How many of ye get a day dedicated entirely for thine birthday? Three days hence, William Shakespeare’s day of birth, April 23, hast officially been named “Talk Like Shakespeare Day”, and mayhap ‘tis why thou mayest struggle understanding this eloquent blog.
Faith, this very blog ‘tis written in Shakespeare Speak in honor of this auspicious event. In sooth, e’en before I apprenticed at DQ® ‘twas a tradition to partake in DQ Cakes on all happy celebrations. Why, e’en better, thou might tryest a Blizzard® cake!
Indeed, I urge all honey-tongued gentlemen and gentlewomen partake in “Talk Like Shakespeare Day.” Prithee, do also have your scribe announce thy favorite happy celebrations here, so that all mayest consider the delights!
Whew! This winter was tough – with snow piles higher than I am tall, and living in a neighborhood where there are no sidewalks…getting exercise has been tough these past four months! When I was home and it was light out (kinda), neighbors were either leaving for work or coming home and with the snow narrowing the streets; it was risky to even go for a walk.
We shoveled a path for our pup so he could get out – it’s kind of scary when the snow is two or three feet higher than you are – but that didn’t afford the kind of exercise he needed either. He’s a dog who barks anyway, and you can imagine how he is now as he’s going stir crazy in the house.
Spring is here, the snow has melted and it is daylight longer. What a blessing! Who cares that the pup needs a bath after the walk? It’s great to get out and MOVE.
Moving isn’t enough, of course, for me; I really have to change my eating habits too. Two weddings and a house remodel project require me to be in better shape than I have been. Not to mention, it’s important for my general health. I have been doing great so far, happy to see changes in my shape and happy that my clothes are not so snug. Even so, it’s tough to make the change and fight those urges for yummy sweets – particularly when, say, there’s a birthday or other festive occasion and there is a CAKE.
*sigh*
I love cakes. Cake – cakes and DQ® cakes. And we all know that DQ makes WONDERFUL cakes with delicious DQ soft serve. My daughter’s birthday is this weekend, and she wants a DQ cake. What am I going to do? I am going to purchase a box of DQ No Sugar Added Bars….I think the DQ No Sugar Added Fudge Bars (50 calories for one bar) will be perfect…though there are the Vanilla Orange bars (60 calories for one bar) too…. What are you doing to change your habits and make healthy choices?
I received a customer letter at the corporate offices that made me chuckle. It seems a girl and her friend decided to go to their local DQ® restaurant’s drive-thru after a basketball game. Not surprisingly, they needed to peruse the drive-thru menu board for a few seconds before ordering. What was surprising though was that once they placed their order, the employee kept saying “excuse me?” as if she couldn’t hear the order.
The girl and her friend repeated their order a few times, but still the employee couldn’t hear them. Finally, the customer heard a much larger male voice loudly say, “Ma’am, you are speaking into the bird house. Could you please pull ahead 10 feet and repeat your order into the intercom?”
The girls says she and her friend were so embarrassed and laughing so hard, they just pulled out of the drive-thru lane and drove away. Have you ever had an embarrassing DQ moment?
Posted by Beth F under Eats & Treats on March 10th, 2011
Spending all day in Dairy Queen® corporate headquarters means that burgers are everywhere. Well, not literally everywhere, that’s the problem. We talk about burgers in meetings, there are pictures of burgers everywhere. By lunch time, we’re starving for a DQ® GrillBurger™, but most of the time, to get an ACTUAL burger, we have to leave the building and visit the DQ Grill & Chill® restaurant that is about a block away.
Soon there will be two new reasons to make the trip, because we’re introducing a couple of new GrillBurgers this year. In April and May we have the ¼ lb. Crispy Onion BBQ GrillBurger. A 1/4 lb. 100 percent all-beef burger topped with melted American cheese, thick-cut tomato, leaf lettuce, pickles, crispy onions and a hickory smoked BBQ sauce, and served on a home-style bakery bun.
In June and July we are introducing (and this is MY favorite) the ¼ lb. Fajita Ranch GrillBurger. A 1/4 lb. 100 percent all-beef burger topped with pepper jack cheese, crunchy tortilla strips, a fajita vegetable blend and a spicy ranch sauce, all served on a home-style bakery bun.
These burgers are delicious, and you don’t have to take my word for it. Try them and you’ll see for yourself. They will be limited-time offers though, so if you really like them and think they should be on the menu forever and ever, you need to go and get one every single day. No, seriously, that’s how restaurants determine if a product should stay or go.
I recently heard a really funny story from my husband’s cousin. She made a last-minute decision to go out into the snowy evening with her two small sons to get treats from the local DQ® store. Because it was so snowy and cold, she chose to order their malts at the drive-thru window. She moved on to the pick-up window to await the treats.
As she was sitting with her window open waiting for the employee to finish the malts and hand them out to her, a huge pile of snow slid off the DQ roof right into her car! She was so shocked and surprised that her first thought was that the DQ employee had thrown snow at her.
It wasn’t until she left the drive-thru lane that she thought of the perfect comeback to her shocking situation, “I didn’t order a Blizzard®!” Have you ever had something funny happen to you at a DQ drive-thru window?
I recently received a customer letter at the corporate DQ® headquarters about how a family knew they would be taking their beloved pet to the veterinarian for the last time. Because they made it a ritual to take Patches to the local DQ restaurant for a hamburger as a treat after every vet appointment, this time the family took her to the restaurant before the final appointment.
The family went through the drive-thru lane to pick up the hamburger, and was surprised to receive the hamburger free of charge because the employee was so sorry about the unfortunate day. The owners of that little dog will always remember that employee’s act of concern and caring.
Sometimes it can be such a simple act of kindness that can help someone through a difficult time. This is an excellent example about how the DQ system could help someone feel just a little bit better.
What have you done to help someone through a difficult time?
Everyone appreciates cards, letters and flowers when they’re staying in the hospital, but one DQ customer received something a little different many years ago after a tragic car accident—a $1 DQ Cone coupon—and still remembers that interesting gift today.
It seems the customer was a good friend of the local DQ store operator. When that operator heard about the car accident, he sent a card to his loyal customer and friend in the hospital. It had been a serious accident. The customer had been pronounced dead at the scene, but was fortunately resuscitated only a few minutes later and was in the hospital recovering from a broken neck, reconstructed hand, stitches upon stitches, two black eyes and many other injuries.
This DQ operator wanted to lighten the mood during the difficult recovery process, so he included a coupon for a $1 cone to encourage the customer to get better and visit the DQ store soon. According to the customer’s daughter, this was the first time her father had laughed since the accident.
Many DQ operators become close friends with their customers, and often their locations become an important part of the community. Can you think of a time when you helped someone or someone helped you create a positive memory in the middle of a difficult time?
David Letterman grew up in Indiana and has always loved the DQ brand. During a meet-and-greet with the studio audience prior to taping the Jan. 7, 2011 show, Letterman sensed the audience just wasn’t in a great mood, so he told everyone to put themselves in a happy place in their minds. He told the audience to think about being at a Dairy Queen® store.
One woman in the audience raised her hand and introduced herself as Linda from Melbourne, Australia. Letterman was shocked to hear she didn’t know what the Dairy Queen system is because there are no stores in Australia. He threw out a request to his stage manager to get a Dairy Queen treat for this woman.
The next thing you know, Letterman had a box of Dilly Bars on stage and walked one out to the Australian woman in the audience. He announced Regis Philbin’s interview and shared a Dilly Bar with him as well, and the two ate their treats during the segment.
Now, considering that the closest DQ store would take 45 minutes roundtrip from Letterman’s studio, where did those Dilly Bars come from so quickly? Well, a production coordinator on the Late Show had heard Letterman talk about his love of Dilly Bars during a segment in November, so he bought the late-night host a box for Christmas, and knew he had put them in his private freezer. How perfect. The production coordinator called Letterman’s office, found out the Dilly Bars were still in the freezer, and had them sent down to the studio immediately.
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How cool is it that Letterman has a stash of delicious Dilly Bars in his New York studio office? It is a wonderful celebrity DQ smile and a story, and a night I’m sure Linda from Melbourne, Australia, will not soon forget.
Posted by Beth F under Uncategorized on February 14th, 2011
To quote a Facebook friend, “How annoying, I still believe in love.” I’m not sure what inspired this quote, perhaps the influx of peanut butter hearts (nom nom nom), pink and red balloons or sparkly, cherub-filled cards flitting around that had my friend down, but not out. Valentine’s Day has turned into so much more than a mooshy, kissy-face lovey-dovey couples’ holiday. Now I see cards for aunts and uncles, from the dog or cat, to the mail man and grocer. Love knows no bounds! (said by Truman Capote, or someone else depending on the Google link you choose).
One tradition I had with my friends while I was still on the singles scene was a heart-shaped DQ® Cake. No, I will not get out of town! I’m being dead serious. For years I was the 3rd, 5th, or 7th wheel. Want to know what? I didn’t care, I grabbed my cake and headed out and was always the most popular person of the party. While this may sound like bribery, I figure it follows suit with most commercialized holidays: trick or treat (sounds like kids are being bribed with candy to not trick adults)? Cookies for Santa? I would have been ashamed if I didn’t use this holiday to my benefit!
A DQ store in Canal Park in Duluth, MN, gives away a rose with each cake. Genius? Yep. They call it one-stop shopping.
This Valentine’s Day, believe in love, believe in yourself, and believe in the DQ system. Check with your local store and get your Valentine’s cake pre-ordered today!
Happy Valentine’s Day to all of our favorite Valentines!
The DQ system has many loyal customers. One recent letter to the corporate headquarters was from a self professed, “Fudge Bar Fanatic.” It is easy to understand why people fall in love with this product—at 50 calories per no-sugar-added bar, and with zero calories from fat, and zero grams total fat, saturated fat and transfat, not to mention six grams of dietary fiber—what’s not to love?
This woman’s family now buys 8-10 boxes of these delicious DQ novelties at a time so they won’t run out. The best part for this customer is that they have little or no affect on her blood sugar so she can frequently enjoy one after dinner.
By the way, I talked to my co-workers in the corporate Consumer Relations area and found out a DQ Fudge Bar is considered one point for the Weight Watchers program. Another great reason to visit DQ stores!
