I would give 4 stars for the food and 2 for the service. That should balance out to a 3, but I am disappointed enough right now to not feel generous at the moment.
Everything I've eaten here on multiple visits has been delicious: Rich, real flavors. None of the acidic aftertaste of McDonald's/Burger King/Wendy's. The ice cream is reason enough to go in and of itself. Everything on the menu works as comfort food.
And I've enjoyed it all, once I have gone through the labors of Hercules to finally get what I ordered.
Today in the drive-thru they managed to ask my drink order on 5 different occasions, and still got it wrong. Medium Diet Pepsi and a small Sierra Mist. It's almost a mantra for me now. I was given fries after twice specifying onion rings. My kid wanted ketchup for his chicken tenders and got nothing instead. And there were no napkins in the bags.
At other times they have omitted parts of orders placed inside, or sent me something that had nothing to do with what I had ordered. The help has noted the mistakes by nodding in some sort of brain-dead daze and wandering off in the distance.
I guess it must be rocket science.
So if you have time and stress to burn, go to Culvers and be rewarded with some really good flavors.