As we approach 90-degree humid heat today in New York City, I'm sure the city's ice cream scoopers will be sweating too. I have never scooped, but one of my college-educated co-workers at the restaurant scooped last summer and vowed never to do it again.
It go me thinking- it's air conditioned, customers want what you're selling, and you don't have to worry about tips as your major source of income, so there is a little less pressure on every interaction. What could be bad?
It hurts. My friend at the restaurant told me that by the end of the summer she was wearing one of those carpal tunnel wrist guards and dreading every order. Even now, she sometimes gets sore pouring waters for tables. I know how she feels- making espresso drink after espresso drink really aggravates my wrist sometimes from the repeated fist making and hammering motions. I feel like an old lady at 24.
One of my good friends from Ivy League just started a job scooping ice cream in Boston- I hope her wrists hold up. And if they don't, I hope she quits in time.
