Writing A Policy Manual for Your Store

by Lynda Utterback

Over the years, I have seen many policy manuals for ice cream shops. Many of these manuals are simple, some are more elaborate, but some stores do not even have a policy manual. Since many of your employees are new to the workforce, it is a good idea to give each one of them a policy manual. Call it what you want, a policy manual, operations guide, employee manual, rules and regulations, etc. It is a guideline, what you as the owner of the business, expect from your employees, anything from how to greet customers to how to mop the floor.

Your manual should be updated every year. If you have a computer, this will be easy to do. If you don’t have a computer, talk to a local printer or copy center that does and arrange for them to put the manual on its computer to update next year. Be sure to get a back up of the original file of the manual. If this company is not around next year, you at least have the back up that you can take to another company to make the necessary changes.

At the beginning of each season start a list of things to be covered in next year’s manual. Day by day you will encounter new experiences. For example, many stores have been adding rules about cell phone use and texting. These are things you did not worry about a few years ago. Or you may want to add an addendum for employees this year. Your manual should be an ongoing project. And don’t forget to have your attorney read your manual. You don’t want to violate any state or Federal laws.

What should you include in your manual?

In what form should it be presented? That’s really up to you. You can use a three ring binder, of just have copies made and stapled together or made into a little booklet. A local printer or copy center can help if you don’t have a copy machine. If you are using a computer, you can just print copies yourself. Put your logo on the front cover, along with your contact information. Remember, this is your manual; the presentation should reflect your business philosophy.

Use positive words whenever possible. For example, instead of saying, “No Smoking”, you could say, “This is a smoke free environment”. Or, “Please refrain from smoking while you are on the premises”. Remember, this is a first time job experience for many of your employees and you want them to have a positive experience so they will make a positive impression on your customers.

The first thing you want to do is welcome your new employee. Tell them that ice cream is a happy business and they were hired because you thought they have a great personality, or whatever quality you liked about them during the interview, and they will help make your customers happy. Personalize each manual, if possible. Let them know what kind of skills they will learn while working in the ice cream shop, i.e. teamwork, salesmanship, interacting with customers, leadership, etc.

If you want, you can give a brief history of your business. Make it brief; don’t overwhelm them with a lot of details. Tell them what days of the week you are open for business and your hours of operation each day.

Mission Statement

Tell them your mission statement, why you are in business. Again, it doesn’t have to be long. If you don’t have a mission statement, you should. You can start with the following statement and customize it to your operation: “Our purpose is to provide our customers with quality products and the best service possible, in a clean and pleasant atmosphere. When we give our best to our customers, they will return and tell their friends about their good experience. This will allow us to make a profit and provide jobs for our employees.”

Let’s Get Started

The following categories will help you get started writing your own store manual. These are suggestions. You can include as much or as little of this information as you see fit. You may also have other items you want to include in your manual. Once again, this is your manual, the presentation should reflect your business philosophy.

Arrival

When do you want your employees to arrive for their assigned shift? If you want them in the store five or ten minutes before starting time so they are ready to work at their appointed time, state that in your manual. This will allow time for them to wash their hands and be ready to start serving customers. Explain that the person they are relieving wants to leave on time and it is important that they be on time and ready to go to work at the appointed time.

Appearance

If you have uniforms, describe them in your manual, even if you provide shirts, hats or aprons. Each person must arrive at the store dressed in, for example, a clean, neat Tshirt with our store logo, which is provided, tan slacks, a clean neat apron, cap with store logo and clean comfortable gym shoes and socks. Also state your policy on hair, jewelry, gum chewing, nail polish, perfume or cologne, tattoos, etc.

If you want your employees to wear only tan colored slacks; make a statement in your manual that no other color of slacks are acceptable. If shorts or skirts are acceptable, be sure to mention an acceptable length, for example, “shorts and skirts must be knee length”. Tell employees that any clothing cannot be tight fitting, torn or discolored or have any designs printed on them. Be as specific as you can be. Someone will always try to test the policies.

If you allow jewelry, for example, pierced earrings, expect the boys as well as the girls to be wearing earrings. Fingernails must be clean at all times. Employees will be handling a food product and you don’t want dirty fingernails or fingernails that are too long. Nail polish may chip and flake off while scooping ice cream, you may want to disallow the use of nail polish for anyone dipping ice cream, or make sure they are wearing gloves. Again, be very specific. If you want uniformity, tell them exactly what you want.

It may take a few re-writes to get what you want, but it is worth it when the first employee shows up in torn jeans, spiked hair and nose ring and you can point to the manual and tell them they are dressed inappropriately to work in your store.

Greeting Customers

Explain to your employees that they will be the first impression a customer gets of the business and they must always wear a smile to work. You expect prompt, courteous service at all times.

Include in your manual how you expect them to greet each customer, take the order, confirm the order, fill the order, collect the money, count back the change, say thank you and come again. I have noticed in recent years that not many employees count back the change. I made a comment in a store that does count back the change, telling the owner she was one of only a few that still does count back the change. Most employees just put the bills in your hand and put the change on top of the bills. The owner said all of her employees count back the change and her cash drawer balances perfectly every night!

Even though this seems like second nature to you, it is not to first time employees. If they have worked in another retail establishment before, they may have learned a different procedure, one that may not reflect your philosophy of greeting customers. Spell it out. You can suggest several phrases or greetings to use. Your employees will find one they are most comfortable using.

The Phone

First of all, let employees know that the telephone is your business phone. It is not to be used for personal phone calls, unless there is an emergency.

Teach them how to properly answer the phone. A good example is: “Good afternoon, June’s Ice Cream Shop. This is Jennifer, how can I help you?”

Since everyone has a cell phone today, you should include a section on whether or not they can have their cell phones turned on while they are waiting on customers. And whether or not they can send or receive text messages.

During the recent shooting at the FedEx facility in Indianapolis, Indiana, employees were not allowed to have their phones with them during work hours. When the shooting started, they were not able to call for help.

If you do not let employees have their phones while they are working, be sure they have access to a phone in every room of your store, in case of emergency. And make sure you have an exit plan if they need to get out of the store quickly.

Work Schedules

Obviously, you told your new employees that evenings

and weekends are the busiest times in an ice cream store. And they can expect to be scheduled for those times.

Let them know when the schedule is set up. If they want a particular day off, tell them how and when the request must be submitted. Are they responsible for finding a replacement if they call in sick? Do you allow the employees to switch shifts with each other?

Tell them how long each shift will be and whether they are entitled to a break, and the length of the break. This is an area where you should consult your attorney. Laws vary from state to state and it is important to know the law in your state.

Rain Day

Do you have a rain day policy where employees have the option of going home if it’s raining and you are not busy? If you do have a rain day policy, who gets to go home first?

Many store owners have told me that rain days are cleaning days because as soon as someone goes home, it stops raining and the store gets busy.

Pay Day

How long is the pay period, a week, two weeks? What day of the week is pay day? What time can checks be picked up? Who is responsible for handing out checks? Do employees have to sign a sheet when they pick up their check? Explain what deductions will be made for taxes, both state and federal, social security and any other deductions that will be made, etc.

This section can also explain your policy on raises. Tell them when raises are given and the criteria on which raises are based. If you have a bonus program, explain that as well.

Training Period

Your training manual should be separate from your policy manual. As mentioned before, each employee should be given a policy manual for his or her own use. Your training manual should be for internal use only.

Tell your employees what you expect them to know and how long you expect it to take them to learn everything. If you have a probationary period, let them know how long it is. Give them deadlines. For example, after the first training sessions, they should know how to greet customers, know all of the flavors available, be able to scoop the right amount of ice cream in a cone, know the prices of the different size cones,

Portion Control

In any foodservice business, portion control is critical. You cannot impress this upon your employees enough. You can state in your policy manual that the first several cones made by an employee starting work for the day must be weighed. Throughout the shift, cones should be weighed periodically.

Explain your policy on mistakes. Do you replace dropped cones? Give this information to your employees to help them better serve your customers. If they have to find you every time a mistake is made, that means the customer has to wait longer to be served. Empower them to correct mistakes, the way you would correct them.

Cleaning

A clean store is another critical area of the foodservice business. Let them know up front that they will be washing windows and mopping floors as well as cleaning bathrooms. Set up a closing routine that must be strictly followed. List items that must be cleaned and restocked each evening before any one can go home. Let them know that cleaning will take a half-hour to an hour after closing the store.

Don’t forget the outside of the store. Tables and chairs need to be cleaned periodically and at the end of the day.

It is a good idea to assign each person a cleaning task and have them sign off on a sheet after the task has been completed. If the job is not done properly, you know who did it and you can go over the correct procedure with that person.

Here are some other items you may want to cover in your policy manual: • Friends and/or family visiting working employees • Up-selling • Unhappy customers • Cleaning outside the store • Unacceptable job performance • Terminations • Safety - What to do in case of a robbery • Overtime • Employee discounts • Benefits • Eating during working hours • Accepting personal checks and/or large bills • Health - What to do if they are sick • Music/Radio in the store

As I mentioned, every store should have a policy manual. It may seem like an overwhelming task to write one, but it will save you countless headaches in the future. Don’t make your manual a 600-page book. Employees won’t read it. Several typed pages should cover the information you want to include. If you have time, go through the manual with new employees, or at least have them sign a statement that they have read it.

Remember your employees are one of the first impressions a customer gets of your business. If they are winners at their job, you will be a winner too. v

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Distributor Inquiries Welcome 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 13 – Cupcake Lover’s Day 14 – Strawberry Shortcake Day 14 – Flag Day 16 – National Fudge Day 20 – National Ice Cream Soda Day 20 – Vanilla Milkshake Day 20 – Fathers’ Day 20 – Beginning of Summer 21 – Peaches & Cream Day 21 – National Smoothie Day 22 – Chocolate Éclair Day 23 – Pecan Sandy Day 24 – Pralines Day 25 – National Strawberry Parfait Day 30 – National Bomb Pop Day

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JULY

National Ice Cream Month National Hot Dog Month 3 – National Chocolate Wafer Day 4 – Independence Day 7 – Strawberry Sundae Day 9 – National Sugar Cookie Day 11 – National Blueberry Muffin Day 12 – National Pecan Pie Day 15 – National Gummy Worm Day 17 – National Peach Ice Cream Day 18 – National Ice Cream Day 20 – National Ice Cream Sundae Day 23 – National Vanilla Ice Cream Day 25 – National Hot Fudge Sundae Day 26 – National Coffee Milkshake Day 28 – National Milk Chocolate Day 30 – National Cheesecake Day 31 – National Cotton Candy Day

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National Peach Month 2 – National Ice Cream Sandwich Day 3 – National Watermelon Day 4 – Chocolate Chip Cookie Day 4 – Friendship Day 6 – National Root Beer Float Day 8 – National Frozen Custard Day 10 – National S’mores Day 10 – National Banana Split Day 14 – National Creamsicle Day 17 – National Vanilla Custard Day

Advertisers’ Index

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Rteader Service #120