Greetings, and welcome to this week's edition of "The Scoop" -- THE email newsletter that helps Paris Hilton get through her long days of confinement -- the poor dear.

It's May, and things are definitely heating up, as we've had to bump up the number of kids on each shift. April was a lousy month for us -- with all the cool, rainy weather, our sales were down almost 40% from last April. (Then again, last April was exceptionally warm.)

The "magic" temperature for producing a busy day at the stand seems to be around 72 degrees -- much cooler than that, and only the die hard fans are out. Once we hit that magic number, all of the amateurs join in, making it it tougher on all of the "professional" ice cream seekers. So don't delay, when the temperature starts approaching the seventies get right on over to the stand!

New T-shirts

Well, our summer t-shirts are in, and boy do they look great! I ordered an extra large batch this season, as we got a lot of complaints last year about not having shirts available to sell. So come on by and get one, I've got a lot of money tied up in them!

This year's shirts are a nice pink or blue HYP brand three color T for the girls, and a beefy Comfort Colors brand shirt in blue or green for the boys. Shirts are $14 each, which is roughly our cost, after paying for the shirts, the artwork, and all of the Advil I had to ingest in getting this order completed.

We had a bunch of requests for kids' sizes last year, but I haven't ordered those yet, as I'm going to put in another order in conjunction with a fundraiser for breast cancer in a week or so, so I'll put the two orders in together. (If any of you are involved in a breast cancer related charity, I'd love to talk to you about our fundraiser idea, and which organization we should donate through.)

When I was looking for slogans to put on this year's shirt, I sent email to a bunch of friends asking for ideas. Well, I got quite a few -- some very clever, and some that are a little... well, I'll let you describe them:

• Ice cream: it isn't just for breakfast anymore
• Mad Maggie's Anything less just isn't ice cream.
• DAMN! That's good ice cream!
  [ A nice "Twin Peaks" reference -- if any of you remember that great TV show! ]
• This is your one chance to talk to me: Take me to Mad Maggie's for an ice cream!
• Don't blame me -- I was at Mad Maggie's when it happened!
• Mad Maggie's - Now with 50% more madness
• Mad Maggie's: APPLY DIRECTLY TO YOUR MOUTH!
• Body by Mad Maggie's
• DANGER! Two scoops causes instant addiction.
• Mad Maggie's: Because your brain won't just freeze itself!
• International Brotherhood of Ice Cream Tasters - Local 271
  (union shield design with this on the back; on the front pocket, Mad Maggie's logo.)
• Can't help coming back for more
• Good girls go to heaven.
  Bad girls go to Mad Maggie's for a large sundae with extra hot fudge.
  I've been a bad, bad girl!
• Hands off my cone!
• Flavors to die for!
• Mad Maggie's: Because no one should settle for crappy ice cream!
• I go mad for Mad Maggie's
• A scoop a day keeps the frowns away
• Where the REAL cone heads come from
• Love Me. Squeeze Me. Bring me to Mad Maggie's!
• If you really loved me, you'd bring me to Mad Maggie's
• Shut up and lick it!
• Eat Me!
• Mad Maggie's delivers ""Mad Flava"
• Mad Maggie's - her flavors are INSAAAAAAANE!" (little Crazy Eddie reference)
• Mad Maggie - she's not angry, she's crazy (for ice cream)
• A roller coaster for your mouth
• So good... you'll want to eat it 'til you puke!
• Ice Cream with attitude
• DANGER! Two scoops causes instant addiction.
• No, you can't have a lick.
• Check out my two scoops!

So, which one made it onto this year's T's? Come on by the store and find out!

Or, if you have ideas for other slogans, it's not too early to submit them -- maybe we'll do a late season printing, or just keep the ideas for next spring's shirt.

What's Up With These Kids?

I love our serving team -- those of you who read this newsletter regularly know that I consider working with the kids and watching them grow through their clumsy teenage years one of the biggest perks to running this business.

Every spring, we get flooded with applications for our open spots. It's become a mid-winter day of excitement along the same lines as seeing the first robin of spring: "Hey, we got our first application today!"

This spring, likely because of the press we've received due to the opening of our new location, I've already got a stack of around 60 applications, and they're coming in at a rate of about 2 or 3 a day.

Our application has evolved over the years. When we first started, I just asked for their name, address, and school. After sorting through a stack of thirty or so applications that first summer, with all of them looking the same, I figured that I needed to ask a few more questions to try to get a better sense of the personality behind the applicant.

One of the first questions I added was one at the end: I asked them "So, why do you want to work here?" I explain that I don't expect an essay, just a line or two that tells me why they want to work here, rather than at any of the other job options they have.

I found that maybe one in three applicants actually answered that question -- most just left it blank.

But those who answered it gave me a pretty good sense of whether they were just looking for "a job", or if they were interested in being around people. One really funny application this spring stated that when she had turned 14, she had been "psyched to join the American workforce. About 5 seconds after I saw my [employer's] uniform, I was significantly less psyched." This is the type of funny reply that gets me to move that application towards the top of the pile.

Still, I'm amazed at the number of applications that come in with that last question unanswered. I've gradually increased the warnings on the application. At this point, I have a warning at the top of the application explaining that any applications that aren't completely filled out won't be considered, as well as a line before that final question (in big, bold, underlined text) stating "IF YOU DON'T ANSWER THIS, YOU WON'T BE HIRED!"

Still, I'd guess around one in four at this point come in with no answer to that last question. Some of them are expected -- when I get an application sloppily filled out in pencil, with portions crossed out and rewritten, I fully expect to get to that last question and find it blank. Still, I've gotten quite a few this spring where the applicant obviously spent a lot of effort to fill in the first page, then completely ignored that last question, even with the big, bold statement that doing so was going to disqualify them from getting the job.

What's up with these kids? Am I expecting too much from them? Or do they just don't believe me when I tell them that I won't hire them if they don't answer?

I think that later in the spring, when I find a few free moments, I'm going to tally up the number of applications that aren't fully filled out. Maybe I'm over-focusing on these, and they just stick in my memory longer, but I'll still wager that it's around 25%.

North Andover Update

Construction is proceeding! The rough electrical connections are complete, the AC handlers are in place in the attic, the siding on the front of the building was finished, and hopefully we'll have a basement slab and plumbing this week, and maybe even insulation and drywall.

We spent some time last weekend picking out lighting fixtures, and now have tile, and other flooring on order. Lots going on. We're still praying that we'll make a Memorial Day opening, but that's probably unlikely at this point. But we'll still try!

Flavor News

• Lemon-Mango Sorbet -- We've made fresh Mango sorbet a lot, and while it has its fans, the texture has never been one that appeals to me -- I find it to be very pulpy. This time, we decided to add some fresh squeezed lemons to the mixture, and it's a great combination, the tartness of the lemons is a nice complement for the pulpiness of the mangoes.
• Mimosa Sorbet -- We've made this one before, but it wasn't a great seller. This attempt is a little better though, as I really do think it tastes like a Mimosa drink. Orange juice and Champagne, for those of you who are wondering -- the favored drink of the Sunday morning brunch crowd.
• Kiwi Sorbet -- If you've never had the opportunity to spend a couple of hours peeling 50 kiwis, let me tell you: you're not missing out on any fun! Still, I've now done it, and we have a kiwi sorbet in stock. The color of this is a little disappointing -- it ended up being a sort of grayish green. If I end up making this again, I think I'll add a touch of green coloring, just to make it look a little more appealing, but the taste is great!
• Frozen Pudding -- A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the older couple who stop by weekly looking for Rum Raisin or Frozen Pudding. Last week, I made Rum Raisin, and I promised them that I'd run a batch of Frozen Pudding when that was gone. Well, last night I was down to the bottom of the last tub of Rum Raisin, so I made a batch of Frozen Pudding, so that's in stock now. In my opinion, this is awful stuff -- lots of rum-soaked raisins and other fruits in my beautiful sweet creamy mix! But there are definitely some, mainly of the older generation, who look for this, so we'll see how it sells. If it's popular, I'll keep it in stock, even if it isn't one of my personal favorites.

One customer this past week told me about a place he used to visit that was now out of business that served an Almond Amaretto ice cream, and asked if I'd consider trying that flavor. It sounds interesting to me, so I'm sure we'll be trying this one soon, so watch for it!

Staff News

We're still in hiring mode, though we're slowing down a bit waiting for the North Andover construction to complete, so I thought I'd write a little about how we screen through applications here.

As I stated above, we get a ton of applications this time of year. This year, I'm amazed at the quality of the applicants. Despite those who disqualify themselves by not filling it out completely, we've had some really exceptional applications this spring, and I honestly wish I could hire them all, but I have to pick and choose, trying to fill out a team that works well together.

One of the challenges in building the team is to try figure out what "type" of worker each applicant might be out of what they've written on the application, and from the five or so minutes we might spend interviewing someone for a job.

In our four seasons of running this business, I've come to realize that not everyone is good at everything, so building the team involves hiring some who are "people persons" -- the ones who like nothing better than working the window and interacting with customers. Others are "organizers" -- they're the ones who like to stay busy restocking, cleaning up, and making sure things behind the scenes are running smoothly. And still others are the "leaders" -- they're the ones who take the lead in getting the others to do whatever needs to get done.

(There's also the "wants to sit around, eating ice cream, and flirt with the cute girls/boys who come to the window" type. I try to avoid those.)

There are probably a few other types, but I think those are the main ones. Everyone we hire has to be a bit of a "people person", as we all need to work the counter at some time, but the others are varying degrees of leaders and organizers. So, in hiring, I need to assess each applicant, and make a quick judgement as to where he/she will fit in with the rest of the team. We don't want too many organizers, and not enough front counter people, otherwise the lines will get too long. And we don't want too many of the "people persons" at the expense of organizers, or the place will be a mess at the end of a shift!

So, putting the team together is a little like fitting a puzzle together -- weeding through the applications and finding the right pieces that will fill out the team.

I generally try to interview kids based on the date we received their application, as I think that's the fair way to do it. But sometimes I use other factors to influence where in the sorted pile their application ends up.

The applicant who wrote the funny response I wrote about above got moved a lot higher in the pile than where they would have ended up had I just sorted by date, as I like to reward a little creativity in filling out the application. Others might get bumped up a bit because we know their family, or because they come highly recommended by someone else we know, or maybe they're a sibling of one of our current or past team members.

One applicant this spring got herself to the top of the list by showing up every night for a week to buy ice cream, making sure to say hi, and at the end of the week very politely inquiring what was the best way to get in line for one of our open positions.

The ones who get graded down on the list are those who let their parents do the job seeking for them. When I get a parent asking for an application for their child, I always tell them "Ok, here it is, but I want them to apply, not you! I figure that a kid who won't take the initiative to apply on his/her own, probably isn't going to be the type of "go-getter" we're looking for.

I always feel a little guilty when I can't offer a great candidate a job, but if you look at the odds, with the number of returning veterans on our crew, we only have openings for maybe one in ten who apply. So I guess I shouldn't feel too guilty. But I still wish I could hire more of them!

Newsletter Coupon

Head over to the stand, and ask whichever member of my serving team happens to wait on you the secret question: "Can you show me how to do the Macarena?"

Asking this will entitle you to a free extra scoop on any cone: Pay for a kiddie, get a small. Or pay for a small, get a medium. Lather, rinse, repeat.

If the kid serving you starts to demonstrate his/her dance moves, we'll know that they didn't actually read the weekly notes that I pass out to them, so feel free to keep asking them to repeat the steps until either you stop laughing, or it's time to close the stand for the night.

(If they really don't get it, just tell 'em to give you the extra scoop, because you're a super-special newsletter reader.)

That's all I can squeeze out of this twisted mind this week, so I'll end here. Thanks for reading, and get yourself on over to the stand and treat yourself to some great ice cream!