4.4K views
New Reviewer
61 comments

I just got a chocolate malt from UDF and when I ordered it made with chocolate ice cream I was told it would cost more. When I asked the assistant manager if a bowl of chocolate ice cream costs more than vanilla, I was told it did not. So I asked why making a chocolate malt with chocolate ice cream cost more than with vanilla?

I was told that UDF milk shakes and malts do not contain ice cream. Instead they contain something called a "neutral base" that has no flavor.

When i said that it is not mentioned anywhere on their menu board, they said "It states clearly that if you want your malt or milk shake made with Homemade (brand) or UDF (brand) ice cream, it will cost extra. I pointed out to them that, those are name brands and that the implication is that the malts are made with a generic ice cream but there is no indication that they contain no ice cream at all.

After several minutes of trying to make this understood to the two managers who had no ability of thought other than to repeat the company line, I simply took a customer reply card that had the toll free number for customer service and left.

calling this number, I got a woman who, as before, merely wanted to repeat the company script on the contents of the drinks. When I tried to point out that this was misleading because the customer cannot make an informed decision without knowing what is in the product, she merely wanted to blow me off, so i asked for a supervisor.

This supervisor told me that this "neutral base" has been used by UDF for 40 years -- as though I should have had plenty of time to figure it out on my own. I told her that if she were to look up the definition of milkshake or malt, nowhere in the recipe would she find "neutral base" as an ingredient. Her reply was that it had served the company -- not the customer -- well for 40 years.

In the end, she did agree to send me a refund check, but the fact is that, regardless of what the company says, most people probably do not know that they are not getting ice cream in their malt of shake at UDF.

I just thought I would pass on the information so that consumers are informed.

Location: Dayton, Ohio

Do You Have Something To Say ?
Write a review

Comments

chat-icon

Please avoid publishing any personal information and promotional content

You will be automatically registered on our site. Username and password will be sent to you via email.
Post Comment
Guest

Almost EVERYONE in Southwest Ohio knows that UDF uses their Malt Base for their shakes. That is what actually makes their shakes so awesome!

If they sold just the malt base I'd be buying it all the time instead of vanilla ice cream. Obviously the whiner is not a Cincy native.

Jerusalem Qvm

And yes us that grew up with United Dairy Farmers know that shakes and Malts are made with malt base which is like ice milk and we love the taste of them and know itโ€™s extra if we want malt or milkshake with chocolate chip ice cream or strawberry ice cream etc.....

Guest

Wow, I did not know this! Thanks to this consumer for revealing the misconception that UDF has been taking advantage of for 40 years!

Jerusalem Qvm
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1682391

Itโ€™s not a misconception nowhere does they re advertisement for malts or milkshakes say ice cream they ve always used a malt base type ice milk that all of us love and we know itโ€™s extra to have one made with like chocolate chip ice cream or vanilla bean ice cream etc....

Guest

If you don't like their malts (which I suppose is theoretically possible) then say that. If you like the malt but you're upset that they don't publish a recipe for one of their signature products, then I ask you: what company does?

Their malts are delicious, and the fact that you are pissed enough about their ingredients that you created a page in order to gripe about them says a lot more about you than it says about them. Get a life.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1537231

She's only informing others, calm down. I found it useful since I'm trying to find the recipe!

Guest

I can't believe the ignorance of even employees of UDF. I have worked for the company for almost 20 years.

We have always used malt base, it is ice cream, it is VANILLA ice cream, it tastes better then the udf or homemade brand vanilla in my opinion. It is specially formulated to make a thicker milkshake then the other ice creams, that's why a cookies and cream homemade shake is so much thinner then a regular choc. shake. Our choc.

shakes are always made with malt base and our serious choc.

milk, unless a customer requests it differently. And any of you "employees" taste it before you try to tell people what it is!

Jerusalem Qvm
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1389236

Yes I love the malt base!!!

Dantae Crl
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1389236

So is the malt base a chocolate flavor?? I'm trying to recreate the udf choc shake that I loved as a kid but do a vegan version.

I'm not sure if it's possible! Lol trying to find the recipe or another version is impossible

Guest

OK..first off it's called a malt base. There's a regular malt base and a low fat malt base.

Unless you specify you want a shake made with a specific ice cream on dipside your shake will be made with the malt base. And if you have ever tasted the malt base alone you would realize it pretty much a vanilla ice cream.

The only time it will cost extra is when you have a shake made from the homemade ice creams, which is 10ยข extra, or if you want your shake extra thick. Your post I'd ignorant and misleading.

Elizabeth Pvu
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1234737

No, the post is absolutely true ! I worked at Howard Johnson's back in the 1980's as an ice cream counter girl and Howard Johnson's ALSO used this Neutral Base fake ice cream for vanilla or chocolate milkshakes.

We were told to add either Vanilla or Chocolate syrup to the Neutral Base.

Customers were NOT told that their shakes were made with fake ice cream. I chose to make them with real ice cream once I had been there a little while and didn't have to worry about being fired for it.

Jerusalem Qvm
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1234737

Love the malt base

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1234737

You dont make a shake with a malt base because then it would be a malt and not a shake!

Guest

I must say that the nurture or plain base is not plain. It taste amazing!

I an eating some right now. I ask that they make me a shake with only The ice cream no milk no malt nothing but the malt base ice cream. They charge me 4.15 for a 32oz.

Cup. It has flavor trust me.

Jerusalem Qvm
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1204198

Yes I love the malt base and it taste better than vanilla ice cream

Guest

Exactly what happened to me today. Had no idea that their shakes weren't made with real ice cream.

And, when i asked for my shake to be made with real ice cream the clerk got all huffy with me and said "you know there will be an upcharge"!

I really didnt care. So what if I have to pay more, I wanted a MILKSHAKE!!!!

Guest

That 'neutral base' is called malt base. It's flavorless ice cream.

So you are getting ice cream, but it has no flavor. All UDF ice cream starts out as malt base. The reason it's called malt base is because it used to have malt mixed in. But some people are allergic to malt so they took it out.

Udf no longer charges extra to use flavored ice cream. The only extra charge is to use homemade in a shake.

Dantae Crl
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1102956

OK but do you know what they use to give it that one of a kind flavor?? Is it the udf chocolate milk?

Guest

it is not a "neutral base" itis a vanilla ice cream that is made a little bit lighter so it blends better. it has a strong vanilla flavor

Guest

That's weird, I go to udf and get malts all the time and I watch them make it with ice cream direct from.their coolers every time, they always give me the option of what ice cream I want for no extra charge....I've even got a chocolate malt made with strawberry ice cream and chocolate milk + chocolate syrup+malt and they didn't charge me extra at all....I saw this comment and then I asked the lady that always serves me at my neighborhood UDF and she said that is simply ridiculous, they make all shakes and malts with the same ice cream they make sundaes with out of and not only do they not have any "filler", but the choice of ice cream is available to the consumer every time, though they default with their regular vanilla if the customer does not specify.....then again UDF probably only provides customers in Columbus with that option and has a secret plan written in their corporate charter to screw over, poison, and scam the customers of Dayton because they think that they are sub-standard customers and do not have the right to fresh, quality ingredients sourced from local dairy farmers....it's the beginning of a malt/milkshake holocaust for daytonians and the SS of locally sourced ohio ice cream will not stop until they have succeeded in implementing their "final solution"

View more comments (41)

United Dairy Farmers Reviews

  1. 29 reviews
  2. 29 reviews
  3. 20 reviews
  4. 17 reviews
  5. 9 reviews
United Dairy Farmers reviews