One day last December, a DQ® restaurant in Brownsville, Tenn., had an interesting random act of kindness occur that created a chain reaction that was both surprising and heart-warming to the DQ staff and the customers in the drive-thru lane. It all began with one man who, upon approaching the DQ employee at the drive-thru window, asked what the total of the bill was for the person in the car behind him, then paid that bill as well as his own.
When the employee told the person in the car behind that the bill was already paid for, that person asked for the total of the order for person in the car behind him and paid that bill. The same scenario continued, car after car, throughout the entire lunch rush. There were 20 cars in all involved in the extraordinary and unforgettable day.
Quicker than you can say, “Jack Frost,” 2012 has flown by and the holidays are now upon us. Although this time of year brings about the hustle and bustle of gift giving for friends, family and acquaintances, it is always fun to take in the colorful lights, decorations, trimmings, music and celebrations of the season.
Dairy Queen® operators are also getting into the holiday spirit by not only offering delicious seasonal products such as the Candy Cane Chill Blizzard® Treat or Candy Cane Royal™ Shake, but also with festive, interactive window clings that allow customers to “RiDQulize” themselves at our locations. We have already seen and heard from a few customers who have taken photos of themselves interacting with these fun and unique displays and posted them to our Facebook page or “tweeted” about them.
In the spirit of the holidays, we’d love to have more of our raving fans shoot and post their “RiDQulized” photos to either our DQ Facebook (Facebook.com/DairyQueen), Twitter (@DairyQueen#RiDQulize) or Instagram (RiDQlize) pages. Have fun, be merry, be creative and who knows, Santa might just give you a something a little extra in your stocking this year.
So what are you waiting for? Go get your holiday shopping done and stop by your local DQ store to “RiDQulize” yourself before the holidays pass you by.
From all of us to all of you, have a safe and cheerful holiday season!
It’s the end of October in Minnesota so weekends are for raking leaves, visiting haunted houses and spending as much time as possible outside before the snow starts falling. Last Saturday I went to a Pumpkin Patch Fall Festival with a friend of mine. We played mini golf, jumped onto a hay ride, picked out a pumpkin and then ordered some nachos and root beer floats from the tiny little malt shop at the park.
Unfortunately, the young adults working the food and ice cream counter were very slow. After ordering your items, they would write the order down on a post-it and give it to someone in the prep area. The customer would pay and then stand there and wait, and wait, and wait. Many of the customers looked irritated at the wait times.
I couldn’t help overhearing what one woman said to her small son as they walked into the malt shop. “Come on honey, let’s go to the local DQ® store instead.” And without a second thought, the little boy turned around and followed his mom out to the car.
Even in the midst of a Fall Festival, with hay rides and pumpkins and mini golf, the perfect ending for that mother and son was a trip to the DQ store.
Just a few months ago, a DQ® customer named Carrissa stopped into the Bloomington, Minn. DQ Grill & Chill® restaurant with her boyfriend. While they normally use the drive-thru lane, this time she parked and went into the location instead. While waiting for her food, Carrissa was enjoying the heritage photo collection on the wall when she suddenly realized there was a photo of herself, her brother Todd, and their friend Bubba from more than 30 years ago! They had been invited to the corporate headquarters in October 1979 for a promotional photo shoot of DQ products. What a surprise!
Everyone is thrilled it is back-to-school time again…
Businesses have sales – and lots of them! Deals for everyone.
Kids 5 to 18– hey! You get to see your buddies again, and everyone loves homework! For college kids – you’re off on your own, tasting independence (kind of), learning amazing things and nearing the point when you can start the rest of your life! Parents… The kids are at school or college!
OK. I know in reality not everyone is thrilled…not even all parents. In my family we have only one college…no more high school, no more elementary school…. It’s such a strange place to be – though we all seem to be adjusting just fine to the changes. I did find myself wandering the aisles of the school supplies at stores wondering if there might just be something we need this year….
Do you remember the first time you didn’t have to go back to school and September rolled around?
I recently received a nice email from a couple, Barbara and A.B., who eat at their local DQ® store in Georgia almost every single day. Their love for the brand goes back more than 51 years, which is also as long as they have been married. When they started dating in the ’50s, they would go on Sunday drives to the north Georgia mountains and end their date with a special DQ treat—a Dilly® Bar for Barbara and a dip cone for A.B. Now they enjoy meeting their friends for lunch at their local DQ store several times a week. They often end their meal with a half chocolate, half strawberry sundae, which they share.
How long have you been visiting your local DQ store?
Once again it’s time for my favorite DQ®event of the year, where every Blizzard®Treat goes twice as far to bring a smile. When you buy a Blizzard Treat at a participating DQ®store on Miracle Treat Day, July 26, $1 or more* of your purchase will go directly to the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, helping kids and families in your community. And this year, you have another way to give that’s as easy as buying a Blizzard Treat. For every RSVP to the event on Facebook, DQ®will donate a dollar to the cause—up to $50,000! So treat and be treated. Together, we can make the world a little sweeter, bringing hope and healing to local kids.
*DQ® locations in Canada donate all proceeds to Children’s Miracle Network
I recently was contacted by a DQ® operator in Georgia. He put me in touch with a regular customer, Gail, who had started a chain reaction with a random act of kindness at his DQ location. Gail goes through this DQ drive-thru lane at least three times a week to get treats for her mother-in-law and others who are in a nursing home down the street, because it always brightens their day. She randomly chose one day to pay for the person in the car behind her as well as for her own order. When she got back to the office, the DQ manager called to let her know that every person in the line of several cars behind her had paid for the person behind them until no one else was in line! The last person had even asked if she could pay for someone inside the store since there was no car behind her.
A woman recently wrote to the Dairy Queen® corporate headquarters to explain her DQ® Smile and Story. Her husband is a Major in the U.S. Army and recently returned from Afghanistan. While he was deployed, she was home with their seven-year-old twin boys, four-year-old daughter and was expecting their fourth child a month before her husband was to return to the U.S. She spoke to the struggles at home while her husband was away, but says on bad days she would load the kids in the van, turn on a movie and head to the local DQ restaurant drive-thru to order their favorite treats. She said it was 20 minutes of peace, quiet and happiness.
How does going to your local DQ restaurant make you happy?
I have become the official DQ® Cake purchaser for family members’ birthdays. Recently I was asked to bring one to a party where we were celebrating the birthdays of one of my sisters and my two nephews. My goal was to get a DQ Blizzard® Cake that would appeal to all 14 party goers and not be decorated either too feminine or too masculine. I called my local DQ restaurant for assistance. It didn’t take more than a minute to decide on a 10-inch Heath Bar® Blizzard Cake with “Happy Birthday” and all three names on it. It was as simple as can be.
When I stopped by the restaurant a few days later to pick up the cake, it looked perfect. I arrived at the birthday party and was soon considered to be the hero of the day, just for bringing a DQ Blizzard Cake. People could not stop talking about it. The process to choose and purchase the cake was so easy, but the way everyone at the party raved about it, you would have thought I spent hours making and decorating the cake myself.
Next time you need to bring a dessert to an occasion, consider a DQ Cake. Everyone will thank you for the special treat!
