Photo: Kim Tunnicliffe / WBZ NewsRadio
MASHPEE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Would you wait an hour in line for your favorite ice cream? For customers at one of Mashpee's popular ice cream shops, the answer is a resounding "yes."
The Owner of the Polar Cave Ice Cream Parlour Mark Lawrence told WBZ's Kim Tunnicliffe he'd like to cut down on his stores queue times, but staffing shortages are making that difficult as the store shifts business practices to compensate.
"I had to reduce my hours, I'm only five days a week, instead of seven. I've retooled my whole operation so that I don't need as many employees, that in turn has made the wait that much longer because we're trying to do so much business with fewer employees," Lawrence said.
As it stands, Lawrence has ten workers employed at the shop, when he should have around twice that on hand. It's problem among many small businesses nationwide, and one that arrives to Polar Cave Ice Cream Parlour well into its lifespan, as Coca-Cola artifacts of a previous generation lines the walls of the store. Even when new people are brought on board, Lawrence says many have "ghosted" and essentially left the ice cream shop hanging.
"I hired six people last week, three of them aren't here anymore. One lasted one shift, one lasted two shifts— you never hear from them, they just literally vaporized," Lawrence said.
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In the meantime, Lawrence asks customers to please be patient as shorthanded crews work to deliver their favorite ice cream.
WBZ's Kim Tunnicliffe (@KimWBZ) reports.
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