A&W Canada — Restaurant in Barrie

Update 2020

I don't think a single employee that was here in 2018 is still working here. I came back a little while ago and was surprised by the better quality food and faster wait times.

It looks like there was some form of purge here, and it worked wonders. I'm now a regular customer again and havent even had an average experience since then, every visit has been excellent, and it's all due to the newly hired staff. I come here now solely because of this. Wait times are very short now for me, orders are understood more clearly, orders are never wrong, and the food is hot and well made.

Great job to the new staff.

EDIT 2018 I've asked 2 different a&w cashiers at 2 different locations besides this one now since I left this place if I would still get the 2.99 deal if I asked for no cheese and they both said yes of course. I think the owner of this particular location needs to find new staff.

Went in to order a quick bite after seeing they had a Mama Burger special going for $2.99. My girlfriend orders hers and a $2.50 wrap, and I order mine, and somehow the order came to $13. I asked why, and the counter attendant told me that because I asked for my Mama Burger without cheese, I had to pay an EXTRA $3, because the promotion only works if you get the Mama Burger WITH CHEESE. Of course, we weren't warned about this backwards rule and nearly overpaid for it.

So, what, now there's a lactose intolerance tax? And if the promo is only for Mama with cheese, he absolutely could not have ENTERED mama with cheese and then told the cook to not put cheese on it?

Anyway, after I told him to take my burger off the order (dunno what I'm gonna eat now, it's late) he tried to overcharge my girlfriend for hers by taking the promo off. What are these people trying to pull?

So now I'm angry and hungry, and our wait was close to 15 minutes, got our (her) food, and it wasn't even hot or fresh. I had assumed that because it was late and the order was taking forever that it was being made fresh. NOPE! Why it took them this long to bring us cold food beats me. He was also pretty mouthy at his kitchen staff.

This isn't the first bad experience I've had here recently, but it WILL be the last, as I won't ever step foot into this place again. Told 2 people about my horrible experience and they reply to me telling me they already swore off of this place because of their bad experiences too.

I don't get it, a couple years ago I used to drive up to this A&W from the North end, passing by several A&Ws along the way because this one was the best. What happened?

Lastly, I don't want A&W to respond to me with the blanket "Please call this 1-800 number from who knows where so our call center can look into the issue for you" statement. It isn't worth my time to jump through hoops to help your business by repeating myself...

My boyfriend and I have enjoyed A&W for years as a few years ago he showed me the Mozza Burger and we both loved it! For a few years we avoided coming to this location as a friend had told us some questionable things about the restaurants cleanliness. But at one point during the pandemic we bit the bullet and decided to try it. Didn't seem too bad and was on par with the others we had visited.

Over the last year though the experience has been quite different. In the past year the prices have increased drastically to the point where I don't even think they are fast food prices anymore. Onion Rings aren't even a combo food anymore!!! With that there has also been many mess ups with the orders, between forgetting a whole food item or simply forgetting that we asked for extra seasoning it can be very defeating. The amount of times we have had watered down apple juice is absurd. Through all this however the staff has always been at least somewhat friendly and never rude.

Today however was the last straw. We went through the Drive-Thru as always, a woman took our order and we drove up to the window. I'm not sure if at 12:53pm Kendra just wasn't having a good day but that shouldn't be relayed to the customer.

After I said Hello she simply handed me the machine not saying anything, I then gestured to put my card back into my wallet only to find her shoving the drinks in my face, so I said "Oh, Sorry" and put my wallet in my lap for the time being so I could take the drinks. After I took them she then proceeded to slam the Drive-Thru window. Then came back to the window 2 minutes later and handed us our bag of food. After I grabbed the food I said "Thank- You" but that was also rudely interrupted with her slamming the window again!!! Not a word of acknowledgement that I was even there the entire time.

I would rather have an automated service than be treated like that. For something of the same price and more consistent quality I'll be spending my money at something like Burger Priest...

I visited today A&W veterans drive Restaurant and unfortunately, I had a very disappointing experience. The service was extremely slow, with long wait times between courses and minimal attention from the staff. Additionally, I was taken aback to see a staff member smoking cigarettes , which not only created an unpleasant environment but also violated health regulations. To make matters worse, I observed this same staff member handling food without washing their hands, which is a major hygiene concern.

I believe it's important to share these specific details to ensure transparency and accountability. The slow service, smoking cigarettes and lack of handwashing are serious issues that should not be overlooked. I hope the management takes these concerns seriously and takes immediate action to address them.

Overall, based on my experience, I cannot recommend due to these significant issues. I hope my feedback helps the restaurant improve their service and maintain a safe and hygienic environment for...