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!
So the last Thursday of every month we are going to deem “Throwback Thursday”. Maybe we’ll share an old product, perhaps nostalgic merchandise or vintage photos, anything in our archives or from our fans is fair game. This week I’m paying respect to the Mr. Misty®. As a child of the 80′s and 90′s, I spent many summer nights sipping a grape flavored Mr. Misty… usually adding vanilla soft-serve and making a Mr. Misty float (the BEST!). I came across this old product poster and it sent me right back to my younger days. Does this look familiar to anyone else?!?
Recently, CBS News aired an interview with DQ® franchisee Hamid Chaudhry, and it is a fantastic story about a person who has made a difference in his community, his family and to the Dairy Queen system. I often think about what it takes to be successful in life and in business, and I think this story helps answer this question. It is about making a difference! It is about waking up everyday and thinking about how we can make a positive impact on those around us. Please listen to the CBS News interview or read the related story that was published in the New York Times. One of the great things about Dairy Queen is that we have a lot of team members and franchisee business owners who are making a difference in their community every day. Thank you!
Does anyone else agree with me that there doesn’t need to be a dedicated day for cranky co-workers? Yes, true story it’s one of those crazy days of recognition that exists. I mean, maybe it’s me but it seems you can come across this everyday if you’d like. Of course it’s rarely ever you that is cranky, crabby, or less than cheery but on those ever so occasional days when it happens, what cheers you up? For me it can be something as little as a coffee break, hot fudge DQ milkshake or lunch out with friends.
I heard from a loyal DQ® customer who has been running triathlons with his friend since 1988. They had created a DQ tradition—to stop at every DQ store on their way home from the faraway races to get a Blizzard® Treat to celebrate accomplishing their feat. Since then, they have committed every single summer to always include a Tour de Dairy Queen® road trip with a little friendly competition in a small-town triathlon thrown in for good measure.
To date, they have completed 19 trips and consumed 85 treats each. They did make a major modification to the rules in 1991 however. After spending three hours hunting down a DQ store in one area, they decided that one stop in a major metropolitan area would count as an official stop.
Another time, a friend gave them a list to help map out the DQ stops well in advance of the race. One summer they even took a detour home because the longer route had considerably more stores. They admit that their number one reason for the endeavors is for the fitness, but appreciate that they have found a way to make fitness and DQ treats go hand in hand.
Did you know that October 7 is World Smile Day? On behalf of this momentous occasion, it got me thinking about one of my favorite smiles and a stories about the DQ® system. It came from the model of the original Blizzard Treat campaign poster from the 1980s. The point was to show her enjoying a new DQ Blizzard® treat while upside-down to drive home the point that this new product was upsidedownrightthick.
The studio where the photography took place actually built an apparatus that turned the little girl upside down. She remembers that the hardest part of the whole shoot was getting her braids to hang properly. She loved it and was a local celebrity in her small hometown.
While the Blizzard Treat was a brand new idea back in the ’80s, it sure has made great leaps and bounds over the years, from increasing the number of fruit, candy and cookie topping options to introducing the Mini Blizzard Treat. But through it all, one thing stays the same—it is always upsidedownrightthick. And, as this memory from the model that helped explain the delicious qualities of this treat, it has created a smile and a story she will never forget.
American Dairy Queen believes in giving back to the communities in which we live, work and do business – it’s simply one of the core values of our corporation.
This fall we held a backpack drive at our corporate offices to benefit Volunteers Enlisted to Assist People – a local organization better known as VEAP. We stuffed almost 50 backpacks full of all the school supplies for local children!
As the school year kicks off what volunteer opportunities do you most look forward to at your local schools?
Backpacks were stuffed with all necessary school supplies!
More fun for our Facebook Fans out thar – did you know you could set your facebook page language t’ English (pirate)? You can change your language under your account settin’s… only if you’re brave enough t’ try — and willin’ t’ navigate aft!
My husband and I recently bought our first place. Big accomplishment, proud of it, but wasn’t at all prepared for the road it took to get there. I’m not sure why I had painted a picture in my mind that led me to believe it was going to be simple. I thought I was picky enough that after 10-15 homes or so I would be destined to find the perfect place. WRONG! Turns out it took 49 homes, which all things considered isn’t a ton but you try and tell my four and six year old that. They enjoyed it until home number 7. For the remainder of the search I bribed them with a reward I knew they would love once the search was complete. A perfect home with a freezer full of DQ Dilly Bars.
So my friends, today is the day that I am stocking up! I’ve held true to my promise and am heading home with 15 boxes of Dilly Bars. Tonight we will toast to a new home, a healthy family and a freezer full of goodies.
I received a customer letter at the corporate offices recently that was pretty cute. A little girl forgot her stuffed teddy bear in the restroom at a DQ® restaurant. This wasn’t any old bear, but the one this little girl had since birth. Her mother didn’t notice the mistake until several hours later at bedtime that Bear was missing. She called the DQ restaurant and the manager had found him and was keeping him safe for a few days until this family would drive through the state again.
When they picked up Bear, a few of the employees had taken photos of Bear and his adventures at the DQ restaurant. How cute is that?
