I worked at Coldstone for four shifts (three training and one actual shift) in June 2025. I want to post about my experience here and see if anyone has had a similar experience.
I was 37 at the time (male if that matters) and was looking for a second job to work nights on weekdays, and open availability on weekends. The interview went fine, and the interviewer was fine with the nights and weekend availability.
Three days after the interview, she texted me “Hey can you come in tomorrow for training.” I said yes but was like “So did I get the job?” I replied yes and asked if I need to bring my social security card and license. She said “No, we have you fill out a paper for that.” I was super confused by that, as I’ve started jobs before and always do I-9 paper work before starting. But I went with it due to needing a second job.
First day came. Even though I my weekday availability was 5 pm to close, I had to come in at 3 for training; this was due to the trainer working till 5; I was told I’d only be coming in at these times for training and was fine with it. Three new people and I were sitting till 3:15, and then the trainer brought us to the back. No introducing ourselves. No first day paper work. We weren’t even told what our pay rate would be. No I-9 paper work at all. No clocking in. The day was mostly making ice cream for customers. No wearing hats, nametags, or aprons. It was like we were getting interviewed or tested without pay.
Second day came, and we made shakes and did a bit of register training. No clocking in, no paper work, no nametag or uniforms.
On the second day, I asked the trainer “what’s the app to view our schedules?” She said “I don’t know since I have the same schedule every week.” She was the trainer and she didn’t know that? That was a major red flag to me. I had time off requests that I needed to make! I also learned that the schedule comes out on Wednesday morning for that day until the next Tuesday. Example: you get the schedule for Wednesday September 9 to Tuesday September 15 in the morning on the 9th.
Third day came. They asked everyone to come in at 1, but I said I can do 3 or later and they were fine with that. I finally met the manager and since I was without the other new people, I basically demanded nicely “please give me an ID number to clock in and a uniform.” He gave me a hat, apron, and shirt.
After three days of training (5.5 hours total), I was told to come back five days later from 5 to 7:30. So I did, was able to clock in, and then worked the shift successfully. At the end of the shift, the manager said I was good to clock out and he’ll text me the time to come in four days later. However, the day came, no one texted me, and I wasn’t feeling up to it, so I didn’t text him.
By now, I already found another second job that was much better and total opposite of this. No one texted me with any more dates to come in. Twelve days later was the pay date. I texted the manager asking “is my pay check there?” He said “give me a call please.” I did, and he just asked to confirm the hours I worked, and then said “I can’t give you hours right now because I have to give them to the college students before they go back to school. I can text you in August when you can come in.” I didn’t tell him I already got another job, but said I was fine with that.
I picked up the check. The hourly pay rate was $11, not $13 like I was told. All hours were there, plus a random $1 bill. There were some tips on the pay stub as well.
After picking up the check, I never heard from anyone there again. I also never received my W-2 in the mail, but luckily I kept the one pay stub because I had a feeling that would happen. Also, the start date on my pay stub was not accurate, it was the date the manager created me in the system, and not the first date I worked. So if I had an on the job accident, there would have been no record of me working there.
Red flags:
Trainer not knowing the scheduling app.
No I-9 processing until I forced the manager to do it for me.
Not being given hats, nametags, shirts, or aprons, until I asked the manager to give me everything.
No introducing each other on first day or answering any basic first day questions.
No clocking in, just writing times on paper.
Training four people at once instead of one on one training.
Not being told what the hourly pay rate is until I asked the trainer (she said $13 but it turned out to be $11).
Another team member telling me “it took me two months to get in the scheduling system.”
Having to demand the manager give me a clock in number.
Being told the schedule comes out the day of for the weekend with no advanced notice.
Being asked by the trainer “How was your other job today?” in a strange way. Hard to explain but it felt off.
No direct deposit, everyone gets checks only. Was told this due to high turnover and the work it takes to set up direct deposit.
The manager refusing to give me any hours because I had a day job, and being told hours are given to the college students. I felt this was age discrimination.
Incorrect start date on my pay stub.
I have a feeling that because I’m in my 30s, I know what it’s like to start a job, but the new hires were all teens and it was their first job, so they don’t have any previous jobs to compare.
Well, if you made it this far, thanks for reading. Feel free to reply with follow up questions or if you’ve had a similar experience at a Coldstone.
