I DQ’d Something Different

Jump to Comments

September 21, 1991:

This was the day I got my driver’s license and the keys to my new (used) car.  Consequently, it was also the day I started looking for a job to fuel this car.  I applied at a few different places, and happily accepted my only offer of a $3.25/hr training wage with the promise of $4.00/hr in the near future.  Like any desperate teenager, I quickly accepted and in that instant, became part of the DQ crew.

I participated in an intense training program.  I learned how to dip cones without losing the ice cream in the chocolate vat, how to make a curl atop a soft serve cone, and how to make the perfect stay-in-the-cup-when-upside-down blizzard.  During this training period, a co-worker named Heather told me that I needed to dust the ceiling fan blades…while customers were eating.  Thankfully, another co-worker stopped me as I started climbing onto a table, rag in hand (hazing during DQ training…who knew?)

Despite my rigorous training, I wasn’t exactly what you would call a model employee.  For starters, I was way too generous with serving sizes- my blizzard cups definitely overflowethed (so sorry, owner Bob.)  Other times I was just downright inept.  One evening a customer brought her nearly empty coffee cup to the counter and requested that I “warm it up.”  I proceeded to place the remaining liquid in the microwave, and was quickly corrected.  There was also the infamous hot dog incident.  At 5 minutes ’till closing, my co-worker, John, announced that we had run out of hot dog buns.  Seconds later, a man pulled up to the drive-thru window and ordered a plain hot dog.  It should be noted that he had a gruff, scary voice which caused me anxiety about reporting the bun situation.  I opted instead to apply a literal translation to the term plain.  I gave the man his un-bunned dog and silently prayed that he wouldn’t check his bag.  God apparently doesn’t answer prayers of that nature because a very angry man walked through the door one minute before closing (so sorry, plain hot dog man.)

Like any job, there were good days and bad days.  Ninety-nine cent banana split sales were bad days by definition.  Just the thought of fruit on ice cream makes me feel a little sick, so massive banana split promotions were almost unbearable.  There were also lessons to be learned about sexual harrassment.  Our T-shirts proclaimed “Hot Eats! Cool Treats!”  This led to quite a few original comments, as you can probably imagine.  My favorite little trick was when an older man would offer his dollar(s) in payment and then take it away as I started to accept it.  This was typically followed by a snicker and a wink.

Those were the bad days.The good days were filled with co-worker entertainment and a handful of fun, regular customers.  The evening shift was staffed entirely by high school students- probably not a good management decision, but it did create a lively work environment.  I still laugh when I think about Erica doing her Kris Kross imitation in the walk-in freezer.  There was also the time Dan singed my hair with the grill lighter.  Okay, maybe that wasn’t so fun.  My favorite customer was an older man who was deaf.  He walked to DQ every night for some kind of treat, pre-written order in hand.  After my bicycle collision with a Doberman Pinscher dog, he pointed to my stitches in inquiry.  I re-enacted the whole event for him in my own kind of sign languarge.  He listened very attentively.

I worked as many hours as possible the summer before college, using my earnings to buy college necessities (like the see-through phone my first roommate flung in a fit of anger.)  I knew that I would miss things about DQ, but it was time for me to move on.  My co-worker, Danielle, helped me move into WKU’s Bemis Lawrence dorm on a sultry August day.  She assisted with load after load until the job was done.  When she left, she gave me a hug and a kids meal ice cream token.

For the most part, I fondly remember my DQ days.  I learned the importance of getting along with co-workers, how to be reliable, and the definition of plain.  I also developed a lifelong appreciation for self-sufficiency.  Perhaps even more importantly, I was able to fuel my car for two years thanks to DQ.  I don’t crave ice cream very often these days, but when I do, there’s nothing I like better than a Reese’s cup blizzard thick enough to be turned upside-down, of course.

23 Comments

Filed under Co-workers, Life, Nostalgia, Personal, Work

Tags: embarrassing photos, flashbacks