In Vergennes, behind an easily identifiable blue-and-white awning on Main Street, I’ve worked for Olsen’s Ice Cream since 2024. Olsen’s is my first job. I’m in my third season at this locally owned business, which Meghan and Rodney Olsen opened in 2020. Besides earning some money, I’ve learned how to support a small community by watching the owners display care and respect for their employees and their customers. Visitors at Olsen’s know it for its long list of hard ice cream flavors and the iconic maple-black raspberry twist creemee, which Olsen’s calls the “Bob.” The outside of the store displays quotes from customers and photos of smiling kids with ice cream all over their faces, families in Halloween costumes and some of the shop’s first employees, as well as the mascot: a Viking holding an ice cream cone. Something else is special about Olsen’s: Laminated sheets, both on the counter where customers order and inside the shop, offer translations of useful phrases into Spanish. We see many Spanish-speaking families at the shop. The counter sheet begins with “Bienvenidos a Olsen’s Helado” — “Welcome to Olsen’s Ice Cream.” Then it provides a few ordering instructions in Spanish: “Elige tu sabor” (“Choose your flavor”); “Tenemos conos de gofre, azúcar y conos regulares” (“We have waffle cones, sugar and regular cones”). Inside, the sheet tells us how to communicate with those customers. I ask, “¿Cuántas cucharadas quieres?” for “How many scoops do you want?” “¿En un cono o un vaso?” means “In a cone or a cup?” And “¿Quieres algo más?” translates to “Do you want anything else?” (The Spanish word for “maple,” incidentally, is arce, and “black raspberry” is frambuesa negra.) I learned that this is one of Rodney’s ways of forming relationships with people who frequent his shop. I recently sat down for a conversation with my boss, who worked as a special educator teaching social skills and science at the Patricia A. Hannaford Career Center in Middlebury before he started his ice cream business. We talked about how he connects with customers, why he wants to overcome language barriers and how he mentors young employees. Why did you open Olsen’s? I always wanted an ice cream shop. Ice cream was kind of big at our house. I’d get a half gallon of ice cream, and my dad and I would sit around and just eat it while watching a hockey game or whatever. Then one time, my mom took me to a Stewart’s Shops, and I got an ice cream cone. It was so memorable. It was a double mint chip. I was very young. I was like, “Is this all mine?” We’ve had more Spanish-speaking customers recently, and because of that we have the Spanish and English translations. Why did you decide to include those at the shop? It’s respect. I thought, We gotta put the effort in. I travel, and when I go places, people put the effort in and help me with the language. Plus, when someone comes in and they’re struggling with ordering an ice cream, it’s fun to be able to contribute. You can tell people enjoy that and appreciate it. We have one family, when they come in, they would always say, “Como esta?” “How are you?” And I’d always answer, “En la cima del mundo” — “On top of the world.” A while back, the daughter came in, and she brought a painting. It was amazing. It was a Viking on top of an ice cream cone. How does that not make you feel good? I travel, and when I go places people put the effort in and help me with the language.rodney olsen Absolutely. I know there was one customer who was not happy about having Spanish displayed. How do you respond to that? Every now and then, you run into somebody who has something they need to say. That person, they questioned why we have the Spanish translation. He thought it was a disrespect to the English language or Americans or something. I didn’t really know how to handle it except [to] ask him, “Where’d you come from? Where are your parents from?” For a lot of your employees, this is their first job and their first time dealing with customers. How do you see yourself as a mentor, guiding young people through their first job? I was a teacher for 24 years. I learned a lot of patience. My dad would say, “It’s not a mistake if you can fix it in a day.” There are very few things that we do in the shop that are a crisis. But it is interesting to see how kids come into the shop and how prepared they are and ready to work. What was it like for you? It was very welcoming. I was nervous because it was my first job, but it was comfortable. One thing we do is, we have people come in and observe. A lot of jobs, people go in on the first day, they get hit with everything. The observation makes a big difference, so people actually know what they’re getting into. I’ve gotten to see the relationships you build with customers, people who come up and ask, “Is Rodney here?” How do you reach customers? I got to know a lot of people just at the window. You have 15 seconds. That’s your opportunity to make an impact. The next time they come in, you know their name. A lot of our employees know what people order when they come in. I’ve been able to memorize people’s regular order. They love that. When you know their order and you smile and you’ve seen them before and you make a connection, it makes people feel like they matter. You asked what I like about having an ice cream shop. It would be all these pictures and quotes. It’s all smiles, happiness, sprinkles. It’s kids jumping up and down. The most fun question, the most important one: What’s your favorite ice cream flavor? I’d have to go Southern peach. Really? Used to be mint chocolate chip. What’s yours? Toasted coconut, for sure. This interview was edited for clarity and length. Olsen’s Ice Cream will close for the season at the end of October. Learn more on Facebook.Georgia Kunkel is a junior at Vergennes Union High School. She has always loved to write, and a Governor’s Institutes of Vermont class recently sparked her interest in journalism. The original print version of this article was headlined “Scoops in Spanish | A teen talks with her ice cream shop boss about making people feel like they matter” The post A Teen Talks With Her Boss About Making People Feel Like They Matter appeared first on Seven Days. ...read more read less