Dairy Queen (Treat) — Restaurant in Des Moines

A Disappointing and Hurtful Experience

I was so excited to celebrate a big milestone with my autistic son five straight days of successful potty training with no accidents! We decided to reward him with a treat from Dairy Queen.

There was a sign saying you could order, but also one saying “drive thru only.” There was only one car ahead of us when we got to the window. We waited about two minutes before being greeted no problem. But then, instead of taking our order, the young man at the window said he had to take care of the car first and “it’s gonna be awhile.” Still, I stayed patient, even though there were four employees inside and no one else could help us.

More cars came and went, and 10 minutes passed while my son and I stood there waiting. I knocked on the window to get their attention they ignored me until I pulled out my phone. Finally, the same young man opened the window. I explained we were there before all the other cars. He yelled at me that “the cars are prioritized.” I said if that’s true, there should be a sign clearly saying “no walk-ups.”

He rudely cut me off mid-order, told me my total, and slammed the window shut. When he handed back my change, he was just as rude no apology, no kindness. I asked if I could speak to a manager, and he told me “no” and slammed the window again.

I normally try to let small inconveniences go, but this wasn’t small to us. This was a big moment for my child and me as a single mom. It turned what should have been a special reward into a frustrating, hurtful experience.

I hope Dairy Queen takes this seriously families like mine...

They are privately owned and do not make Blizzards with the actual Dairy Queen recipe. They do not add chocolate sauce to any Blizzard unless you request it, even if the actual recipe calls for it. They do not participate in many corporate promotions. We ordered a cookie dough blizzard and it was ONLY vanilla ice cream with chunks of cookie dough in it, barely mixed. When asked about it they said the owner doesn’t let them put chocolate sauce in unless the customer specifically asks for it. Our other blizzard was missing it too.

EDIT- I am editing here because I don’t know how to respond to your response. Let’s be very clear here. I am not upset that you don’t participate in promotions. I couldn’t care less, I was just supplying the extra information. I was upset because when we ordered a Blizzard, we expect to get a Blizzard. Instead we basically got a cup of vanilla ice cream with some cookie dough thrown in it. Completely subpar and nothing like you would get at any other Dairy Queen. I would NEVER visit your store again. We are from out of town and when we came back to Iowa the next weekend, we looked for another Dairy Queen because we would not spend another dime at your location due to you not following the corporate recipe for Blizzards. You can’t cut corners when it...

Will never go there again. Staff was friendly, service was quick, food was as expected intially. It is over 85 degrees and I asked for a bubble lid because it was already melting as my blizzard was handed to me. I was told they can only be used on a sundae (which is a cheaper item than what I purchased). I drove home and ended up with melted ice cream in my cupholder and all over my hands, so I had to spend time cleaning all that. The price of a blizzard has increased as everything else has, but now being cheap enough to not even being willing to provide a proper lid has cost you a customer. This is my first ever google review and I don't normally file complaints but this was so stupid, I tried to file a complaint online, however, they make that as difficult as possible so I'm filing my complaint as a google review. How ridiculous is it that you expect your customers to purchase a $7 ice cream and not even provide a proper lid, but apparently would if I'd spent less money on a sundae. That makes no sense. You may want to start allowing your employees to hand the appropriate lids out or at least be willing to provide it when someone asks for it. I don't think denying someone a lid is worth losing a customer over. There are other places to get ice cream, which is where I will go...