter Renee Smiothwick (Kevin); son Mark (Allison) and his two grand children, Grace and Hunter.

A funeral service was held at St. Mary’s Catholic Church on September 10th and internment is at Florida Memorial Gardens.

ON FEBRUARY 5, 2021, Sean Kennedy, executive vice president of Public Affairs for the National Restaurant Association released the following statement on the introduction of the Real Economic Support That Acknowledges Unique Restaurant Assistance Needed to Survive (RESTAURANTS) Act of 2021: “The unified RESTAURANTS Act of 2021 is a light at the end of a long, dark winter for independent, chain, and franchise restaurants that have been most impacted by the pandemic. While many other industries have started to recover, the restaurant industry finished last year in a double-dip recession, and with 2.5 million fewer jobs. These grants will put even the hardest-hit restaurants on the path to economic survival.

“Restaurants were the first industry to be shut down by the states and within days, we asked Congress for an industry-specific fund that would help sustain our uniquely social businesses, regardless of the sign on the door. For nearly a year, the Association, our members, and hundreds of thousands of our grassroots advocates have shared our experiences with Congress. And they listened.

“The bill introduced today finally reflects the unified view that all small restaurants should have access to relief— regardless of whether they are an independent or a franchise of a regional chain. We appreciate the strong bipartisan leadership of Sens. Roger Wicker and Kyrsten Sinema and Reps. Earl Blumenauer and Brian Fitzpatrick, in creating and improving this bill. Their willingness to work with us has strengthened it and ensures that the support it creates will reach into every community across the country.

“The foodservice industry is the nation’s second-largest private sector employer and has an economic impact of more than $2.5 trillion dollars annually. To once again be the engine that the economy relies on, our members need the help that only the RESTAURANTS Act can provide. We look forward to working together with Congress to ensure the support needed to pass this bill.”

The National Dipper

March/April 2021

Reader Service #104

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News WITH MORE STUDENTS taking loans to pay tuition, the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation is offering hospitality-related scholarships and grants totaling nearly $1 million. The application portal opened Jan. 15; it closes March 15.

The Foundation is accepting applications for monetary aid in the form of scholarships and grants from students, military servicemembers, and individuals pursuing a restaurant, foodservice or hospitality career.

Scholarships range from $2,500 to $10,000 per student.

The money can go towards tuition and fees, room, board, books, and other related school expenses. The program has no age restrictions, and everyone—from recent high-school graduates to adults looking to change careers—can apply.

Alena Jenkins-Miranda, a culinary arts student at Pennsylvania College of Technology and 2020 recipient, thanked the foundation for her scholarship, saying it would help her pursue her education and industry career.

“This upcoming school year will be a life-changing experience for me,” she said. “Thank you for being a huge part of my budding career. I can only fully express my gratitude by putting my best foot forward at Pennsylvania College of Technology!”

What applicants should know to apply: First, meet the minimum eligibility criteria You must be enrolled in or accepted as a full- or parttime undergraduate student at an accredited, post-secondary institution, college, or university for the upcoming academic year.

You must major in an undergraduate-level restaurant-, foodservice-, or hospitality-related education program.

You must plan to be enrolled for at least two consecutive undergraduate terms or be on track to complete an undergraduate degree within one term.

Employees or family members of the National Restaurant Association, the Foundation or any state restaurant associations are not eligible to receive funds.

Complete the online scholarship application any time between now and March 15, at nraef.communityforce.com.

Applicants awarded scholarships will receive instructions on how to complete additional steps to claim their money.

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Reader Service #105

RESTAURANTS WON a key breakthrough in year-end legislation when lawmakers expanded employee retention tax credit (ERTC) eligibility. Many small businesses who were previously ineligible may now be eligible for up to $19,000 in ERTC per employee.

Under the CARES Act, passed in March 2020, a restaurant’s use of a Paycheck Protection Program loan restricted any subsequent eligibility for the ERTC. This was all changed on December 27, 2020, when the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act passed.

Now, for any calendar quarter between March 13 and Dec. 31, 2020, a restaurant with 100 or fewer full-time employees may be able to access ERTC of up to $5,000 per employee.

And, for the first two quarters of 2021, Jan. 1–March 31, and April 1–June 30, restaurants with 500 or fewer full-time employees may be able to access ERTC of up to $7,000 per employee per quarter.

While there are many considerations to evaluate, eligible restaurants can now access employee retention tax credits for both 2020 and 2021 for eligible employee wages as long as they did not pay specific payroll wages and/or group benefits with PPP loan funds. Here are two examples to explain how a restaurant might claim the credit: Example 1: Henry’s Hotcakes received a $120,000 PPP loan in April 2020. These funds were fully spent on its 10 employees by September 20, 2020. Previously, the restaurant would not have qualified for ERTC. Under the new law, the operation can now reach back to its wages for the 4th quarter of 2020 (Oct.-Dec.) and obtain up to $5,000 per eligible employee (50% credit of up to $10,000 in eligible wages) in ERTC. Result: Henry’s Hotcakes gets up to $50,000 in ERTC for Q4 2020 wages it paid.

Example 2: Henry’s Hotcakes is eligible for a Second Draw PPP loan but would also like to coordinate to receive ERTC for its 10 employees during the 1st quarter of 2021 (Jan.-March).

On February 1, 2021, the restaurant receives a Second Draw loan of $168,000 (at the 3.5 multiplier for restaurants/ accommodations) and selects a 24-week covered period to use those PPP funds. It spends 40% of the loan on rent, protective equipment, cleaning supplies, a new drive-thru window, and other forgivable PPP expenses in February and March 2021. Beginning April 2021, the restaurant spends the rest of the PPP funds (60%) on eligible payroll expenses for the remainder of the covered period. For the 1st quarter of 2021 (Jan.-March), the restaurant files for the ERTC and obtains $7,000 per eligible employee (70% credit of up to $10,000 in eligible wages).

Result: Henry’s Hotcakes obtains up to $70,000 in ERTC for Q1 2021 wages it paid. And Henry’s uses a Second Draw PPP non-payroll expenses and Q2 payroll expenses, depending on the covered period.

We urge restaurateurs to learn more about this new law and engage your tax and finance specialists to ensure you don’t leave this money on the table.

The National Dipper

March/April 2021

Subscription Card The National Dipper Magazine and The National Dipper Source Books are provided, subject to the limited license, stated below, only to qualified subscribers. If you have not filled out a subscription card within the last year, please fill out the card below to receive your complimentary subscription to THE publication for frozen dessert retailers. The subscription is for a one year period only and requires you to re-apply each year in order to continue to receive a complimentary subscription, subject to the limited license. The publisher reserves the right to restrict complimentary subscriptions to qualified subscribers only. All information must be provided or we cannot process your complimentary subscription request. Thank you.

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Type of Firm (Check All That Apply) Your Title (Check All That Apply) ❏ Ice Cream Dipping Store-1 ❏ Owner-1 ❏ Soft Serve-2 ❏ Partner-2 ❏ Frozen Yogurt-3 ❏ President-3 ❏ Frozen Custard-4 ❏ Vice President-4 ❏ Gelato-5 ❏ Secretary/Treasurer-5 ❏ Italian Ice -6 ❏ Manager-6 ❏ Vending Vehicle/Catering-7 ❏ Buyer-7 ❏ Concession Stand-8 ❏ Salesperson-8 ❏ Dairy and Convenience-9 ❏ Representative-9 ❏ Supplier of Goods & Services-11 ❏ Other-10 ❏ Distributor-12 Do you make your own frozen desserts using a batch or ❏ Supplier/Dist Rep-13 continuous freezer? ❏Yes ❏ No ❏ Broker-14 Average gallons of frozen desserts sold per week ❏ Other-15 ❏ 151 to 200 gallons-3 ❏ Up to 100 gallons-1 Do you sell food? ❏ 201 plus gallons-4 ❏ 101 to 150 gallons-2 ❏ Yes ❏ No

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News IN LIGHT OF THE damage the pandemic has inflicted upon the foodservice industry, the National Restaurant Association Show is working to help the industry recover through online resources and a 2021 in-person event that has already re-sold exhibit space to 75 percent of its 2020 exhibitors. Set for May 22-25 at Chicago’s McCormick Place, the annual trade show and conference provides foodservice operators and suppliers access to new and innovative technologies, emerging food and beverage trends, unique ingredients, and partnership and networking opportunities.

“For the past 101 years, the National Restaurant Association Show has been a trusted resource for the foodservice industry, and we are excited to be preparing for an in-person event in 2021,” said Tom Cindric, president of Winsight Exhibitions, which owns and runs the show. “COVID has deeply impacted the foodservice industry, and we know they are looking forward to an event where they can interact with new products, connect with the community, find buying and selling opportunities, and have access to timely education.”

PLAIN ICE CREAM might soon come out of fashion in Lithuania, where chefs are experimenting with natural flavors: fresh vegetables, flowers, and even stinging nettle.

Chefs around the world are experimenting with flavors and each country is adding some of its own taste into ice cream production. An ice cream shop in Portland came up with kimchi and rice ice cream, while lobster and tilapia ice cream is known to have appeared in other parts of the U.S. Chefs in Lithuania are now going an extra mile to create ice cream flavors with a local touch - here’s a list of some of the weirdest ice cream flavors created in the country.

Pine needle ice cream. Pine needles have been long known as a source of vitamin C. According to health specialists, pine needles improve the immune system, strengthen the body, and slow down aging. Freshly harvested pine needles, sugar powder, and cream are the main ingredients of this delight. This unusual combination smells like a Christmas tree.

Peony ice cream. Peony flowers are not just beautiful.

Apparently, they can also be delicious. The founders of the Labanoras restaurant tell us that these are made from petal syrup mixed with cream. The petals turn the ice cream pink and make it smell like perfume.

Carrot ice cream. As carrots are quite sweet, they are often used in cakes, puddings, and pancakes. According to food historians, the use of carrots as sweeteners dates back to the First World War, when a sugar deficit was felt. When preparing this ice cream, chefs soak carrots in maple syrup, which gives them an excellent caramel aftertaste.

Rhubarb ice cream. Wonder what Lithuanian childhood tastes like? Rhubarb! Fresh rhubarb is rich in vitamins C, P, and K. Rhubarb ice cream also contains leaves, sugar, water, orange peel, ginger, and salt.

This list of ice cream offers a glimpse into the world of unexpected flavors that tourists can taste in Lithuania. Want more? The full map with 47 different ice cream parlors and restaurants can be found here: https://lithuania.travel/en The National Dipper

March/April 2021

Reader Service #106

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2021 Industry Outlook The National Dipper asked several ice cream shop owners from around the country to look at their business for the past year and to look ahead to predict the future of the ice cream industry in 2021. This year the participants are: Robin Belleville, BG’s Frosty Fare, Bowling Green, OH; Patti Finnegan and Mary Ellen Faught, Niederfrank’s Ice Cream Factory, National City, CA; Jason Schoenherr, Erma’s Original Frozen Custard, Shelby Twp., MI; Sarah Skillin, The Ice Creamsmith, Dorchester, MA; Greg Smith, Ice Cream Station, Pompton Lakes, NJ; Donald Wagner, Papa Clyde’s, Spring Hill, FL. QUESTION: Please give a few sentences about yourself and your store.

How long have you been in business?

How many stores do you own? What do you serve? Etc. BELLEVILLE: My name is Robin Belleville, and I own BG’s Frosty Fare in Bowling Green, OH. We have a walk-up window, a drive thru, and a lobby. 2021 is my 10th season at the

helm; 15th for the store. I serve soft serve ice cream, hard dip ice cream (I purchase from two suppliers), soft serve yogurt, and a wide array of food (sandwiches, which I make most of the meat items, fried foods, etc.).

FAUGHT & FINNEGAN: Patti Finnegan and Mary Ellen Faught became the third owners of Niederfrank’s Ice Cream Factory, located in National City, California. Established in 1948

by Elmer Niederfrank, we remain an old fashioned, all-natural, ice cream factory and retail store.

SCHOENHERR: I am Jason Schoenherr, one of the owners and operate all 3 Erma’s Original Frozen Custard locations. Our menu is only frozen custard and Erma Ice soft serve. We’re open seasonally April 1 - October 31. We use modified batch freezers to create a weekly rotating flavor schedule mixing fruits, nuts, & candies into our soft serve custard. Erma’s has 25 unique layered parfaits, we roll our own waffle cones in house, mix ‘Explosions’ with a variety of fruits, nuts, and candies,

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Reader Service #107

and so much more. April 1, 2021 will be the beginning of our 80th season at our original Shelby Township, MI location. We have 2 additional locations in Warren & St. Clair Shores.

SKILLIN: Our shop, The Ice Creamsmith, located in Dorchester, Massachusetts, was opened in 1976 by my parents after my dad found an ad for used ice cream-making equipment while he was looking for a new job. My husband, Chris, and I (Sarah) took it over in 2014, while we were expecting our second child. We had both worked there on and off since high school and Chris, who felt like he wouldn’t want to be in the construction business much longer, had always dreamed of taking it over. We have just the one location, and very little about it has changed since 1976. We make all our ice cream in-house: 10 classic flavors and 3 seasonal flavors that rotate monthly (plus a frozen yogurt and dairy-free sorbet) using the same recipes my parents developed - plus some new creations of our own!

SMITH: My name is Greg Smith, together with my wife Song we have owned our store, the Ice Cream Station in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey for 28 years. We have only one store. We serve Gifford’s ice cream from Maine, homemade soups and sandwiches. We also sell custom made cakes.

WAGNER: My name is Donald Wagner and I own Papa Clyde’s in Spring Hill, Florida. I’ve always been a self employed person. I came across an abandoned ice cream store and thought I could make it successful and now I’m entering my 31st year.

QUESTION: Please tell us why and how you decided to open an ice cream store.

BELLEVILLE: I was frustrated at my previous job for my boss not be-

The National Dipper

March/April 2021

ing held accountable, and after having multiple unsuccessful job searches within my previous field (collegiate financial aid), I figured I’d give owning a “fun” business would be great, and it would give me time to spend with my three kids. I was early 30s, and the opportunity to purchase this store came up. I figured if I wasn’t successful at the ice cream gig, I was still young enough to reinvent myself.

FAUGHT & FINNEGAN: We were raising three young girls and wanting to get out of the rat race long enough to do just that. We left our jobs and with the help of Southwestern Colleges’ “Entrepreneurial Training Program” in 1994 we found, and fell in love with, Niederfrank’s ice cream factory and purchased it in 1995.

SCHOENHERR: Erma’s has been around since 1942 and is the oldest operating business in Shelby Township.

I’ve been involved in one way or another, since I was a kid in the 1980s. I returned to the family business in 2007 because it was a unique and fun industry. The ice cream industry is, in general, all about making people happy.

The National Dipper

March/April 2021

It’s at the core of what we do. It’s fulfilling to go to work each day providing a quality product and continuing a longtime local favorite.

SKILLIN: My dad was laid off from his job in public relations, and stumbled across an ad for used ice creammaking equipment while looking for a new job. My mom had a steady job with the Girl Scouts, so my dad teamed up with a buddy and decided to take the leap into entrepreneurship. Thanks to the income from my mom’s job, they were able to weather the first few rocky years, eventually buying out the partner and running the shop together full-time.

SMITH: We both had some experience in retail food and the store was available.

WAGNER: Look at above question.

QUESTION: How did you manage to stay in business during the COVID-19 pandemic?

BELLEVILLE: We were incredibly busy for our 2020 season. I have a

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lobby which shut down mid-March, but we kept our walk up window and our drive thru rolling. Our drive thru line would stack up 15 or so cars deep, and people didn’t mind waiting.

FAUGHT & FINNEGAN: COVID-19 has surely been a test but one that our long time, loyal customers were more than up for. We immediately shut down but were soon encouraged by one of our daughters, our Mayor and city leaders, to open back up, take pre-orders and start home deliveries.

SCHOENHERR: The last year has been a challenge for us all. We adjusted our operations and menu to support delivery and curbside pickup. We adjusted our sanitation practices, closed our seating areas, applied for grants and added online ordering. We listened to our customers and what they wanted. We did a lot of procurement not only of PPE, but also cleaning supplies and additional packaging. We cut other costs where we could as the price of these additional supplies added up.

At the end of the day, though, our customers continued to support us, our

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business, and our employees. We’re in this together.

SKILLIN: The COVID-19 pandemic has truly tested our creativity, flexibility and perseverance. We have stayed in business thanks to a willingness to try new things and ability to adapt. We reformatted our website and invested in some new hardware in order to accept online ordering. We adjusted our hours and temporarily reduced our menu offerings in order to limit the number of staff working at any one time. Most notably, we set up a table outside our door and took orders from the sidewalk to eliminate customers having to come inside - we have a very small shop! Staying open through the pandemic required us to constantly be on our toes, ready to adapt at a moment’s notice, and while it was extremely challenging, it also taught us that if we put in the effort we can handle anything.

ginning and made sure employees who may have come into contact with the virus did not come to work. We also worked with everyone’s schedule to ensure they can meet their responsibilities at home, whether it’s because of online schooling or because they had to babysit younger siblings, etc. We had to be nimble and adjust schedules often as complications arose. Thankfully, no one ever became seriously ill within our organization. That’s why we will continue to institute these procedures for 2021 as well.

QUESTION: How have you and your employees been affected by the pandemic?

SKILLIN: Doing the job we and our employees are used to doing became more difficult during the pandemic - wearing masks, following new procedures, utilizing new systems - all of these changes bring an uncomfortable adjustment period. Our staff’s working hours were also greatly reduced; luckily for some, many of our staff had to bow out so the ones that stuck around ended up working the same amount of hours they would have before. Of course, Chris and I put in a lot more hours behind the scenes with all the adjustments that had to be made.

We also had our kids at home doing remote learning so we tag-teamed everything, switching off being at home with the kids and at the shop making and serving ice cream.

BELLEVILLE: My employees were thrilled to come to work because a lot of their parents didn’t allow them to go anywhere else other than to work or sports-related activities.

SMITH: Due to the pandemic we have had many employees out to quarantine. It is also hard to wear a mask for long periods of time. I tell every one keep smiling things will get better.

FAUGHT & FINNEGAN: When the pandemic was taking hold we were in our off season, so it was just the two of us, our grandson, and an occasional part-time employee who, thankfully, had a full-time job elsewhere. Since the restaurants and hotels were not allowed to operate in-doors, and our retail front end could only operate at the doorway, we have not hired the parttime students or Naval spouses that we usually hire, and make do with the two of us and our grandson.

WAGNER: Actually we haven’t changed much, just more cleaning.

SCHOENHERR: Wearing masks was a bit of an adjustment. We instituted screening procedures from the very be-

FAUGHT & FINNEGAN: We have returned to full menu offerings at the front door walk-up counter and weekly

SMITH: The pandemic was very difficult, but after the first 2 months sales returned to normal.

WAGNER: We did take out.

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QUESTION: What procedures did you put in place during the pandemic that you will continue to use even after the pandemic is over?

BELLLEVILLE: I think I may keep my walk up window as an order at one sliding window, and pass out at another sliding window. This helped to keep people from bunching up too much.

local home and office deliveries. With both of us in house 6 days a week, we have added a large selection of ice cream pies, that have really taken off, as has our social media presence.

SCHOENHERR: The opportunity for more personalized service became apparent through COVID. We have adjusted our menu to include some carryout items, began offering call ahead / curbside pickup, launched an online ordering system, and grown our online delivery options. We think these things are here to stay because our customers like these options. As far as our operations, we took a second look at how we sanitize and clean our stores. We were happy to find most of what we were doing was already COVID cleaning approved but there were some opportunities to adjust the way we do things and increase the frequencies which we sanitize.

SKILLIN: Even after the pandemic is over, we will likely maintain our online ordering option, which we’ve made available for bulk items only.

Customers seem to love being able to place their orders for pints, quarts, sauces and mixins in advance, and it’s nice to be able to get those ready during downtime between customers and just hand them off when the customer arrives.

SMITH: We have always used sanitizer on tables, chairs, counter tops and. door handles. We also have limited indoor seating, which we will continue doing after the pandemic is over.

WAGNER: We have a sanitizing station for our customers and we will keep our indoor dinning at 50.

QUESTION: Are your mix/ice cream prices increasing or decreasing for 2021? To what do you attribute the increase or decrease in price?

BELLEVILLE: I am still working on pricing out products at this time for 2021. I will bump prices, but I’m just not sure yet how much that will be. Because I’m seasonal, I set the prices at the beginning of the season and then ride any price changes out so

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March/April 2021

that I don’t have to update my printed menus, menu boards, or POS system.

FAUGHT & FINNEGAN: We raised our prices slightly when this first began, as it would not have been possible to sustain otherwise. We had to purchase PPE’s, disinfectants, and out-door accommodations. We do not foresee any major hikes for this year if our costs are not impacted too severely.

SCHOENHERR: We had a small price increase at the beginning of 2020 due to the increase in packaging/carryout costs. We’re still evaluating our menu and pricing for 2021.

SCHOENHERR: For 2021 we are adding new flavors to our All Natural Erma Ice - Watermelon, Pina Colada, & Pineapple. We are also highlighting a new Toasted Coconut Delight with hot caramel and shortbread cookie.

SKILLIN: Part of what keeps our loyal customer base returning year after year is that they know they can expect the same high-quality product they’ve always gotten from us. We try to change our offerings very little for

this reason. Sometimes as we plan out our special flavors each month there will be one that wasn’t a big seller (or there may be a key ingredient that we can’t get our hands on in time) so we’ll come up with something new - but we wait for inspiration to strike or necessity to force our hand so it’s impossible to predict.

SMITH: We have not finalized our plans for new flavors yet, we are considering offering waffles this year.

SKILLIN: We try to make consistent, incremental increases in our prices every year so that we stay on top of any increases in our own costs and never have to make any sudden price increases that would be more noticeable and jarring to our customers. We know that each year the costs of our ingredients and supplies will rise, along with minimum wage and rent. Staying ahead of this at the start of each season saves us the frustration of implementing and explaining a change mid-season.

SMITH: We have not been advised by our vendors of any price increase or decrease.

WAGNER: They have been stable for 3 years and hope they continue.

QUESTION: What new products and/ or flavors will you offer customers in 2021?

BELLEVILLE: I’m still waiting to hear from my suppliers what’s going to be new. My main food supplier had their big food show cancelled this year by their venue, so I’m not sure that I’ll add anything new this year.

FAUGHT & FINNEGAN: We rotate flavors seasonally and add flavors as customers, chef’s or we dream them up. We did quite a few collaborations on our “Beer Creams” with local craft breweries such as Stone Brewery, South Park Brewery and 3Punk Ales.

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WAGNER: Butter beer and island dream.

QUESTION: What was your best selling item during the 2020 summer season? Why? BELLEVILLE: We sold a higher volume of every item overall. I think people just wanted a small treat for their family to break up the monotony.

I know a lot of people came in more times a month or week due to boredom, and they trusted our sanitation routine more versus a chain store because I had “skin in the game” on my success.

FAUGHT & FINNEGAN: Hand packed pints, pre-packed half gallons and our ice cream pies were our biggest sellers, as California has been in strict lock-down most of the year.

SCHOENHERR: We found our customers wanted more specialty sundaes and parfaits versus cones.

SKILLIN: Our best selling item of 2020 was our ice cream pizza - this is a 10 inch round fudge brownie topped with vanilla ice cream, chocolate cookie crunch, M&M®’s, white chocolate chips and chocolate syrup! Part of the reason for this was out of necessity: a number of COVID-related factors prohibited us from keeping our usual variety of grab-and-go ice cream cakes in stock, so for people who didn’t plan ahead the ice cream pizza was the only option! Keeping just this one specialty item in stock allowed us to streamline production and be able to offer a fun and festive option for celebrations that could be made quickly and easily ordered online. Plus they are delicious SMITH: Due to the fact that many places were closed or had very limited hours, our sales for cups, cones and sundaes have increased.

WAGNER: Pre package quarts that we make.

QUESTION: Good employees are one of the “keys” to a good business.

How do you find good employees and what do you do to keep them?

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BELLEVILLE: I have started to recruit family’s kids who are kind, courteous and engaging when they come in to order. If they don’t act like a goober with their like-age peers around, they’re probably going to do okay in a busy work environment with peer-agers working with them. I try to make sure to lavish praise on them when their family members come in to boost them up.

FAUGHT & FINNEGAN: Ice cream is up-beat, cleanliness is paramount and lots of smiles make for great working conditions. If employees do that it usually adds up to decent tips on top of a fair wage!

SCHOENHERR: Hiring has been a challenge through COVID because of the lack of candidates. But we’re lucky to have people that return season after season. We try to provide positive encouragement whenever possible and reward employees for a job well done.

SKILLIN: Finding good employees is always a challenge in running a small, and especially seasonal, business. We rely on our customer base and current employees to refer good candidates to us. We know what we’re looking for - someone reliable, responsible, friendly, hard-working, willing to learn and be part of a team - and cross our fingers and hope for the best when we think we’ve found it. We do have many employees who come back to work season after season - some for over 20 years! - and we attribute this to the positive work environment we strive to create. We pay well, we allow plenty of flexibility in scheduling, we encourage them to have autonomy.

We also work right alongside our employees, just as my parents always did, to ensure an equitable and amiable atmosphere. We are all there to get the same job done and we all want to have fun while doing it; it is just ice cream, after all!

SMITH: We recruit employees through current employees. We do give bonuses for employees that excel at there job.

WAGNER: We treat everyone like family and with respect.

QUESTION: In your opinion, what are the other “keys” to a successful business?

BELLEVILLE: Talking to your employees and finding out what’s going on in their lives. 2020 was a critical year for checking in on each employee to find out what was new because their whole world might have been turned upside down in a few days.

FAUGHT & FINNEGAN: We never skimp on the finest ingredients. Be true to your customers and your customers will be true to you has always been our motto.

SCHOENHERR: For us, know your customer base and turn them into “fans”. Make decisions for long term growth, not short term success. And be present as much as you can.

SKILLIN: It seems like the key to a successful business is simple, though not always easy: be willing to put in the work, whatever that may entail. No one else will care about the success of our business as much as we do, so we have to be ready to show up and do whatever might be required. Whether that means working a double to cover a shift, fixing broken equipment, driving to a supplier’s warehouse to pick up an ingredient, heading back in at the end of the day to make another run of ice cream, or working late into the night redesigning our website - if something needs to be done, we have to be willing to make the sacrifices to do it. This attitude is what enabled my parents to be in business for so long, and it’s what enables us to continue the tradition. It’s also one of the main reasons we close every winter, as this type of work ethic is exhausting to maintain on a daily basis!

SMITH: Marketing and becoming a big part of the community, we sponsor teams, help churches, etc.

WAGNER: Making a superior product at a reasonable price.

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March/April 2021

QUESTION: Do you use social media to promote your business? If yes, tell us what you use and how you use it. If no, tell us why.

BELLEVILLE: Yes, I use Facebook business pages, and an Instagram page.

I’m hesitant about Snapchat as I don’t use it very well myself (my own children do), and I’m worried that my staff would then be even more sucked into their phone usage than they already are.

FAUGHT & FINNEGAN: We thank God for Tricia. Our daughter has dragged us along to social media, like Instagram #Niederfrank_IceCream and Facebook in addition to our website. We attribute most of 2020 to that, customer loyalty and city support.

SCHOENHERR: Yes we’ve always had a strong online presence dating back decades. This was a function of younger employees at the time embracing newer technology. Our “fans” love the updates and information we share like our hours, flavor schedule,

and specialties on Facebook, Instagram and Google.

SKILLIN: We do use social media to promote our business on a fairly limited basis. We have Instagram and Facebook and we try to remember to post somewhat consistently (every couple of days while we are open). That they are free to use and reach such a broad audience so quickly makes them an invaluable tool. When we have a preordered ice cream cake that didn’t get picked up, nothing gets it sold quicker than a photo posted to social media!

SMITH: We use Facebook and the local town sites. We post specials and new flavors etc.

WAGNER: There is a local person who started a page save Hernando county restaurants and during the pandemic we would showcase ice creams etc. and people would ask questions and we would have a dialogue.

QUESTION: What do you see as the biggest problem in running your store?

What are you doing to solve that problem?

BELLEVILLE: I would love to have a consistent person during the week to help me out and be my second brain looking for items to stock, foresee staffing issues. I’m the only manager, scheduler, inventory person, and logistics. That can get overwhelming with 25 employees during the summer, all of whom are part time.

FAUGHT & FINNEGAN: We expect our customers will understand our continuing no hand to hand contact, no sampling, cones set in holders and face masks for the foreseeable future.

We know there will be some who will complain, loudly at times, but if that is our biggest problem, (God willing) we will remain humble and incredibly grateful.

SCHOENHERR: The biggest challenge we face right now is COVID. This situation has given us an opportunity to grow as a family company and move our business into the future, but

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it’s no doubt been a huge challenge.

So many things have changed; from the customers and their experience, to employee responsibilities, to our product not lending itself to carryout. We have to react to all of it. We continue to push forward making decisions best for our people, both employees and customers. We think our decisions will put us on the other side of the 2021 season with a stronger team, a better product, and a more nimble organization.

SKILLIN: One of the biggest problems we face in running our store is hard to quantify, but I would describe it as figuring out where and how to focus our energy. A successful business owner is faced with many opportunities, both from external sources and your own ideas. You can’t do everything and shifting focus to implement something new detracts from the successful implementation of something else. Balancing our efforts between maintaining what works for us and experimenting with new growth opportunities is a tight rope walk that requires us to be constantly evaluating whether something new is worth pushing forward or whether we should pull back and refocus on our existing strengths.

Sometimes we make the right call, and sometimes we don’t, but hopefully we learn something either way.

SMITH: We are in New Jersey, the state is raising the minimum wage and other taxes, it is a constant process to raise prices and purchase products at a lower price.

WAGNER: Government intervention is the problem and we cannot solve that.

QUESTION: What was the best promotion you ran in your store in 2020?

BELLEVILLE: My best promotion for 2020 was donating $1.00 for every milkshake sold during our county fair week to the county 4H endowment.

They couldn’t open their 4H milkshake stand last year, and I always donate their paper products (they normal18

ly sell about 18,000 milkshakes during the fair’s 8 day run). I updated a tally sheet each day and promoted it on social media. I ended up donating over 1600 for that timeframe. It got a lot of people to try our milkshakes who normally wouldn’t have. My store butts up to the county’s fairgrounds, and my kids are heavily involved in 4H. FAUGHT & FINNEGAN: Our biggest promotion of 2020 was surely home deliveries. Keeping our customers close but safe as they were home working, teaching, day caring and deserving more than ever, their favorite treats. We are so blessed and thankful for each one of them!

SCHOENHERR: Our best promotion was $1 off any item $2 or more. It seems to encourage people to try new (& larger) menu items.

SKILLIN: The best promotion we ran in 2020 was not intended to be a promotion at all. During the early days of the pandemic, we gave ice cream cakes and pies away to nurses and sent 100 dishes of ice cream each week to the staff at the hospital a block away from us. We had an “ice cream for essential workers” item in our online shop that allowed customers to add a $5 contribution to their order toward this effort.

Giving back to the community that supports us is something we will never hesitate to do and I think is one of the reasons our community has always been loyal supporters of us in return.

SMITH: Most years we have many promotions, in 2020 we ran only one promotion we worked together with some local libraries.

WAGNER: 4 prepacked quarts for $20.00 QUESTION: What sets you apart from your competition?

BELLEVILLE: I hammer customer service and connecting with each and every customer as you just don’t get that from my direct competition who is 1.5 miles away and offers basically the same items at a slightly lower price

point. We always greet each customer, tell them what their item is as we hand it out, and wish them well in their day.

FAUGHT & FINNEGAN: We do not just make ice cream. We cook and create every flavor in house, using only the finest ingredients. We create memories, we create family gatherings, down time and most importantly – Smiles!

SCHOENHERR: I’m not sure it sets us apart from all of our competition, but a big factor in success is the longevity of our first store and it’s fan following. Erma’s Original Frozen Custard on Auburn Road has been serving Macomb County residents and Metro Detroiters since 1942. The building hasn’t changed enormously over the years and the menu still offers a lot of the basic old fashioned items our fans have loved us for decades.

SKILLIN: What sets us apart from our competition is the freshness and quality of our product. We make each 5 gallon batch of ice cream ourselves, every day. We make sure each batch is frozen and churned just the right amount before we let it out, we stir inclusions in by hand, we check the quality of each ingredient before adding it in. Once the ice cream is in cans it goes a couple feet away to a hardening freezer set at -20, then two feet away to a walk-in freezer set at 0, then right upstairs to be scooped, all within 12-24 hours. Our quality control is relentless and we want every scoop that’s handed to a customer to be just as good if not better than the first scoop sold in 1976.

We will never stray from this commitment to offer the best ice cream possible - we have been doing it for 45 years and hope to be doing it for many more to come.

SMITH: We sell a better quality ice cream, we have a large outside seating area, we do custom cakes, and sell homemade soups.

WAGNER: We use high quality ingredients and do not skimp on anything!

All top quality. v

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March/April 2021

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Great Expectations:

How to Get Employee Performance Up to Par and Cut Ties When Necessary

by Deb Boelkes Sooner or later, even the most talent-rich companies wind up with an underperformer on the team. When they’re undealt with, these less than stellar workers create a negative ripple effect. Your best performers become demotivaed, resentment festers and worst of all, productivity suffers.

That’s why leaders are supposed to set high expectations for all employees, and hold them accountable for a job done poorly. So why do so many of us drop the ball in this area?

Deb Boelkes says it’s often a matter of mindset. We may focus on how unpleasant it is to confront people about performance, or even worse, fire them, and so we procrastinate. We forgot we’re doing everyone a favor by quickly addressing the problem, including the underperformer.

“You’re doing one of two things when you hold someone accountable for not living up to their agreed-on expectations,” say Boelkes, author of The WOW Factor Workplace: How to Create a Best Place to Work Culture.

You’re either forcing them to get back on track and do the work they’re capable of doing or, if you have to let them go, you’re removing them from a situation that was most likely wrong for them in the first place.”

In fact, once the dust dies down, they may come back and thank you.

When you can look at it this way, you may be less likely to put off what you know needs to be done.

When organizations consistently set clear and firm expectations and hold people to them, what Boelkes calls “the wow factor” is more likely to manifest and permeate the entire culture. Wow factor workplaces are those that create a great experience for employees and customers. Part of creating this experience is helping people understand what they must do to succeed, and taking action to prod them back onto the right path if they veer away from it.

Remember that the performance The National Dipper

March/April 2021

buck stops with you, the leader.

“Blaming others is not an option,” says Boelkes. “That is why heartfelt leaders accept total responsibility for the team’s and each team member’s results. When expectations are not being met, take a moment to assess what YOU can do to improve the employee’s performance. They may need mentoring, or a candid discussion about what is preventing them from delivering results, or even a formal warning. It’s up to you to choose the right path.”

Set expectations upfront. People need to know what “right” looks like.

Wow factor workplaces typically have a well-documented set of behavior standards and performance expectations. This is an agreement between you and the employees about what you each expect from each other. If you don’t already have such an agreement, schedule a planning session and work with others in the organization to create one.

It’s THEIR job to perform, but it’s YOUR job to engage and motivate them. Here’s what the late Teresa Laraba, former senior vice president of customer services for Southwest Airlines, had to say: “There does have to be a core sense in individuals that motivates them to come to work. They must want to get up in the morning and want to come to work. They must want to get up in the morning and want to live their life. But once they get to your place of employment, especially as a leader, it is your responsibility to make sure the workplace is as engaging and welcoming as it can be. Especially in our case, you are living out what people expect at Southwest Airlines: a caring environment.”

You can’t take your team any further than you can take yourself.

Great leaders, heartfelt leaders, live by example. To set a good example for your team, work on your own performance. Continue developing new

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skills and abilities that help you perform your job better. If you work to better yourself, you will be an inspiration to your team, and they will work hard to live up to the same standards.

Build strong relationships with lots of quick check-ins. “If you take the time to get to know your employees as you work with them every day, as you walk by them every day, if you have just two or three one-minute engagements as you work through your workplace, it builds,” said Southwest Airline’s Teresa Laraba. “Every time you interact with employees, you should be building those relationships.

They will be so much more loyal to the company and to your mission if they know you care as a leader. If you don’t invest the time, or you’d have fooled yourself into thinking you don’t have time, or you don’t look at every opportunity to interact as time invested in an employee, it’s your loss, their loss and the company’s loss.

Reach out if an employee appears unhappy. If you get the sense that one of your employees is upset or struggling, the worst thing you can do is to do nothing. Here’s some advice from Laraba: “as leaders, you are responsible for keeping employees engaged, they don’t appear to be motivated, but they have been motivated until now. You can’t just ignore that. You must find out what’s going on. There is obviously something that’s happened.

You need to reach out to them. We do not subscribe to ‘you leave your problems at the door.’ You do, in the sense the customers shouldn’t have to pay for your employees’ problems, but as leaders you ought to know what’s going on with them and find out if there’s something that’s stopping your employees from delivering on their work promise that day.”

Lay out a smart performance improvement plan. When people aren’t meeting agreed-to expectations, leaders of wow factor workplaces will collaborate with the underperformer, says Boelkes. Together with the employee, develop an improvement plan that spells out smart goals (specific, measurable, achievable, reasonable and time-bound). Both sides should agree to each improvement objective.

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Each party is responsible for holding the other accountable to his or her end of the agreed-to bargain.

And see to it that you both uphold your ends of the deal. If you, the manager, fail to stick to your end of the deal, you start again. If the underperformer fails to achieve each of the smart goals agreed to in the mutually developed performance improvement plan, the exit plan agreed to in the consequences section of the improvement plan is implemented. “This process may be time-consuming for the manager, but it wastes a whole lot less time and causes far less suffering for everyone in the impacted organization over the long run,” says Boelkes.

Here’s what Colleen Barrett, president emeritus and corporate secretary of Southwest Airlines, had to say about letting an underperformer go: “I have had to look dear friends in the eye and tell them they couldn’t keep a job because of something they’d done or whatever. Or I couldn’t recommend them for another job because of whatever, and I still retained the friendship.

You know, that’s hard. But if you’re just honest with people, I think the worst disservice you can do is not tell somebody when they are not making the grade. That’s just ridiculous.”

When expectations are not met, tough love is the right answer. “I haven’t had to put too many underperformers on such a plan, but I never hesitated to do so when it was necessary,” says Boelkes. “With chronically unhappy or incapable employees, or an obvious cultural misfit, doing so was always the right thing to do, and, in the end, all the team members thanked me, even the underperformer. The underperformer either got his or her act together, or moved on to something more in line with his or her passions and desires, which was often the underlying issue in the first place.”

If you determine that you must let someone go, do it quickly. Todd Wilcox, founder and executive chairman of Patriot Defense, says, “That’s been the one lesson that’s been recurring, the one I’ve been hammering my subordinates on: ‘Look. I’ve been telling you all along. I’ve made these mistakes in not firing people fast enough.’

If I’d have done that sooner with some of the people, we might not have lost some of the value that came along with their catastrophic failures, because we didn’t fire them fast enough.”

Remember that holding people accountable for performance doesn’t mean you don’t like and care about them. Howard Behar, former president of Starbucks Coffee says, “Look, you can like somebody, you can love somebody, but they may not be able to perform in the position they currently have. It doesn’t make them bad people. We have this good/ bad thing based on performance. Let’s assume all people are good. Let’s make that assumption: all people are good.

As long as you keep that always at the forefront, the person I’m talking to who isn’t performing is still a good person, who still has lots of redeeming qualities, then, his or her performance is a different thing. It may be something the person can do, is not able to do, maybe could do in a different kind of job, or maybe do in another company, whatever it happens to be. However, you can still love them; you can still care about them. When they know that, they will do everything they can not to let you down, not to let their teammates down, and not to let themselves down.”

The result of holding your employees (and yourself) to high standards is that your team will exceed your objectives and develop exceptional camaraderie. The best people will want to work for you and you’ll most likely have a stream of superstar performers waiting in the wings.

“Aiming high always pays off,” concluded Boelkes. “Expect great things from your people and support them, and they will go above and beyond for you.” v About the Author Deb Boelkes is not just a role model for heartfelt leader; she is the ultimate authority on creating best places to work, with 25+ years in Fortune 150 high-tech firms, leading superstar business development and professional services teams. As an entrepreneur, she has accelerated advancement for women to senior leadership. Deb has delighted and inspired over 1,000 audiences across North America.

The National Dipper

March/April 2021

Building an Emotional Bank Account with Your Employees: Eight Ways Leaders Can Save for a Rainy Day

by Quint Studer Leaders, do your employees say communication could be better? Would they like more input into company decisions? Do they wish their contributions were more appreciated? If so, consider focusing more attention on what Quint Studer, CEO of Studer GroupSM calls “building an emotional bank account” with your employees. Not only is it the right thing to do, it’s good insurance for the future. Eventually, your employees will feel let down—so you must ensure there’s enough emotional capital in the account for that metaphorical rainy day.

“Most leaders truly want to do the right thing,” asserts Studer, author of Straight A Leadership: Alignment, Action, Accountability. “They want positive, productive, trust-based relationships with their people. But let’s face it: perfection doesn’t exist in leaders or in companies. You put in enough ‘deposits’ so that when the inevitable ‘withdrawals’ are made—let’s say you forget to say thank you or you have to institute pay cuts—there’s enough goodwill in the account to salvage those relationships.”

Withdrawals, Studer points out, are usually weightier than deposits—so great leaders do everything they can to make more of the latter. For instance:

• Go for “quick wins” to establish credibility. A quick win is an action that shows employees you really are committed to meeting their needs. If you are trying to establish an environment of fairness, for instance, don’t “pull rank” as a senior leader and cut in line. Don’t insist on having the parking spot nearest the door. (Not only will it send a signal that you’re no more important than anyone else, the longer parking lot trek gives you the opportunity to talk to employees and stay on top of what’s going on in your company.)

Perhaps your quick win might take the form of getting a department a piece of equipment that employees have requested for years, or finally dealing with a low performer who’s been dragging everyone down.

Sometimes you won’t know what your quick win is until the moment it presents itself. And seemingly small gestures can have a big impact. In Straight A Leadership, Studer tells a story about his first day as administrator at a new hospital.

He asked a nurse how he could make her job better, and she said she was frightened walking to her car at night because of the tall bushes by the parking lot. While she worked that day, Studer got the bushes trimmed and put up a small fence.

It made the nurse feel safe and, more to the point, valued as an employee and as a person.

• Diagnose employee satisfaction—and act on the results. Use a proven, respected assessment tool to figure out where your problems lie. Then, commit to solving them.

“One of the biggest issues we see in our work with clients is that people say, ‘Well, they measured our satisfaction but nobody responded to what we said,’” says Studer. “We advise organizations to be open about the results and have everyone to vote on the top three issues. Eventually, you should address them all, but start with the top three.”

• Harvest best practices. If assessments reveal that a high number of employees cite “poor communication” as a problem, dig deeper. You may find that one department manager got great communication scores. Find out what she is doing right and reward her. Then, work to apply her communication practices throughout the organization. “Your company doesn’t really have a problem with poor communication, just inconsistent communication,” says Studer. “Take what people are doing right and expand it. It’s much more effective than trying to start from scratch—and it builds goodwill.”

• Announce that you’re making changes. Accept skepticism, but not cynicism. “Tell employees specifically what you are going to fix,” says Studer. “Naturally, they will be skeptical. You can even tell them that skepticism is fine, even expected, but ask that they try not to be cynical. If they start rolling their eyes and say, ‘Oh, we’ve heard all that before,’ tell them, ‘Look, you can be part of the problem or you can be open to change and see good things start to happen.’”

The National Dipper March/April 2021

Reader Service #114

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• “Round” relentlessly. Studer is a huge proponent of leadership “rounding,” a process similar to the one doctors use to check on their patients. In the business world, a CEO, VP, or department manager “makes the rounds” daily to check on the status of his or her employees. “Basically, you take an hour a day to touch base with employees, make a personal connection, recognize successes, find out what’s going well, and determine what improvements can be made,” says Studer. "”And of course, you fix any problems that come up. Rounding is the heart and soul of building the emotional bank account, because it shows employees day in and day out that you care.”

• Get rid of low performers.

Make no mistake: your employees don’t want to work with low performers. Nothing makes employees as discouraged and resentful as having to co-exist with people who don’t pull their own weight. In fact, low performers usually drive high performers right out the door. “Turning a blind eye to

these people quickly drains the emotional bank account you’re trying to build up with your good employees,” says Studer. “However hard it may seem, you must move these people up or out.”

• Avoid creating a “We/They culture. The temptation to get on your employees’ good side by saying (for instance), “Well, I fought for the budget increase but this is all I could get,” can be huge. It may feel easier or more comfortable at the moment, but ultimately you’re dividing the staff instead of uniting them. Of course, few leaders deliberately foster a “We/They” mentality, but it can be easy to do subconsciously. “Interestingly, the other side of the coin, ‘I know you’ve begged for more money for years and here I took care of it in one afternoon!’—can be equally divisive,” adds Studer. “When you solve a big problem overnight, you might be undermining mid-level supervisors who’ve been working on a problem for a long time. Don’t walk around and perform magic.”

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• Be open and truthful with your employees, no matter how difficult it may be. “Let’s say you know that part of your organization is going to be outsourced in the next few months, or that there are going to be major cuts in benefits,” says Studer. “Even if it doesn’t directly affect your team, it certainly impacts them on an emotional level. Once the decision is final, you owe it to your employees to tell them.

Don’t wait for them to read it in the paper. They will know that you knew all along, and a huge amount of trust will be lost.”

In the end, of course, trust is what building a healthy emotional bank account is all about, says Studer.

“When you’ve always been up front with your employees, and proven every day that you want what’s best for them, they’ll give you the benefit of the doubt when things don’t go their way,” he says. “They might not like it, and they may be angry. But they won’t feel betrayed to the point of leaving.

They’ll realize that you’ve always treated them like adults, with respect and consideration. And that’s when you’ll truly see the value of the work you’ve been doing. That emotional capital you’ve invested will save the relationship—you’ll see that it’s the very foundation of a healthy company.” v About the Author: Quint Studer not only teaches it, he has done it. After leading organizations to breakthrough results, he formed Studer Group®, an outcomes firm that implements evidence-based leadership systems that help clients attain and sustain outstanding results. He was named one of the “Top 100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare” by Modern Healthcare magazine for his work on institutional healthcare improvement. Studer was named “Master of Business” by Inc. magazine.

He is the author of bestseller Hardwiring Excellence: Purpose, Worthwhile Work, Making a Difference; 101 Answers to Questions Leaders Ask; Straight A Leadership: Alignment, Action, Accountability and Wall Street Journal beststeller Results That Last: Hardwiring Behaviors That Will Take Your Company to the Top.

The National Dipper

March/April 2021

Yellow Pages The National Dipper Yellow pages is a complete resource guide for tthe frozen dessert retail industry and will appear in every issue.

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ASSOCIATIONS Great Lakes Ice Cream & Fast Food Assn. ..................810/618-0605 New England Ice Cream Restaurant Assn. .........mca319@gmail.com BATCH FREEZERS Carpigiani…………www.carpigiani,com/us……….……800-648-4389 Emery Thompson......www.emerythompson.com……..718-588-7300 BOOKS Tips for Costing Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Cakes & Pies, plus: Tips for Costing Ice Cream Cones, Sundaes, Shakes.......847-301-8400 BULK ICE CREAM CONTAINERS Negus Packaging Solutions 3220 Kingsley Way, Madison, WI 53713 CAKE DECORATING www.cakedeco.com…Candles & Everything!...........718/545-4600 COCOA POWDER Forbes Chocolate……………............……..www.forbeschocolate.com CONES Joy Cone Co. Cake, Sugar, Waffle Cones & Bowls.......800-242-2663 PDI Cone-Dutch Treat…Sugar Cones & Toppings....…866-277-3084 DIPPING CABINETS Carpigiani…………www.carpigiani,com/us……………800-648-4389 FLAVORS Green Mountain Flavors, Inc. ………………….……..800-639-8653 FROZEN CUSTARD Classic Mix Partners...www.classicmixpartners.com.....800-722-8903 Award Winning Frozen Custard Mixes FROZEN YOGURT MIX A. Panza & Sons, Ltd., Mixes & Ingredients www.icecreamproducts.com…………………….800-Ice-Cream ICE CREAM CARTS & FREEZERS AllStarCarts-IceCreamCarts-Tricycles-TrucksTrailers...800/831-3166 Carpigiani…………www.carpigiani,com/us………….…800-648-4389 ICE CREAM CONTAINERS Visstun Cups………..www.visstuncups.com…….….702/251-8809 Custom printed quarts, pints, 1/2 pints and 5 oz. cups Flexible order volume - Single case to millions ICE CREAM MIX A. Panza & Sons, Ltd., Mixes & Ingredients www.icecreamproducts.com….........................….800-Ice-Cream

The National Dipper March/April 2021

PHOTOGRAPHY Stella Lorens Gallery…www.stellalorens.com...............630/730-8297 POINT OF SALE POSTERS JLM Unlimited, Inc., ........Elk Grove Village, IL ..............847/301-8400 Ice Cream Banana Split and Sundaes Posters SODA FOUNTAINS AMERICAN SODA FOUNATIN, INC............................312/733-5000 455 N. Oakley Bl...Chgo, IL 60612...www.americansodafountain.com Parts-Sales-Service-Mixers-Pumps-DraftArms-SodaFount.Bev.Equip SOFT SERVE MACHINES Carpigiani…………www.carpigiani,com/us….…………800-648-4389 TOPPINGS TR Toppers …….....…..800-748-4635……........... www.trtoppers.com VANILLA Prova Gourmet…......www.provagourmet.com...........…978/739-9055

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CALIFORNIA Taylor Freezers of Calif..800-927-7704...www.taylorfreezers.com FLORIDA Seacoast Sales…………..............…...www.seacoastsalesflorida.com 904/334-4489…………......Batch Freezers……...Display Cases NEW JERSEY A. Panza & Sons, Ltd., Mixes & Ingredients www.icecreamproducts.com….......................….800-Ice-Cream Dingman’s Dairy....www.dingmansdairy.biz..............800-958-6838 SOUTH JERSEY PAPER PRODUCTS/SUPPLYITALL OHIO Peck Food Service..www.peckfoodservice.com…..800-732-7325

Classified For Sale: 3-foot tall chocolate ice cream cone ($300) and 5-foot tall ice cream sundae ($450). Price is firm. Both are free standing. Cannot be shipped, must pick up in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. E-mail: lynda@nationaldipper.com for photos.

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NEGUS PACKAGING SOLUTIONS

Calendar

MARCH 17 – St. Patrick’s Day 19 – National Oatmeal Cookie Day 19 – National Corn Dog Day 20 – Beginning of Spring 24 – Chocolate Covered Raisins Day 25 – National Waffle Day 27 – Passover Begins 28 – Palm Sunday APRIL 1 – April Fools’ Day 2 – Good Friday 3 – National Chocolate Mouse Day 4 – Easter Sunday 5 – National Caramel Day 6 – Caramel Popcorn Day 9 – Passover 12 – National Licorice Day 13 – National Peach Cobbler Day 14 – National Pecan Day 15 – Income Taxes Due 18 – National Animal Cracker Day 19 – Orthodox Easter 22 – Earth Day 21 – Administrative Professionals Day 22 – National Jelly Bean Day 24 – Arbor Day 26 – National Pretzel Day 28 – National Blueberry Pie Day 30 – Oatmeal Cookie Day 30 – National Raisin Day MAY National Chocolate Custard Month National Egg Month National Strawberry Month 1 – May Day

1 – National Chocolate Parfait Day 2 – National Chocolate Truffle Day 2 – Eastern Orthodox Easter 3 – National Chocolate Custard Day 5 – Cinco de Mayo 8 – National Coconut Cream Pie Day 9 – Mothers’ Day 12 – National Nutty Fudge Day 13 – National Apple Pie Day 15 – National Chocolate Chip Day 15 – Armed Forces Day 17 – National Walnut Day 19 – National Devil’s Food Cake Day 21 – Strawberries & Cream Day 22 – National Vanilla Pudding Day 23 – National Taffy Day 26 – National Cherry Dessert Day 27 – National Grape Popsicle Day 31 – Memorial Day 22–25 – National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel–Motel Show.

McCormick Place, Chicago, IL. Contact: National Restaurant Association, 150 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 2000, Chicago, IL 60601. 312/853–2525.

Fax: 312/853–2548. E–mail: restaurant.org/show.

JUNE National Candy Month National Dairy Month 2 – National Rocky Road Day 7 – Chocolate Ice Cream Day 8 – Jelly–Filled Donut Day 10 – National Iced Tea Day 12 – Peanut Butter Cookie Day 14 - Flag Day

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All Star Carts & Vehicles, Inc...........17 Carpigiani........................................13 Chicago Vegan..................................17 Costing Manuals................................6 Dingman’s Dairy................................5 Global Refrigeration.........................12 Great Lakes Ice Cream & Fast Food Association...............................21 Green Mountain Flavors…………...23 Hershey Foodservice............4th Cover Hill & Markes……………………...11 Stella Lorens Photography ..3rd Cover Negus Packaging Solutions..............26

New England Ice Cream Restaurant Association.................................24 Northwestern Tool...........................15 A.Panza & Sons, Ltd...........2nd Cover Prova Gourmet..................................7 Temptation Vegan Soft Serve...........17 The Vat Pasteurizer...........................15 Visstun Cups......................................8 This Advertisers’ Index is published as a service to you, the reader. The publisher does not assume liability for errors or omissions.

The National Dipper

March/April 2021

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