Posts tagged with “Food”

The Perpetual Dilly Bar Machine

It’s a workflow, a system really, that provides an almost endless supply of Dilly Bars.
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Let me start by stating the most important fact— I am not a fan of Dairy Queen. It's overpriced for ice cream, and no matter what I order, the quality is consistently underwhelming.

Yet, I find myself at our local Dairy Queen far more often than I'd like, thanks to two factors: a) my spouse loves it, and b) it's only a five-minute walk down the street. As a result, I end up consuming more of their 'treats' than I care to admit (or should).

After all these visits, I’ve uncovered what I now call The Perpetual Dilly Bar Machine. It’s a workflow, a system really, that provides an almost endless supply of Dilly Bars. Here’s how it works:

  1. Purchase anything. To maximize the long-term return, buy the cheapest item on the menu.
  2. Keep your receipt.
  3. Go online and complete the satisfaction survey. Whether you’re genuinely interested in offering feedback or not, the survey can be done in under a minute if you're focused.1
  4. Record the survey code on your receipt.
  5. Return to the same Dairy Queen within 30 days with your receipt (and code) and claim your free Dilly Bar.
  6. IMPORTANT! When you get the free Dilly Bar, make sure they process it as a transaction and give you a receipt. Most employees won’t bother unless you ask, but they are required to.
  7. With the receipt from your free Dilly Bar, you're eligible to complete another satisfaction survey.
  8. Rinse and repeat—free Dilly Bars forever.

Now, to be clear, Dilly Bars—like most of Dairy Queen's offerings—aren’t anything special. They’re usually just... meh. But on a hot day or after a tough volleyball game, a Dilly Bar can really hit the spot.

Ideally, I’d prefer to hack a system at a place that serves a premium dessert, something actually worth eating. But since I haven’t found that opportunity yet, I’ll make do with free Dilly Bars for now.

  1. After completing two or more surveys, it becomes clear that the survey code follows a predictable pattern for each specific store. You can easily repeat or spoof it without actually taking the survey again. Plus, at my local Dairy Queen, the staff barely glance at the receipt—just checking that there’s something written on it. Any random string of numbers will likely work.

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Mexican House - London, Ontario

I just finished a batch of chicken vegetable soup which more closely resembles a chicken pot pie. This is acceptable given that I really only have a single recipe I follow when cooking. It’s called— Stuff in a Pot.

The recipe goes like this:

  1. Open fridge and cupboards.

  2. Pull out whatever you can find.

  3. Put stuff in a pot.

  4. Heat.

  5. Eat.

  6. Try to repeat another time.

  7. Fail.