Guzman y Gomez - North Ipswich — Restaurant in Ipswich City

I have eaten from here dozens of times on average twice a month for the last 2 years, and it rarely gets any better. I have communicated online with the customer service team, because they invited it, and it doesn't get better. The GyG menu is very enjoyable and a better choice of nutrition than most take-a-way options, so I persist. After a late finish at work when you don't feel like cooking dinner and just want a quick satisfying meal it seems appealing, but how do you get a message through that they are failing the test. There is never any management on site. Certainly, no one to take responsibility for customer service, allocation of tasks, and smooth process of orders. You will wait 30min, consistently, before being addressed and then only because you have interrupted rudely, and jumped in, after preordering online and expecting it to be ready. Last night I ordered a meal online, always the same meal, and I gave them 15min prep time to collect at 9:00pm. I got there and there was about 10 or 12 people spread around the front of the shop. I waited for 15min and then called to a girl in the kitchen to see if I could have some attention. She looked at me and completely ignored me, continuing on with her task. 10min later I interrupted the girl serving front counter and drive-thru, and asked for my order showing her the number (2122). I said it should be ready and in the warmer. She took a further 5min before looking, and then picked up a meal on the bench above the warmer, placed it in a bag and passed it to me. It was completely cold, sitting there most likely for the past 30min. If the meal is on time and as ordered, the food is great, but this happens 1 time in 10. The business clearly does not care about the customer and the staff are unaware of expectations because they are untrained. I have communicated this to their head office, but there is no interest. Commercially, it is a moral hazard where the owner takes no interest in the business relationship with customers and it will eventually be to their economic peril. A great pity.

12/02/24 Further communication received from GyG with a genuine desire to investigate and improve service. I thanked them for their interest and advised I would update this review if I noticed any improvement.

19/09/24 Post Script. I have continued to order meals for GyG and am pleased to report that they have dramatically improved their consistency, quality, and speed. It appears that most shifts now have a person in charge, who has some concept of responsibility. I also check my meal before I leave the store to avoid disappointment waiting for me at home.

26/02/25 PPS. I have had more favourable experiences than unfavourable in the last 4 or 6 months. Mostly, they still don't get the concept of extra lettuce (who eats that stuff anyway), but one staff member seems to have some seniority and takes an interest in service. When he is in kitchen assembly, it is pretty good. I have even thanked him personally a couple of times for his culinary craft. The saga...

The food is usually always great, although the portion size varies massively from each visit. Sometimes a regular is like a mini, and vice versa (more often than not, the serving seems smaller than it should be). This shop also has a propensity to overfill burritos with rice, and underfill the rest of the fillings, which is just plain insulting given the exorbitant prices (which just keep going up and up by the way, decreasing the value proposition with each month or two). With regards to service, there are one or two servers which always do a great job without fail, though I can find some staff to be abrasive which does affect the atmosphere. Furthermore, the 4 total times that I have ordered for pickup via the app, my order had not even begun being prepared by my set pickup time. I also had to ask multiple times about my order before they even started cooking it on two of these occasions. The app (which is supposed to save time), has always left me waiting for 30-40 minutes, which is simply unacceptable given that people ordering at the counter are coming and going, even with most having more lucrative orders. The many times I have eaten-in at this establishment, the music is usually for to loud to have comfortable conversation, the heaters are often on our doors in temperatures far too warm already. However I will say that for the most part, the staff are able to keep the tables rather clean, which is rare in fast food these days. Overall I have to give a two stars to what was once my favourite fast food establishment due to a notable decrease in quality and experience, and an unbelievable increase in price that is just not justifiable for the quality of the food. And to be clear I don't entirely blame the staff. From what I have witnessed, the management at this store do not deserve to be in their position whatsoever, and foster a negative and toxic culture and relationship with their staff. They are rude to the staff and it honestly makes my blood boil that these people are the leaders that are supposed to be bringing out the best in the team. The business should choose more capable, more worthy management because I just feel so sorry to see workers treated with such...

This GyG used to be amazing when it opened but today after my order it’s anything but. I ordered the mini chicken burrito. I got home and started eating. I notice a piece of the chicken is pink and slimy looking. This definitely looked undercooked. I immediately felt sick and threw the rest of the burrito out. I then phoned the restaurant straight after and spoke to Kirsty. I advised her of my problem and 10 minutes into the phone call was still awaiting an apology??? I asked do I even receive a simple apology for this or is that not what you’re taught here? The response was ‘oh I just got off my break but this certainly should not happen and we are very sorry’. Are you kidding!!! Isn’t that the first thing that they teach you in customer service?? I was told sometimes chicken can appear pink but if I’m not happy with it that’s all that matters. I have received a credit note for a mini burrito meal but why would I even want to go back after seeing raw chicken in my burrito?? After seeing all the recent 1 star negative reviews, this restaurant is in desperate need of an inspection of higher up staff to get it back on its feet or at the least, more staff training. It used to be so so good, but after multiple times of receiving cold, soggy food and now raw chicken, which you’re now paying through the nose for, I just won’t be coming back here. You can keep your credit note. You definitely have lost a...