Thursday, September 29, 2011
Food media My day as an ice cream escort
Posted by Stephanie Dazey @stephaniedazey on Thu, Sep 29, 2011 at 9:21 AM
It’s a Monday morning in Atlanta, and like most delivery people, Roy Lantz (a.k.a. High Road Roy) of High Road Craft Ice Cream, is getting ready to hit the road. Sporting a formal tuxedo, white gloves and distinctive top hat, Lantz admits that his uniform is a bit unusual for delivering ice cream. But then again, Roy Lantz is not your typical deliveryman. As a matter of fact, High Road Roy is not a deliveryman at all. He is a published author, a public speaker and possibly the world’s first, real life ice cream escort since the Good Humor Man himself. As Keith Schroder, CEO of High Road, puts it, “ Roy is the real deal. He is our Executive Ice Cream Escort and all-American ice cream man. Like the Marlboro Man, only much better-smelling.”
It all began eight months ago, after Lantz’s first day of delivering for High Road. The close family friend (and High Road investor) returned to the plant amazed by the enthusiasm of Atlanta's chef community. To match their passion, Lantz threw on his tux and top hat and proclaimed, “This ice cream can’t be delivered, it has to be escorted.” High Road Roy was born.
As a child, Lantz spent his summers like most of the other neighborhood kids, waiting in quiet desperation, hoping to hear the tantalizing ting-a-ling of an approaching Good Humor truck. While the others licked away, young Roy would stand back and contemplate the Good Humor Man’s role in all of their lives. “The purpose of ice cream is to make people happy,” says Lantz. Even then he says he understood that the crisp white uniform, the bowtie, the peaked cap and shiny shoes all had the power to transform the simple act of eating a Good Humor bar into a special occasion.
On this particular Monday, Roy invited me into High Road’s delivery truck, "Ol' Bessie.” While on the road, Roy tells me about his life as a public speaker and about the books he’s written on customer service. He tells me that meeting Keith and Nicki Schroder was an act of fate, and that he’s always wanted to be an ice cream man. " But unfortunately," Roy says, "life happened." Instead of pursuing the frozen dessert industry, the former Marine became a motivational speaker. I believe him when he explains that for the past 30 years, he's made made a living out of preaching positivity.
We arrive at our destination, a restaurant on Ponce, and make our way to the service entrance. Roy assures me that many clients request that he enter through the front door, so that guests seated in the dining room have a chance to say hello. These are Roy’s favorite stops. “I love getting the curious glances,” he says, “because they’re usually followed by smiles.” I check my inner cynic and stifle an exaggerated eye roll. It's hard to tease someone as smiley and sincere as High Road Roy— at least to their face it is.
With goods in tow, we are greeted by the chef and let in through the kitchen. I watch as the two men conduct their business, which sounds more like a friendly conversation. I realize that I’m witnessing the key difference between delivering and escorting. As Keith would say, “Delivering implies transaction. Drop. Sign. Go. Escorting reminds us of what service should be.”
Some may call Roy’s position as Executive Ice Cream Escort a gimmick, a shameless ploy for attention. And they might be right. The 'escort' system that I witnessed wasn't exactly an ultra-efficient, well-oiled machine. In fact, it wasn’t a machine at all. It was human. What I found was a group of passionate people both susceptible to error and full of life. Maybe there isn’t room for ice cream escorts in a world where time is money and bottom lines take precedence over punch lines. Maybe flesh and blood mascots are unnecessary. Then again, in just under a year of operation, High Road Craft Ice Cream has experienced rapid growth with nearly two hundred clients in Metro Atlanta. Coincidence? Perhaps. But maybe it means we've yet to see the end of a need for human interaction, and alter-egos such as High Road Roy. Or maybe we just love a guy rocking a sweet mustache and a top hat.
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