Dairy Queen (Treat) — Restaurant in Springdale

PRICE GOUGING! I grew up in Cincy and came home to visit family this weekend. I stopped in at the local DQ in Springdale (I usually go to the one in Woodlawn) and I was 'nickeled and dimed' by the staff. First, the price of menu items seemed high, but I was already there. Then, I was told that extras were $1.00 (peanut butter and nuts). He then asked me if I wanted PB on each layer of my peanut buster parfait. I got the feeling, Id be charged $1 for each layer so I said "just on top." When they rang it up, I was quoted one price but given incorrect change. Then the manager/owner stated that the price was another $1 because I asked for 2 extra items. At this point, my joy in anticipation of a childhood treat started to give way to annoyance. I asked for my money back. He attempted to give me the correct change back and I insisted on cancelling the order. To his credit, he apologized and returned the money with no further argument. I went to Woodlawn DQ. Prices were so much lower. My PB Parfait was more than $2 cheaper - that was just a 7 min drive away. Crazy! Plus, they charged me $0.40 for the extras. The manager stated that she's had other customers come to Woodlawn after less than satisfactory experiences with the Springdale DQ. She was professional. Didn't say anything negative about the other location. Just stated that people have shared similar stories. I gave the staff there $2.00 tip and my order was still cheaper than what they tried to charge me in Springdale....

So, I walk into DQ and I order the Popcorn Shrimp Basket and a ROYAL Oreo Blizzard. The first thing I notice is the cashier heading to the kitchen to grab the bag of fries. He opens the bag and then grabs a handful of fries to put in the deep frier...with no gloves. Then, as he coughed into his arm, he prepared my blizzard. When he finished he handed it to me and I began to eat it while waiting for my food. As I ate my blizzard I noticed that there was no fudge in the middle of my blizzard. For those who don't know, the difference between a classic Blizzard and a Royal blizzard is that a Royal blizzard has filling in the middle while the classic does not. As I waited for my food, the manager came from out of the kitchen to see how everything was going, all while wiping his hands on his belly in that "That was a juicy burger" fashion, which was disconcerting. Overall the food was ok, my shrimp was 80% breading and 20% shrimp. It's a fast food restaurant though so that's expected. I'm rating this experience...

Dairy Queen offers blizzards and there are also other ice cream goodies. Prices start at about $4. I'm estimating (rounding up) and putting a little tax on it. $4 is a ballpark figure. The store's lighting is dim making it hard to see. Customer service is ok. You have to ask for lids, a cup carrier, napkins things like that when the Need is obvious. Morale seems low but I could be reading it wrong. No in-store dining is currently allowed which is understandable. No public restrooms from what I could tell.Dairy Queen (DQ) is located in Wimbelton shopping center, right by the expressway. The shopping center parking lot and surrounding area is in need of a good cleaning. A sweeping and a power wash. I'm not sure why people choose to Litter. I'm also not sure why it isn't cleaned up by property management, pronto. I'll visit this shopping area again only as a last resort. Don't allow this area to go down. Care about where you live, visit, work, and property you manage....