Instead of the drive-through, I go into the store and place the order. They still fuck you.

I do not hear well, but I do speak very clearly.

Fortunately, the credit card terminal in this fast-food place (Pollo Tropical) displays each entry that the cashier makes on her terminal.

No,I did not say "Dine in." I said "Carry Out."

No, I did not say "1/4 chicken," I said "1 chicken."

No, I did not say "White rice / black beans," I said "Yellow rice, black beans."

So the cashier, who was almost as sharp as Occasional Cortex, finally got everything entered correctly. I paid and got a receipt that clearly shows my order, and it was correct.

I got home, after killing 25 minutes drive each way (rush hour on Friday afternoon), and another 35 minutes in the store, waiting to place the order, then waiting for the order to be filled. Got home, gave it to my wife to dish it out. Wife asks, "What did you order?"

I showed her the receipt, she said, "Yes, that's what we wanted, but it's not what we got." The side -- yellow rice and black beans, there were NO BEANS. Fuck.

I was not going to kill another hour and a half, so we ate the incomplete meal.

I then called the store.

First call: Recording, "Your call is very important to us, please stay on the line," and then the call disconnected. Not really that important?

Second call: A human(?) answered, I asked for the manager, the person said "He is not in," and hung up.

W? T? F? Is this really how you run a business? I guess my next stop is yelp.com, it won't really do any good, but it's another place to vent.

By the way, the chicken there is very good, but you really have to check everything in the order before you walk out.

Most excellent rant ...(hope it wasn't Publix)

quote:

Originally posted by Bisleyblackhawk:
Most excellent rant ...(hope it wasn't Publix)

Pollo Tropical

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by Bisleyblackhawk:
Most excellent rant ...(hope it wasn't Publix)

Pollo Tropical

They suck. The one by me only stayed in business for less than 2 years then closed. It’s now a del taco. They’ve been closing them in Georgia left and right.

quote:

Originally posted by PowerSurge:

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by Bisleyblackhawk:
Most excellent rant ...(hope it wasn't Publix)

Pollo Tropical

They suck. The one by me only stayed in business for less than 2 years then closed. It’s now a del taco. They’ve been closing them in Georgia left and right.

I have no complaint at all about the food. The chicken is tasty, the sides are good. My major bitch is the service. The cashiers are not trained to actually listen to what the customer says. Point: I know that the first thing they will ask is whether the order is for eating there or carrying out, so I open with "This is for take-out."

The cashier then looks at me and asks, "Is this for dining here or for carry out?" She then proceeds to enter every single thing incorrectly. Unlike many fast food places, their terminal is arranged so that the customer can see what the cashier is entering, so it's not difficult to catch the errors.

Problem though, once the order is entered into the system correctly, the person who packs the order does not get it right, and nobody checks it, so after driving there, waiting for the excruciatingly slow service, then driving home, I open the order and find that there are items missing.

Are these the "workers" who want fifteen dollars an hour? Big problem there.

I believe that this is a Miami-based, Hispanic-owned, business. Much like TracFone, that profile seems to lead to absolutely shitty customer service, even if the product that they are offering is good. Cultural differences. I really saw that during the three years that I worked for International Tel & Tel in Puerto Rico.

I agree with Vtail. The food is good and tasty. BUT, the drive thru.....at lunch time.....takes a minimum of 20 minutes if not 30 minutes to drive through the drive thru...….inside is not any faster either......

Vote with your dollars.

quote:

Your call is very important to us, please stay on the line,

No, no it isn't. If my call was important to you, it would have been answered by a human being.

Pollo Tropical has a terrible reputation for having shit stupid employees.

So bad, they are permanently closed here.

I would send corporate a very nice email about how much you like their food but the service is lacking in their accuracy.
My wife had a problem with a fast food sub place years ago. She sent an email. They sent her a coupon for a free sub and said they would review that stores training policy. Several weeks later she went back. The same people were working and no problems.
Sometimes it is training and some times people just don't care. Sometimes if you send corporate an email you get their attention.

quote:

Originally posted by Mars_Attacks:
Pollo Tropical has a terrible reputation for having shit stupid employees.

So bad, they are permanently closed here.

I'm going out on a limb here... We all like to blame clueless employees. Blame management. CFA doesn't have this problem. In & Out doesn't have this problem. What-A-Burger doesn't have this problem. My wife and her EX were McDonald franchisees. They didn't have this problem with their stores and made a really good living. It is corporate culture, in the fast food joints I listed, for management to be excellent and train employees to be excellent or out they go. BTW, an employee bought the franchises from her EX when he retired.

quote:

Originally posted by cne32507:

quote:

Originally posted by Mars_Attacks:
Pollo Tropical has a terrible reputation for having shit stupid employees.

So bad, they are permanently closed here.

I'm going out on a limb here... We all like to blame clueless employees. Blame management.

Not a limb. You are absolutely correct. From my post above, "I believe that this is a Miami-based, Hispanic-owned, business. Much like TracFone, that profile seems to lead to absolutely shitty customer service, even if the product that they are offering is good. Cultural differences. I really saw that during the three years that I worked for International Tel & Tel in Puerto Rico."

I have never ate there, they opened two near me. They shut them both down before I had the chance

quote:

Originally posted by BigSwede:

I have never ate there, they opened two near me. They shut them both down before I had the chance

Count your blessings.

Well, actually, the food is pretty tasty. The staff training leaves a lot to be desired.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
I do not hear well, but I do speak very clearly.

How do you know if you can't hear yourself speaking?

Went to Wendy’s tonight on supper break for a Frosty and a burger. Had to repeat myself three times on what toppings I wanted on the burger and then told them I wanted a medium chocolate Frosty. Got back to work, the burger was actually correct but I had a vanilla Frosty. Ugh.

Your order was pretty complicated.

The guy ahead of you in the old 1974 Dodge Monaco sedan ordered four fried chickens and a Coke.

They even messed that up.

quote:

Originally posted by RichardC:
Your order was pretty complicated.

The guy ahead of you in the old 1974 Dodge Monaco sedan ordered four fried chickens and a Coke.

They even messed that up.

And some dry white toast...

quote:

How do you know if you can't hear yourself speaking?

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
He has a wife. She will tell him for sure.

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:

quote:

Originally posted by RichardC:
Your order was pretty complicated.

The guy ahead of you in the old 1974 Dodge Monaco sedan ordered four fried chickens and a Coke.

They even messed that up.

And some dry white toast...

Were they 2 honkies dressed like Hasidic diamond merchants?