Allentown Service Plaza — Local services in Lower Macungie Township

Being from the deep South we do not have "travel plazas" just regular rest areas. However I have come to frequent them often of late, BUT THIS HAS GOT TO BE THE WORST ONE I HAVE EVER VISITED!!! First off the restrooms needed attending badly and there was not a single paper towel in any of the dispensers. If they are phasing them out like some places, let people know that AND remove the dispensers. The counters were dirty as were the sink nozzles and some did not work as I observed several women trying different ones. Next and a very OBVIOUS issue was that there were hardly any napkins in the entire bldg. And when it was mentioned to staff at different restaurants the staff were very blase'. I chose the Keystone Roadside BBQ restaurant at this plaza and was VERY DISSAPPOINTED. Not only was the food lacking in flavor, beef brisket was tough and not real BBQ, the customer service was terrible. I will take this time to mention the employee CHRISTIAN who seemed to hate his job and everyone in the entire world. I will say that verbally he was not belligerent but "huffing and puffing," eye rolling and "speaking so low that he had to repeatedly be asked to repeat himself, I believe counts as poor customer service and disrespect. For the entire time I was there, nearly 2hrs, I did not see one single custodian nor managerial staff. The tables were pretty much all dirty. The one reason this was not rated ONE STAR was a nice young lady at Auntie Em's. Unfortunately I neglected to get her name but she was very kind and friendly and even apologetic to my previous encounter at the BBQ restaurant. I remember she had two little afro puffs. But a very customer friendly young lady. In all this service plaza may not be hurting for customers as it was pretty packed but it was not worth my time and money to stop. I don't usually rate them as they have all seemed the same but this one stood out in a bad way. I have gotten better service at truck stops. This place was disappointing and disgusting. Will...

We stopped yesterday on our way home around 6pm. We have stopped here before and I must say it has gone severely downhill. It was dark, dirty, and the employees were vaping in the lounge chairs. We ordered dinner from Roy Rogers and the food was dry (bread was basically stale), small, and flavorless. There were piles of food under heat lamps so we should have known that it would be old food they were serving us. We asked for ketchup because the bin was empty and were basically told they would get to it eventually. My husband had to ask for it three times over 15 minutes before someone finally did refill it. We got the feeling that helping us was a bother from the employees since they socialized, text, and ran around the plaza station. In the 45ish minutes we were there, I saw people wait, get tired of waiting for service, and leave. I saw employees flat out ignore guests and talk over them to coworkers. I saw refusals to make items (Auntie Anne's). I saw counters empty and unattended while customers stood waiting for an extended period of time. I saw employees forgetting that their job is to help the customer and not sit around and socialize.

The only shining stars of this place were the two employees at the convenience store that were working their tails off to pick up for the lack of service from the rest...

Some rest stops are better than others. I have a number of concerns with this particular location. Gasoline prices in general are higher than average. In my opinion significantly so. Beyond that, the restroom facilities in certain cases no longer use water. There is no water shortage here in Pennsylvania. And histrionics notwithstanding we could certainly be just fine with toilets and urinals that use water. Not using water at certain locations in my opinion promotes a lack of hygiene not to mention an awful smell. Many of the food Outlets are still closed here. This is also disappointing. I did manage to get a cup of coffee at the Starbucks. However it took approximately 18 minutes for the attendance to serve three people. That is just silly. Worse still, the coffee itself wasn't even hot. It was at best lukewarm. So not a good experience on that end either. I guess if you really need a cup of coffee or to use restroom facilities this place will have to do. Otherwise, I would recommend...