We had been at Findlay for both Happy Volley and Special Olympics, but things were much slower paced this week. Jamie, one of the assistant managers at Pollock, was also with us to experience a week at a different facility than usual.
The first day, we learned the process of taking inventory and about receiving stock from Ken. He was extremely knowledgeable about the location of all different items and the right conditions for receiving products. There are different specifications for receiving each product and it is very important to inspect products carefully! Ken told us that it is essential to be very carefully in checking stock and communicating with all members of the team to make sure you are ordering the right amount of a product. Otherwise, major mistakes can be made and there can be way too much of a product or not enough. All the little details matter!
We also came in for a 4:30am shift to open Findlay with Nick, one of the assistant managers. This process consisted of turning on all the lights, grills/burners, making coffee, and putting up employees' schedules for the day. We also write the count for breakfast, lunch, and dinner on the white board near the entrance, in addition to an inspirational quote (my favourite part!).
We also checked temperatures of different foods on the line, including a protein, entree of the day, yoghurt, and fruit. The goal is to be out of the temperature danger zone (41-140F)! We also walked around the coolers and freezers to check the temperature logs and make sure the temperatures were acceptable.
Since the pace was slower, Leah and I did a lot of walking around and managing areas that needed improvement. We cleaned up sprinkle spills, wiped up soda from counters, directed lost souls, and helped with the dish belt. Even in the slow times, there is always something to do and you just have to be on the lookout with a keen eye!
It was interesting to talk to Nick about his past experiences and how he ended up as an assistant manager at Findlay. He has done everything, from bartending to owning his own Quiznos restaurant to
In the middle of the week, we took a tour to the warehouse, which was really fun and educational. Wade and Clay showed us around and gave us the chance to build our own pallets with products to be shipped off to the other Penn State campuses. It really is like Tetris, the process of fitting boxes into the perfect cube. Some of the warehouse guys ride around the forklifts like pros, they go soo fast and it looked like alot of fun! One of the coolest things was seeing the pallet wrapper in action- the entire pallet is wrapped with durable plastic wrap to protect it when being shipped. It's like... mummification for boxes?
On Friday, we got to leave early and Jamie showed me around this awesome gluten-free bakery downtown called Good Seed Baking Co. It was so cool!!
Aside from muffins, cupcakes, breads, they also sell gluten-free pasta and baking mixes! How convenient :)
Not to mention my favourite... macarons!! I love the creative flavours, like key lime pie, root beer, and passion fruit.
Today (Sunday), I started at the Mix, the busiest convenience store near Pollock with Kevin. How cool is the logo? Yes, look carefully... it does say "the Mix!"
Seeing as it was the first day of summer session two, it was definitely busy. The hot food line opened and it was exciting to see things being cooked on the grill, as well as coffees and smoothies being made!
Here I present to you the beautifully arranged Chobani yoghurts I carefully put together!
We also learned how to make sticker labels for Food-to-Go options such as these fruit cups. The RDs looked up the nutrition content of these cups- look, how healthy!!
It was a highlight to see Mr. Hopey stop in today and talk with him about interesting subjects like tofu scramble and disguising chipped cabinets with permanent marker. Haha! Always a fun encounter...
Signing off (how is it almost July already??),
Aimme
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