I worked at a Dairy Queen for almost 4 years (disgusting I know). It was a decent first job because I learned a lot about customer service and interaction with the public, and you develop some what of a thick skin because some of the bullsh*t customers you get... but after awhile I couldn't take it anymore. I hated my boss. I think one of the reasons we hired young people was because they simply didn't know better in terms of their employee rights, and because we knew they had never held a job before, we could get away with paying them thee $6 training wage. Note that this might (and probably is) different with every location, because each Dairy Queen is an individual franchise.

Even though I was a supervisor and had to go through the same thing myself, I thought it was ridiculous because the job market is so competitive these days, yet he was really cheap and insisted on paying $6. By the time I left as a supervisor, I wasn't even making $10. If you apply and get this job, make sure you know your employee rights. That is, know how many break minutes you're entitled to per shift, your holiday pay, etc.

Bombshell is right, lots of hiring is done in the summer time because that's when people are needed the most. However the hours are long, especially in the summer. If you're working at a location that serves hot food, it's horrrrible because it gets so hot in the back, you feel like you're about to pass out because of all the heat and hot weather I think most Dairy Queens close at 11 PM in the summer, but we wouldn't leave until past midnight because of cleanup.

The one good thing I could say about having a job in the fast food industry is that you learn to appreciate customer service, and after that you'll come to understand what people in the service industry have to go through and you'll be much nicer towards other people because after all, it's what you had to go through!