Wendy's Consumer Reviews - Page 5

N ATTLEBORO, MASSACHUSETTS -- Let me tell you about a true, even though hard to believe story, about an outrageous level of incompetence I was the recipient of today at Wendy's. ON Sunday at about 2:15 PM, I visited Wendy'€™s in North Attleboro, MA. After leaving and about ten minutes later, I realize I left my new leather jacket on the chair.

I immediately called the Wendy'€™s and spoke to assistant manager (name withheld)€. I asked him to go over to where I was sitting and he should see my black leather jacket on the chair. He responded he had the jacket and would leave it in the office. I told him my name was Kevin and I would be back to get it in about an hour or two. This "assistant manager" told me he would be there until at least 4 pm. I then REPEATED MYSELF and reiterated "OK, MY NAME IS KEVIN."

I returned to Wendy'€™s at 4PM, I spoke to a female manager who just arrived for her shift. She checked the office and there was no jacket. I was astounded, but not nearly as shocked as what I was about to hear from the assistant manager.

About 4 employees, including the oncoming manager gathered around to listen to this incredulous explanation from assistant manager. Apparently, when this "assistant manager"€ retrieved my jacket, there were three young men who eating next to where I was. This "assistant manager"€ said they were traveling in a business van with tinted windows. One of these men came back into the restaurant within minutes and claimed the jacket was his.

And, without asking if he were Kevin, WHY or HOW could I have returned in only 5 minutes, without questioning the man, even when I said I would be back in NO sooner than an hour, this "assistant manager"€ handed over my NEW leather jacket I bought 3 months ago for $399. AND, €œthis "assistant manager"€ HIMSELF identified these men as STILL sitting next to where I was, WHEN I CALLED HIM to retrieve my jacket. They were STILL sitting there! DUHH! Are you serious? I was absolutely appalled, as I cannot recollect experiencing a total void of competence as this.

I want to let Wendy's know of this hard to believe occurrence at their North Attleboro, MA store. I want to let the WORLD know. This is clearly one of the most outrageous acts of incompetence the majority of the population could ever experience.

WINDSOR LOCKS, CONNECTICUT -- I am writing this letter to relate some events that took place earlier this week on Tuesday at approximately 8:45 pm. My girlfriend and I decided to go to the Wendy's on Route 75 in Windsor Locks near the airport. We had been there before and enjoyed their food but, what happened during the night in question I will no longer go to that the fast food establishment.

When we entered when there was no one else in line and as we approached the counter, one of the staff a young lady, turned her back, walked away and refused to take our order. The reason was because the staff felt it was important to discuss the appearance of my girlfriend. Who was dressed in a fashion that reflected today's taste of someone in their mid twenties. Mind you that we were the only ones in the establishment besides the workers and there were six Wendy's employees standing around discussing my girlfriend and ignoring their training to actual provide the service that we were there for.

My girlfriend was embrassed to say the least and we left before ANY member of the staff actually addressed us, and we had been standing there for about two minutes. You can understand I was upset as well and when we were about to exit the parking lot. I quickly went back inside to find out if I take my complaint to someone higher up then the shift supervisor at the time. The best she could do was give us the phone number to the restaurant. When I called the same shift supervisor picked up.

This caused even more frustration because we felt that this episode wouldn't be handled any better than our initial treatment. So after some internet research we talked with corporate side of Wendy's who told us that the owner of that franchise would be in touch with us. Please make your readership aware of the treatment we received just trying to grab a evening snack. I've never done this before but felt compelled to speak out.

My friend and I went to the Wendy's in the Poconos. We went to the drive-thru where she ordered a double cheeseburger meal and I got a chicken club sandwich. She paid, we got the bag and pulled away from the window. We checked the bag before we even left the parking lot and realized there was only one sandwich in the bag. So I got out to get the other sandwich.

At this point it hasn't even been 5 minutes since we left the window. I took the sandwich, we did get inside still wrapped and spoke to the boy at the counter. I explained to him we ordered 2 sandwiches and only got one. He told me to wait while he got the manager. She came out and I explained it all to her. She went over to the people who worked the drive-thru and asked them some questions then came back.

She asked me if we pulled around to the front of the store and I said yes and her response was if I wanted the other sandwich my friend was going to have to pay for it again. I just stood there with my mouth open. Obviously I was in shock. She believed I was trying to get free food. No we just wanted the food we paid for. She told me if I wanted to complain here was the number to the district manager.

The fact that she handed over the number without me asking told me all I needed to know. Not even the district manager was going to fix this. So this little escapade taught me that if I was going to Wendy's I had to do one of two things: check my bag at the window or just go inside. Mainly I choose to check my bag at the window because this pisses them off. I'm holding up their line!

HAMILTON, NEW JERSEY -- If anyone lives in the Mercer County region of New Jersey, I ask of you not to bother with the Wendy's on S. Broad Street, Independence Plaza. I used to go there mostly because they were close to work, and the house, and have started to get salads. Now, I'm very allergic to tomatoes, and I always ask for no tomatoes, and always get tomatoes. The other day, I was out for my dad and I, and I ordered his combo, and we all know that combos come with a soda. And then I ordered my salad and I said I wanted a water as well. So instead of giving me my soda, they give me the water and don't give me the soda.

I ordered the combo for a reason, and they made a big deal and made me pay for the water, after I had just forked out cash, thinking it was all paid for. Then, I receive my salad, look, and realize that there are tomatoes. The woman takes it to the side and the other says, "Can't she just pick them out?" And she said "No, she's allergic." I make that abundantly clear because I would hope they would listen. So they go to make a new salad, and they don't have any fresh chicken to make.

So the same woman comes back to me asking if they could just use the chicken from the salad they just made to the new one. If someone is allergic to food, you don't take a risk like that. I demanded my money back, and I'll never go back. I've always had a hard time with this place, and didn't think they'd go so far as to suggest taking a risk like that. Had they have just listened to my order to begin with, there wouldn't have been a problem.

ORANGEBURG, SOUTH CAROLINA -- On June 3, 2006 at 2:30 PM, I visited Wendy's on John C. Calhoun Drive in Orangeburg, SC. The customer service was very poor. I stood in line for 10 minutes and got the wrong order. There were flies everywhere and the employees were not friendly. There were two employees sitting in the dining area eating, I assume that they were on a break.

The manager came out and told them that they need to come and help because they were backed up. They didn't move - they just continued to sit there eating. About ten minutes he sent the young lady out from the front register to tell them to come back to help and they still didn't move. After they finished eating then they got up and moved very slowly to help out. Very bad experience.

So on the next day I decided to visit them again thinking that they just had a bad day and things would be better. I was mistaken, it was even worse. I stood in line for 20 minutes just waiting to place an order. It was horrible - they couldn't get anyone's order correct. Others that were standing in line behind me walked out. I listened to conversations of others standing in line about how bad the service was.

When I finally reached the register to place my order the young lady said she wasn't taking anyone orders right now because they were backed up. There was no fries or chicken nuggets ready so she decided she would not take any more orders. I didn't want to order any fries or nuggets, I wanted a baked potato. And the flies were still there. While I was standing there the assistant manager came to the register to put in change. He asked how I was doing and I said "not good" and he didn't respond. He just finished what he was doing and went to the back. I was still standing there when he came back through to leave. He actually left the store and things were terrible.

He should have stayed to help out until they were caught up. And to top it all off, while me and about 8 others were standing in line and employee walked up to the counter in front of all of us and they prepared an order for her. I will not give it a third try. I'm done with Wendy's. You need to have your district manager for the area to come out a pay a visit real soon.

ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA -- I had very bad experiences at the stores at 15th Avenue South and 4th Street South. I complained to the corporate website and was contacted by Ms **, the District 51 manager. My initial order at the 15th St. store was shorted and poorly prepared. Ms. ** emailed me that she would provide 2 free combos as replacement.

I went to the 4th St. South store and this is where my horror story starts. I was treated like "white-trash" by the all-black counter servers, the Baconator had just 2 1/2 slices of bacon instead of the 6 stated on the menu board, a scrap of lettuce and a swipe of mayo. My triple with cheese looked like the patties had been sitting in the warmer trays for an hour, all dried-out and dark brown; the onions were stringy and tough like they'd been out of the cooler all day long.

I was served soggy, limp fries that had also been in the warmer too long. When I asked for fresh order of fries, Sonya told me, "They look fine to me." And, "If you don't like our fries, you probably won't like our sandwiches." She was right! The Burgers were pure junk. I had to bag my own order after Sonya was told it was "to-go" instead of dine-in. While bagging my own order, she huffed, "You got to get out of the way for these other customers!"

I e-mailed Ms. ** back with this horror story and she wanted me to go back to the scene of the crime and roll my dice with this crew again! I was insulted and humiliated. I pursued the proper channels of procedure with Wendy's and got the Big Screw.

I'll never go back to a minority-operated Wendy's in south St. Petersburg ever again. You shouldn't either if you don't want to get ripped-off or mistreated. These Wendy's people are obviously very poorly trained and couldn't care less. I was offered a mere "Baconator" combo by Ms. ** if I went back to the place where I got raped. No Way!

MASSACHUSETTS -- Listen, I used to manage a Wendy's, and though I left last year, I feel the need to defend the company against some of the complaints that I've seen here.

1. English speaking employees. Trust me, in most cases, the managers running the restaurant would love to have native English speakers on the front lines, but it's not always possible. We can only hire those people who apply, and as a minimum wage, physical labor job, there aren't a lot of high school kids applying anymore. In my experience, some of the non-English speaking employees were the most loyal, hardest working people on the crew.

2. Pulling up to wait on food - In some cases - ie, fish or grilled chicken - you'd much rather pull up than receive old, dried sandwiches. Trust me. Granted, there is no excuse for not getting the right order after you've been parked, but unless you're honestly in a major rush, take the fresh food.

3. Call 1-800-82-WENDYS if you have a problem with a manager while you're at the restaurant. The complaint gets filtered through Corporate, at the district (possibly higher) level, and there is no avoiding accountability on these complaints.

4. Food is ready "too fast" or you feel rushed - Most customers appreciate the speed, especially during rush times - lunch and dinner. We're trained to have the bag hanging out the window before the car pulls up. A lot of my customers would laugh at us, and ask if we were short staffed if they had to wait more than a couple of seconds for their food.

5. The employees are all human, and get frustrated. While they should be trained to keep a smile on their faces and be professional, for the most part, there are times when that's difficult to do. So, to help things out - pay attention to them. Yes, it's annoying to be asked questions when you clearly know what you want, but they HAVE TO ASK YOU certain things. A smile, a compliment, or even a response to "How are you today?" or a "You, too!" in response to a "Have a nice day!" Can make a difference.

6. Smile. Tell them when they do a good job. My single best moment at any job is when a customer told me that my joking with him was the only bright spot in his day, as his wife had just been admitted to the hospital, and he didn't know if she was going to be okay. It was at 12:30am, I was exhausted, but that one comment made me aware of why I was doing my job.

Okay, lecture over. And for the record, I no longer work in the industry, and I get my orders screwed up as much as everyone else does. Complain with a smile - you'll get more back that way. :-)

ROCHESTER/HENRIETTA, NEW YORK -- At about 2:50 p.m. I went with my two younger children to the drive through in Henrietta on Jefferson Road. I ordered 2 fries, one of them a large. Three bacon cheeseburgers, two small colas and 1 frosty. Instead I received three large fries, two Large cokes and just 2 bacon cheeseburgers.

As I explained that our order was incorrect with the extra fries and lack of a bacon cheeseburger the young woman at the window said "OK, then give me a 1.07 for the extra burger." I explained that the price of the fries that I was charged for should be actually owed back to me since they were more and I really did not order them. She told me to take out the fries out of the bag and she will give me the burger as soon as I give her the amount of money. NO apology on her end was given about her mix up.

When I grabbed the burger out of the bag that the one order of fries were in she said with a very rude tone "Well, I did not have your order someone else did." I explained that it should not matter and never heard of a fast food place actually wanting the extra food that was already in the customer's possession back. I have had mix ups before and the cashier simply apologized and let me take whatever extra food was in the bag.

I then asked for the girls name and was told "You do not need that." I asked a few more times when finally another girl packing the food told her to just "SHUT THE WINDOW". Both actions were entirely rude. I sat there for a few minutes waiting for my order to be corrected and when she opened the window again I asked her if she had a name. She told me she was not going to give it to me and told the young lady next to her "God, she is a **." Told me to move down the burger was not ready. I had to wait another few minutes for the burger that should have already been made.

When another woman brought me the burger she practically shoved the bag to me. When I did not say thank you she cursed me by saying I was an "unappreciated white **". I told her I will call the district manager on this and thought I would go as far as operations manager to explain that this is not going to be tolerated and racial remarks should not have been said to a paying customer. I will never go to a Wendy's and will take out any investment money we have with Tim Hortons and Wendy's. I have had better service at McDonalds and their cashiers and customer service ALWAYS friendly.

Cheeseburger costly for Kennewick man. This story was published 12/9/02. By Kristin M. Kraemer - Herald staff writer. Wendy's restaurant has a beef with Stewart ** of Kennewick over a $4.43 cheeseburger meal. A self-proclaimed loyal customer of the fast-food chain, ** is being sued for $285.20 by the restaurant's collection agency. The Benton County District Court case stems from a Sept. 3 meal ** had with his wife and co-workers at the Richland restaurant. Lunch at the Wendy's on George Washington Way used to be a regular weekday occurrence for ** because his busy schedule gave him little time to prepare meals.

**, who bought a single cheeseburger with medium fries and drink, wrote a check. However, he had insufficient funds in his bank account. About three weeks later, ** said he got a letter from Yakima County Credit Service asking him to pay the bounced check and a $35 processing fee within 15 days. He said he was short on money at the time and asked for leniency on the due date.

Then he was served a copy of the lawsuit, in which the credit service is seeking the $285.20, including fees for collection, handling, the attorney and interest. ** has not yet responded to the lawsuit. Robert **, a Yakima attorney representing the credit service, did not return a call requesting comment. **, who works in data entry at Hanford, admitted there was some negligence on his part but said the court action is excessive.

"This is crazy for a cheeseburger," he said. "I spend well over $285 there in a year. They're taking this way to the hilt for $4.43." ** said he told the collection agency he would go into the restaurant, apologize to the franchise owner and pay the $4.43 to clear up the matter. But when he called the store, ** said he was told to deal with the collectors directly. He also has contacted the Wendy's corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ohio, but said he again was told officials there have nothing to do with it.

"I figured I could handle it on my own," said **, who has been eating at Wendy's restaurants for at least 13 years because he said it's the only burger joint that serves real ground beef. A manager at the Richland restaurant who declined to give a name said once customers' checks are deposited at the bank, they are out of Wendy's hands. When a check bounces, the bank automatically sends it to the collection company. "The bad check never comes back through the store," the manager said.

"We are all human, and we all make mistakes once in a while," ** wrote in a letter to the restaurant. "Needless to say, this is not an everyday practice for me to write a check and then just let it bounce." ** said he can no longer afford to eat at his favorite restaurant. Now his workday lunch consists of a homemade bologna and cheese sandwich.

TILTON, NEW HAMPSHIRE -- I went to the Wendy's in Tilton, NH on July 6th around 8 pm and ordered a spicy chicken sandwich. We ate our food in the parking lot and I had eaten about 70% of my sandwich when I noticed what I THOUGHT was a large piece of fat in the middle of my sandwich. I asked my husband what he thought it was and while we were poking at it, I realized that it was uncooked chicken. And when I say uncooked, I mean pink, rubbery, almost clucking, should have had scrambled eggs with my sandwich, uncooked!!! I immediately felt sick to my stomach and almost threw up.

And the thing that tops everything else? When I brought it into the restaurant and asked for something else, they wanted to give me another chicken sandwich from the same batch as mine came from!!! When I told them I had lost my appetite for chicken and wanted something else, they rolled their eyes and treated the incident like it was no big deal... didn't even apologize!!

If this had been McDonald's or even Burger King, I would expect sincere apologies, some humility for pulling them up before they were done (which the manager admitted to doing in front of me), and an IMMEDIATE refund. I can honestly say that I will tell everyone I know about what happened and warn them away from Wendy's. Luckily all I got was a stomachache but things could have been MUCH worse. I could have got salmonella or food poisoning or ended up in the hospital! Or even worse my 4 yr could have taken a bite!! I doubt I will ever eat chicken from Wendy's again...

I know I will always think about what other fast food places are in an area before going to a Wendy's. Oh yeah and their website does NOT have an email address where you can complain. You HAVE to write a letter. This is the address... Wendy's Consumer Relations, Wendy's International, Inc., 4288 Dublin-Granville Rd., Dublin, OH 43017, (614)764-3100.