Taco Bell — Restaurant in Hawkesbury

I am writing to file a formal complaint regarding an extremely disappointing experience I had on March 15, 2025, at the Taco Bell in Hawkesbury. I placed three separate orders totaling over $200 (with invoices of [amounts]), and each of these orders had issues: missing items, incorrect orders, and cold food.

The first order was placed at 5:15 PM, and we arrived at the restaurant at 5:25 PM but did not receive our orders until 5:45 PM. Upon noticing the issues, I had to return from La Chute, a one-hour drive each way. When I arrived around 7:15 PM, I was met with a completely disrespectful and unprofessional service. The employee in charge refused to refund or correct the issues, despite acknowledging the problems. Additionally, his attitude toward me and other customers present was condescending and arrogant. He refused to give his name, called me “my brother” instead of treating me professionally, and categorically refused to remake my order.

The employee also accused me of being responsible for the mistake, stating that it was my fault for not checking my boxes. However, given that I paid for over $200 worth of food, it is very difficult to check three separate orders with varied tacos, not knowing exactly what’s inside. Moreover, there were over 10 tacos missing, no desserts included, and they had almost nothing in stock. This was clearly their error, but instead of taking responsibility, this employee blamed me. This has been the worst experience of my life in terms of customer service.

Other troubling issues I witnessed included: • The payment terminal (Interac) not working, and instead of admitting it was a technical issue, the employee blamed customers, claiming their phones were defective. • A customer who had ordered online was asked to pay again without any valid reason. • When I requested to speak to a supervisor, the employee claimed he was texting the manager, but when I insisted on speaking to him directly, he suddenly claimed to be the manager himself.

Another particularly concerning aspect was that this employee exerted unacceptable pressure on another staff member. The latter was willing to remake our order, stating it was normal due to the errors. However, she mentioned that she had only been working there for a month and a half and didn’t want to put herself at risk by standing up to him. This clearly shows a toxic environment at the restaurant, where an abusive employee enforces his own rules at the expense of good customer service.

The most unacceptable part of the situation was that instead of attempting to resolve the issue, this employee escalated it by pressing the alarm for a robbery or serious incident, which led the police to be called against us before even hearing our side of the story. We were then forced to leave under pressure, and the employee later claimed to have banned us from Taco Bell, an entirely unjustified decision, as we were simply dissatisfied customers seeking basic service.

This employee displayed lying, disrespectful, and completely unprofessional behavior, refusing to genuinely contact his manager.

If you have any doubts about the truth of this situation, I invite you to review the surveillance footage at the restaurant. There is no issue with you checking it, as everything I’ve described is verifiable.

In summary, after spending a significant amount on faulty orders, I not only lost time and money but was also treated with total disrespect and unjust hostility. This experience is unacceptable and beneath the standards of a brand like Taco Bell.

I demand a full refund for my orders as well as a serious review of the behavior and management of this restaurant. I expect a prompt response and a satisfactory resolution.

I look forward to...

Literally had nothing in stock, only had beef cheese and tortillas. Think about that for a second; No Lettuce, No Tomatoes, No Chicken, Most Sauces out of stock, no Baja Blast, no Steak, No Grilled chicken. To me thats fine, like im not happy being that i drove from montreal for some taco bell, but thats my bad for not checking. What completely blew my mind on top of it is the attitude of staff? The manager on duty was relatively very nice and apologetic for the situation, but everyone else was on something. You dont close for an hour and a half, saying you hate your life to me cause i used the bathroom you "freshly cleaned" to wash my hands is insane. I can understand being upset about having cleaned the bathrooms if i had explosive diarrhea, but washing my hands? Also the face the entire staff made everytime someone walked in was priceless. You guys do know you can just close up right? Like if almost none of you are happy, none of you want to be there, and none of you want to actually deal with customers being there, you dont have to stay open. Like seriously all you gotta do is turn off the open sign and close the door....

Took forever to get my order, which was only 2 burritos. The worst part is that the workers started laughing and talking instead of making the customers orders. Let's not forget about the fact the cashier said she finishes at 5, which is what she told me at 3:45, and ended up getting my order at 4:20. And the audacity for her to say "put yourself in our shoes" when in fact I have been in her shoes for years in fast food, and have never been this slow even when low staffed. There is no structure or common sense from the employees when I came to the restaurant. Guess I better stick to the Taco Bell in Cornwall. Someone in HR should really reevaluate these employees cause WOW.. These employees need retraining to learn some true customer service.

One last thing: they said it was a "Rush" but last time I checked, a rush is not when the same 5 orders have been waiting for over over 30mins...