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Kilee Cox
When we started this Love Local series, our goal was to simply shine a light on the people and businesses that make our community a better place.
This month’s feature comes with a little twist.
While Andy’s Frozen Custard may have many locations, our recent experience with the Andy’s Frozen Custard on Pennsylvania Avenue in Edmond reminded us that “local” is sometimes about the people working right here in our community, the way they treat their neighbors, and their willingness to step up when another local business asks for a little help.
And the team at Andy’s did exactly that.
A Sweet Idea for Patient Appreciation Week
This month, we wanted to celebrate our patients and help them beat the heat, so we decided to treat them to ice cream—or, more accurately, frozen custard!
During our Ice Cream Week, every patient who visited us for an appointment or stopped by for walk-in service was offered a frozen treat to enjoy; and boy, was it a hit!
Andy’s individual cups were the perfect size for what we had in mind. Plus, they offer a mixture of many delicious flavors and mix-ins, so we were able to get a variety for our patients to choose from.
Our staff agrees that the best part of the week was watching patients light up over getting to choose their treat. “You mean I get to pick?”
Turns out, choosing an ice cream flavor brings out a childlike excitement in people. It was delightful.
Community Is About People
What really earned Andy’s a place in our Love Local spotlight was the team behind the counter.
From our very first phone call, everyone at the Pennsylvania Avenue location (particularly Madison) was incredibly helpful, accommodating, and genuinely interested in making our event successful. We had a large order, and they helped us work through exactly what we needed (twice actually, because we needed more!).
When we called to place a second order, they actually remembered exactly who we were. For the second time in a week, they carefully prepared and boxed everything and helped get it out to the car. Every interaction was efficient, kind and accompanied by genuine appreciation for our business.
They also generously provided us with a large stack of buy-one-get-one-free coupons to share with our patients—not only for Ice Cream Week, but for another event we have coming up next month. Several patients immediately began talking about who they could bring back with them—a spouse, a friend or a grandchild—to try it together.
It was sweet to see our patients connect over something mutually loved by all!
A Common Goal
One conversation with a manager stuck with us in particular.
The manager told us to keep Andy’s in mind if there were ways their team could partner with us, help with an event or even volunteer. She spoke specifically about the importance of giving younger employees opportunities to serve their community. Learning to show up, help others and volunteer is something they can carry with them long after their time working at an ice cream shop is over.
In fact, Andy’s says that serving the community is one of the three primary areas the company focuses on, along with product quality and customer service. Andy’s Pennsylvania knocked it out of the park on all three accounts. That is why we wanted to feature them.
A business doesn't have to have been founded down the street to have a local impact. The people answering the phone, preparing orders, helping customers and looking for ways to serve others are our neighbors. When those people go out of their way to show kindness and serve with excellence, we think that's worth celebrating.
If You Haven't Tried Andy's Yet...
Even with it being so close to our clinic, we were surprised by how many of our patients had never been to Andy’s before! I think it’s fair to say we persuaded people to check it out!
If you don’t know, Andy’s makes fresh frozen custard throughout the day and offers everything from classic flavors to delicious mix-ins that make up their famous Concretes, to sundaes, shakes, and malts.
Thank You, Andy's!
Ice Cream Week was a fun way for us to show our patients how much we care about and appreciate them. Thanks to the team at Andy’s Frozen Custard on Pennsylvania Avenue in Edmond, we were able to help patients cool off from the Oklahoma heat with a small, unexpected act of kindness.
Thank you for taking such good care of us! We'll definitely be back. (And we're pretty sure a few of our patients will be, too.)
