Michael's Frozen Custard — Restaurant in Madison

I've been a huge fan of Michael's frozen custard for decades. Growing up, we'd hit Olbrich n walk the gardens n stop at Michael's for curds and custard. Haven't been here in a year or so but decided to stop today cause I was craving a turtle sundae. I ordered 2 small turtle sundaes and a k-9 ice cream, and was charged close to $25. I was confused cause I used to order their small sundaes and they were $5-6 which still isn't cheap but they are so yummy. I checked the board with the sundaes/prices and I guess they don't do small and large sundaes like they used to, now the only option is to order a 2 or 3 scoop sundae. The 2 scoop sundae is literally the same size as their small sundaes used to be, most definitely not 2 scoops, and now they are charging $9!!!! The sundae was good like always but I feel like charging $9 is highway robbery for what you get. On top of the whole price issue, the woman who was working behind the counter was totally rude and unprofessional. When my ticket number was called, my sister went up to grab our order but they got it wrong. They were trying to give her 1 turtle sundae and the k- ice cream. No big deal so I went up with my receipt to show them what we had ordered. The woman didn't want to listen to me and got super argumentative. I tried explaining that I had also ordered an additional turtle sundae and she yelled at me, "NO YOU DIDN'T!!!" Then she said we had ordered a strawberry sundae and tried to hand that to us instead. I showed her the receipt that clearly show 2 turtle sundaes and 1 k-9 scoop but even after she looked at that she still was arguing with me and like muttering in anger under her breath. Yikes! The kid who took my order was listening to the interaction and just handed us the turtle sundae. I told the woman that when you work in customer service, that is not how you treat customers. Why argue n anger a paying customer especially when your prices are totally crazy anyways? Well you lost yourself a couple of longstanding customers but judging from the prices you have and the employees you keep, I doubt you care. Good riddance, plenty of other places in...

Good custard but poor customer service.

My fiancé and I went to get sundaes and when we arrived, despite there being no other customers, the staff indicated we should order at the kiosk. We were happy to do so, but when we tried to pay the kiosk did not work. They decided to take our order at the main register, but when we ran the card there it also wasn't going through at all. The screen wasn't changing, and it was responding as if it was still waiting for the card to be run through the machine. We decided to give up and go home, but a few days later we found out the card was charged for the custard. I went back to the shop and the cashier looked through the previous transactions on the main register but couldn't find the charge. She was unable to see the charges from the kiosk, so I left the card details, my name, and my phone number with her and she said she would pass it along to her manager so they could look through the transactions. That was almost two weeks ago and I never heard back. It was a mastercard giftcard, not a credit card, so I can't dispute the transaction and we are just out that money. It was really disappointing, as we are saving up for our wedding so we could only justify going out for custard because someone had given us that giftcard, and we only learned it was charged because when we tried to go somewhere else to get an alternative treat a few days later the card didn't have the funds on it anymore, and I had to call to discover it was charged at Michaels.

This situation has unfortunately put a bit of a stain on the custard shop that I used to love so much. My aunt always took me to Michael's growing up, and as I recently moved back to Madison I was excited to share it with my fiancé as well. All in all I would say get the custard, but maybe pay cash or use a credit card that you could dispute the charge with if this were to...

I live right by here and want to love this place. But there are several factors that really turn me off. The prices are simply too high, except for the coffee. Right down the road there is a Culver’s that is fully half the price and if all you want is a turtle Sunday, Culver’s is at least as good. The dance club music - tiresome and not the vibe you want at 11 AM and blasted to the exterior at all times. The food is ok and the custard is really good but somehow it’s just not an appealing place. I can guarantee that if they fixed a few things you’d have the whole neighborhood lined up here on summer nights.

This could be such an awesome spot and appealing to bikers and everyone else. 1. Fix the music 2. The tables are painted bright white and when the sun is out being outside literally hurts your eyes. 3. Make it not all concrete. I’d do gravel with some greenery. 4. Pump up the coffee biz. With the loss of Java Cat and Crema being closed sundays this is the only game around and the coffee is good, coffee shop quality stuff for and ok price. And no one knows about it. 5. Add on some uniqueness. Movie night? It’s a s outdoor space by the lake. Let’s get creative. You don’t need that much parking and the 4’ barrier fence is not enough of a visual barrier between Monona Drive and the shop. 6. Make sure you’re exhausting the grill odors so the interior doesn’t smell and feel greasy.

Super easy fixes I feel like but the joint has a real inertial feeling to it. Like a love it or don’t come kind of vibe. Let me tell you, a lot of people...