Dairy Queen Grill & Chill — Restaurant in Gas City

I don't review many fast food places but with only 8 ratings at the time I'm writing this, maybe it will be a more balanced perspective, for those who read long reviews.

The main thing at this point is that this is a new restaurant. Things don't always go smoothly when things are new and people are still learning their job.

So I've actually been here a few times since they recently opened, primarily for food. We like the rotisserie style chicken bites & salad and the fish sandwich. So far, the food seems consistent which is one benefit of fast food chains. I can't speak to the criticisms of the other reviewers regarding food handling and prep but we have had no problems and liked the food so far. I'm cautiously expecting that concerns from other reviewers have already been addressed.

So that aside, here's my assessment:

Location: 5 stars - new & nice Food: 4 stars - happy overall Service: 3 stars - mixed experiences

So the food and service are the most important items here, but let me explain my lower service rating. Most everyone has been friendly. When I attempted to use a coupon incorrectly, they gave me a small discount anyway as a courtesy. Another visit, I asked questions about their menu, and the person was knowledgeable. So all this is good customer service and it seems like they are trying.

My lower rating is for two things: 1) Inconsistency & 2) Lack of engagement at the inside counter. So far, I have not used the drive through, which apparently is prioritized. I prefer going inside even for to go orders, and most of my visits I've had to wait at the counter longer than expected for someone to come up and acknowledge me. I don't mean waiting in a line of people until it's my turn, but walking up to an empty counter to order or pick up a mobile order and just standing there. It would be one thing if everyone looked busy and they said something like "we'll be with you soon" but most of the time they either never look at the counter or more surprisingly, they do look at me and then just keep doing whatever they are doing. Sometimes it appears they are just standing there although often that are talking to other people. I've been able to overhear some from the counter and not all of their conversations are necessary. This makes it seem my arrival is an inconvenience. I've also called out to people to get their attention before they acknowledged me at the counter. This doesn't seem normal. This is bad service.

Tonight, I picked a mobile order, just ice cream. When I arrived at an empty counter, they were trying to figure out where a misplaced blizzard was supposed to go. They did not immediately interact with me. I was able to get their attention and asked if the blizzard was my mobile order - and it was. However, I still had a second item that was not yet made. I'm not sure what took so long but it took awhile... At one point someone else from the back (not the person at the counter) came up to the counter and asked if I needed something. That was good, as someone noticed it was taking a long time, and he didn't realize I was still just waiting for my order to be made.

Eventually I got my mobile order but it was long enough that the blizzard started to melt and because there was no lid, the ice cream spilled out over the edge of the cup. I got ice cream on my gloves and in my car cup holder which is no big deal, but illustrates this took longer than just a few minutes.

So... These things can happen when a store is new. I'm hoping and expecting that things will improve over the next few months. I'll be watching and update my review when there's improvement. For now this rating of 3 stands due to inconsistent service as the weak link in the chain.

A few of you had a 5 star experience... I haven't yet. Maybe...

I wasn't going to say anything, but this seems to be something that is acceptable at this restaurant. My husband witnessed an employee not washing his hands after using the bathroom. And I went to speak with the manager and it was the manager who didn't wash his hands. When they told him i wanted to speak with him after asking for the manager 3 times, he starts to walk towards me and sees my husband and quickly turns around and goes and washes his hands for like 10 seconds. They also gave us our food on a dirty tray. And put the spoon on the tray! It was absolutely disgusting. They have zero hygiene. I work fast food and have for years, they need to learn, you wash your hands in the bathroom and in the back. I wasn't going to say anything because I'm not trying to get anyone fired, but after reading the reviews it seems it's okay for them to not wash their hands. We will never ever go back to that dairy queen ever! As we were leaving the register employee proceeds to scream to the back and ask what the lady wanted to speak to him about, he couldn't even wait till we got out the door. And it's none of his business. I told him three times I wanted to speak with the manager. He could tell I was upset the first time, he should have just got the manager and been done with it. I am absolutely disgusted that the manager didn't wash his hands and I can only imagine what he let's slide with other health and safety issues. The trashes were so full and all the tables outside and inside were dirty. It was an absolutely terrible experience. And like I said, I wasn't going to say anything but I read these reviews and it seems a lot of others feel...

I was not told you were out of pie pieces when I ordered a pumpkin pie blizzard. Instead, I was just given the blizzard without them. I informed the cashier at the drive thru that they were missing and that's when I was told they were out of them. I told her it was not the same, it is not a pumpkin pie blizzard without the pie part. I told her it would have been good to have been informed when I ordered and that the blizzard really wasn't the same. I asked her if they could put something else in it. She just looked at me like she didn't know what to do. Needless to say, it did not get fixed and I threw away a $6.00 blizzard because it is not what I wanted. If you're out of something, inform the customer when they order instead of just serving it wrong. Also, if you are out of something that is supposed to be included, offer to replace it with another topping free of charge because the blizzard doesn't get any cheaper when it is missing what comes in it but it definitely costs extra to add a topping to it. When I asked to have the topping replaced with something else I was told there would be an upcharge. Stingy and ridiculous. There are plenty of places to get ice cream around here that are much more professional and give much better service than what I...