Dateline: April 4, 2002

Local DQ 'sparkles'

By Carrie Helms, Clarendon Enterprise

For six months, the local Dairy Queen and its employees endured meticulous inspections and earned high scores in all areas, including customer service, product quality, and cleanliness.

Last week, because of its excellent ratings, the store was awarded the first annual Sparkle Award.

“This is the first year for the contest,” manager Karen Spruell said.  “We are so proud we were chosen.”

In addition to regular monthly inspections, the store was subject to surprise inspectors in disguise.

“We would have Mystery Shoppers who would come in like normal customers and judge us on service and cleanliness,” Spruell said.  “We never knew they had been there until we received a letter from the area inspector; one infraction and we could have been disqualified.”

The nation-wide contest is held among stores of the same owners. The Clarendon store earned some of the highest scores among more than twenty stores owned by Parrish Chapman.

“We were tied for first with stores in Corsicana, Dalhart, and Clayton, New Mexico,” Spruell said.

The winning stores received more than just another ordinary plaque and trophy.

“I received a $1,000 cash prize and a color TV,” Spruell said.  “Each crew member got a personalized plaque, $25 cash, and a letter of congratulations from Chapman, the owner.”

According to Spruell, the contest has already started over for the next year, and prizes are expected to include a new car for the manager.

“All of the hard work has finally paid off,” Spruell said.  “We hope we can continue to provide the best service possible.”