[ad_1]
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their very own.
“Be good, be clear, and be current.” That is the mantra of Philip and Sibs Harrell, house owners of Sundae Scoop, a mom-and-pop ice cream store in Virginia Seaside, Virginia.
Customer service is the primary precedence for these enterprise house owners. Whether or not chatting with clients or selecting and training staff, Philip and Sibs deal with creating an inviting community house for buddies and households to assemble.
Associated: 7 Essentials of Great Customer Service
“On the finish of the day, being in the neighborhood is what an ice cream store is about,” Philip mentioned. “We symbolize each tradition that is in our space. That is the place the ube ice cream comes from, or the coquito, or rum raisin. Every a type of [flavors] is gonna reply or contact one thing in somebody that they bear in mind from their childhood.”
Sundae Scoop’s heat and interesting customer support has earned the enterprise a 4.8-star Yelp ranking with practically 100 opinions (on the time of writing). Most reviewers focus on optimistic experiences they’ve had interacting with Philip and his pleasant employees, together with Yelp Elite Aneesa P.
Arriving proper after the shop had opened for the day, Aneesa chatted with Philip as she ordered her ice cream. He shared the story of the store, helped her pick the proper gluten-free taste, and even helped her snap the proper pictures and movies to accompany her overview.
“I felt like we actually linked,” Aneesa mentioned. “He wasn’t identical to ‘Here is your ice cream. Go.’ He was like, ‘Hey, I need to let you recognize, behind the scenes, the story of how I got here up with this concept.'”
Philip and Sibs see optimistic opinions like Aneesa’s as a key device for boosting staff morale. When a scooper will get known as out by identify for contributing to a positive customer experience, Philip and Sibs are the primary to allow them to know.
“They’re younger youngsters. They’re very self-conscious,” Sibs mentioned. “So it feels actually good when folks give them their big-ups and identify them.”
Philip and Sibs spend quite a lot of time not solely encouraging present employees but in addition hiring scoopers who will contribute to Sundae Scoop’s hospitable tradition. They ask all job candidates to totally learn the opinions and pay attention to what folks love most in regards to the store. They need to ensure that all new and potential hires are able to ship the peppy, pleasant service Sundae Scoop guarantees.
Associated: How Chef JJ Started a Rice Bowl Revolution in Harlem
As a community-driven house, Sundae Scoop is energetic within the Virginia Seaside space, partnering with native colleges and companies on occasions like ice cream socials. Philip and Sibs are additionally dedicated to mentoring fellow small business owners, connecting with different companies by means of neighborhood teams and selling them on the partitions of their store. In his three years operating Sundae Scoop, Philip has helped three different companies get off the bottom.
“They took the chance too. They took that leap of religion,” he mentioned. “So if somebody like myself or my spouse can come alongside and assist them on their journey, that is all the higher as a result of it is constructing a stronger neighborhood.”
Philip has discovered these relationships particularly essential to domesticate as a Black enterprise proprietor. He speaks to the worry of the unknown that may floor within the Black enterprise proprietor neighborhood when you do not know who to show to or what assets are on the market.
Associated: 3 Strategies This Vietnamese Noodle Shop Has Used to Thrive in Minnesota
“I at all times encourage folks simply to affix one thing,” he mentioned. “You gotta discover one thing greater than your self. It’s important to discover individuals who appear to be you, and it’s important to discover individuals who do not appear to be you. And also you want to have the ability to use recommendation from all of them and put it collectively.”
Supporting Black-owned businesses was a part of Aneesa’s motivation to go to Sundae Scoop. Being considered one of a handful of Black girls in her discipline, she was capable of join with Philip over what it is like to achieve success in a white-dominated house. Aneesa harassed the significance of writing opinions to make sure that nice Black-owned companies do not get closed down as a result of a scarcity of assist.
“All of us must assist one another, not convey one another down,” she mentioned. “[It’s] actually essential to me to have the ability to let all people know, ‘Hey, we will personal all of those areas and likewise achieve success as nicely.'”
Philip and Sibs remind themselves day-after-day of their dedication to being groundbreakers of their neighborhood with a mural on the wall of Sundae Scoop. This reimagining of the well-known portray “Underneath the Wave off Kanagawa” represents a line from artist and rapper Tobe Nwigwe’s track “EAT” that reads: “[We] do not simply experience the wave, we create it.'”
“[Sundae Scoop] is our manner of making our personal waves, of creating our personal path and ensuring that we will be okay,” Philip mentioned. “On the finish of the day, simply be good, assist one another, and assist one another the place you’ll be able to, and I can nearly promise you that it may come again your manner.”
Along with the facility of heat and interesting customer support, Sundae Scoop believes:
Hearken to the episode under to listen to immediately from Philip, Sibs, and Aneesa, and subscribe to Behind the Review for extra from new enterprise house owners and reviewers each Thursday.
Obtainable on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Pandora, and Soundcloud.
Editorial contributions by Callie Morgan and Kristi Lindahl
[ad_2]
Source link
