We all scream for …

Sweet Treats owner finds driving ice cream truck most rewarding job ever

MOSES LAKE — Donna Voelpel frets. Gosh, she frets.

You see, her customers are sometimes so excited to see her, that they don't take the proper precautions — footwear to avoid the hazards of hot concrete sidewalks.

So she sees them dancing around for five minutes while they try to do the impossible - choose which ice cream they are going to get.

"They all come out with no shoes on," she exclaimed. "You'd think they'd learn, it's hot out there. They still do it, all the time."

Voelpel is so concerned, she provides a crate for those barefooted customers to stand upon while they make a decision.

In her interaction with her customers, she peppers conversations with "sweetie" and "honey" and "hon." She compliments them on their appearances, or talks about their accessories and makes sure the more excited ones remember to get their change. She's a people person, she explains.

Voelpel is the owner of Sweet Treats, the ice cream truck company that opened in Moses Lake in May. She has found many dedicated customers in her short time.

"I was getting this little boy his ice cream, and he hugs my leg, and he's telling me thank you," she marveled. "And then I had another one. He comes out and he's like, 'I've been praying to God you would come my way,' and so sincere. They're so cute."

Another little girl chased Voelpel down five blocks from her house, before Voelpel could even go by.

"She comes running down with a golden retriever and a poor little hot dog that was doing his best to keep up with her," she said with a laugh. "While I'm thinking, 'This poor dog is going to have a heart attack.' I followed back to their house. It's a lot of fun. I'm going to miss this come wintertime."

Born in New York, Voelpel moved to Florida about 13 years ago, and landed in Moses Lake in March after years of commuting back and forth with her boyfriend, Darin, who owns a local trucking company.

It was Darin's idea that Voelpel go into the ice cream truck business, after running such diverse operations as a clothing store, a photography studio and a popular Florida tanning salon.

"I didn't think I could go wrong," she said of the suggestion. "How could you go wrong? I thought it would be fun."

Voelpel has two children, aged 9 and 25, and Darin also has two, aged 13 and 14.

"They love it," Voelpel said with a laugh. "They're my thieves. What kid wouldn't want a bunch of ice cream in the house? They're eating the profit right down. That's the only thing I think about: Damn, what did I do? I should have gone into something they don't like."

The children help out. Voelpel recalled a recent incident in which she turned down a cul-de-sac and was face-to-face with a busload of teenagers.

"I know they could read my lips," she said, recalling the expletive that she uttered. "There was more of them than me. And they were so polite, they waited, and my little guy was such a big help."

Voelpel said her own personal favorite, although all of her offerings are good, is the Choco Taco.

The business, based at Voelpel's house, found its Cushman trucks from throughout the state. Voelpel began with two employees, and is now up to seven.

"This was just supposed to be one truck," she said. "Next thing I know, I have a whole fleet."

Voelpel calls the small three-wheel vehicles a good thing because they require the driver to get out and interact with the kids in a time of safety concerns.

"Every day you turn on the news and people's kids are missing, they're being molested," she said. "This thing is a really good thing because we actually get out, we interact with everybody, the parents can see us when they're from the window, we can't steal your kid. Nowadays, you've got to be really careful about stuff like that."

Some parents are doing a particularly good job. In waving hello to what looks like a potential customer Thursday afternoon, Voelpel is informed that he is not supposed to talk to strangers. She drives on. The truck has other benefits as well.

"The kids love this truck," she said. "It attracts a lot of the people. Normally, if someone's trying to pull you over in your car, you're not pulling over. In this thing, you've got to. People are always pulling us over. It's funny, they'll be on the way home from work or we missed their block and they've got a kid crying. And I hate when I hear that. They actually do, they get in our car and they find us."

Sometimes, however, the parents wave Voelpel on, which doesn't always necessarily draw the most enthusiastic of responses.

"'We'll be back,' I tell the kids," she said, adding with a laugh, "I have one little girl — she's funny. When her mom tells her no, she tells me I gotta come in and talk to her mom."

And when someone drops an ice cream, it is usually replaced free of charge. At one place, Voelpel was preparing to leave when a little girl let out a scream.

"I turned around, and her ice cream dropped on the floor. It was the end of the world," she said. "I told all my employees, if a kid ever drops their ice cream, you give them another one. Do not pull off with anybody crying. I would go through the roof."

Voelpel's customer base also includes many adults, who often take longer than the children in making their selections, she said.

Voelpel's area of coverage is Moses Lake, and she has also been in Warden, Soap Lake and Ephrata, as well as trying to go by local businesses during their breaks. The trucks often put in 80 to 90 miles a day, rarely going above 35 miles per hour. She hopes to operate the business until October, and then start back up again come spring.

The music emitting from Voelpel's truck plays a medley of 50 different tunes, including some Christmas songs and "Happy Birthday." Voelpel said she is able to mostly tune out the music as she drives.

It's hard to pinpoint a busiest time, as a lot of people won't buy around dinner time or near the end of the month until they get their paycheck. The weekends are a good time, while Mondays are slower, Voelpel said.

If there's a downside to the job, Voelpel said it is only trying to keep the ice cream from melting in the heat of the summer sun. Because she's from Florida, the warm weather doesn't bother her, but she uses dry ice on top of her cooler these days, and has to be quick in opening it.

Voelpel calls it the most rewarding job she's ever done.

"I'm telling you, this is the best job," she said. "You meet a lot of people, the kids are happy to see you, and nobody complains."